Prospect Info: 2022 Way-Too-Early Devils-Centric Mock Draft

[Buck Dancer]

Who exactly is questioning his compete?
I have absolutely no problem with is compete and thinks that’s just silly. He battles hard, plays the game the right way, wins his battles and is responsible defensively.

In Bob McKenzie's mid year report, there's several scouts that are questioning his compete level and one of them sees Wright as a solid 2nd line center. That doesn't mean that his career is set in stone because of those comments but again, having these doubts in what is his draft year is somewhat concerning.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

In Bob McKenzie's mid year report, there's several scouts that are questioning his compete level and one of them sees Wright as a solid 2nd line center. That doesn't mean that his career is set in stone because of those comments but again, having these doubts in what is his draft year is somewhat concerning.

Ya it’s always concerning when a prospect doesn’t meet expectations in his draft year. He’s still an elite prospect with great potential. The compete is never something I’ve seen any problems with but I don’t watch him as much as those scouts would. At the same time he always looks pretty calm and poised on the ice and doesn’t always look like he’s working that hard and I could see that being mistaken for a lack of compete. I think he’s just very efficient in everything he does and saves that extra energy and effort for the right moments.
He’s going to be taken 1st overall as a guy with #1 potential at the end of the day and if Montreal takes him they would do so envisioning him being better than Suzuki.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Like you said, we’ll agree to disagree and a big portion of the scouting community are starting to have serious concerns about his game translating to one of a #1 center at the NHL level.

For someone who values compete level to the highest degree possible, Shane’s compete level has raised concerns in his draft year. If is name was Shane Wrightovsky, I think his stock would be falling right about now.

Please provide us with links or quotes with respected members of the scouting community doubting Wright's ability to be a top center or compete level. Also, it should be said that I can loosely be described as a portion of the scouting community, and here's my take:

"There is no reason, physically or mentally, that Shane Wright cannot become a highly effective two-way #1 center at the NHL level."

You're welcome.

 

[Guadana]

About Savoie there is the great example right from the Draft. US18 have great skilly dynamic players Cooley, Howard and Nazar. This trio can be picked in top-20. But when their coach did try to use them as a line(from games a saw), they organised pretty well breakaways, but can`t start to bury opponents in the zones, because they are loosing puck battles. And when the puck goes to their zone, their opponents bury them in defensive zone, because they can`t make any real answer against the cycle and create a real forechecking pressure. In school league. Three top prospects. That wasn`t happened all the time, but that did happened regulary.
This is a thing that you wanna see on paper, but it`s never gonna work in real life, especially in meaningful games.

 

[StevenToddIves]

About Savoie there is the great example right from the Draft. US18 have great skilly dynamic players Cooley, Howard and Nazar. This trio can be picked in top-20. But when their coach did try to use them as a line(from games a saw), they organised pretty well breakaways, but can`t start to bury opponents in the zones, because they are loosing puck battles. And when the puck goes to their zone, their opponents bury them in defensive zone, because they can`t make any real answer against the cycle and create a real forechecking pressure. In school league. Three top prospects. That wasn`t happened all the time, but that did happened regulary.
This is a thing that you wanna see on paper, but it`s never gonna work in real life, especially in meaningful games.

That's why the US-NTDP is always trying to get guys like Gauthier on a line with Cooley or Kaplan/Snuggerud with Nazar. Even the high skill guys need the balance of grinders winning board battles and crashing the crease. I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[Guadana]

That's why the US-NTDP is always trying to get guys like Gauthier on a line with Cooley or Kaplan/Snuggerud with Nazar. Even the high skill guys need the balance of grinders winning board battles and crashing the crease. I couldn't agree with you more.

Snuggerud is a complimentary player, I will never draft him in first round and I think he overranked, but it is a huge difference between how line of Cooley with Gauthier and Snuggerud work well, and how the line of Cooley with Nazar and Howard work pretty inconsistent. And it is working well even for your cap hit. If you will find right player you will not have a problem with cap hit and your lines will work. And you could have line of great names with a lot of points on the eevry name, but your team will somehow lose and lose again and your caphit will crack.

Btw Gauthier is my new one from the group of top candidates for devils top forward pick. Especially if our pick will be close to 10 spot, not to the 4 spot.
It`s really hard to me for now to understand who is a better pick between Juraj, Yurov and Gauthier. I like Perevalov a lot, but if we want him so much, we must need to trade down. So the question for me is about ranking between Slafkowsky, Yurov and Gauthier. (if Kemmel and Jiricek will gone). For now I can`t decide. Yurov and Gauthier are a little ahead, because of scoring. And overall personal working to create personal scoring opportunities. But i can`t really decide for now.

 

[Rydev]

We expect Luke Hughes to play left d when he comes up?

If so I like the idea of taking a big dman to play with him

If not I like the sound of this Juraj Slafvkovsky, we could use a bigger sized top-6 winger

 

[Guadana]

We expect Luke Hughes to play left d when he comes up?

If so I like the idea of taking a big dman to play with him

If not I like the sound of this Juraj Slafvkovsky, we could use a bigger sized top-6 winger

Gauthier has great size and much better scoring ability.

 

[Guttersniped]

Agree to disagree. I love Suzuki, but you are grossly underselling Shane Wright. He plays two-way hockey like a Bergeron at the same age, he shoots like Stamkos at the same age. His upside is absolutely immense.

He doesn’t shoot like Stamkos, come on now. He doesn’t have a slap shot like him. He has an excellent wrist/snap shot (it’s fast, accurate and elevated, can’t ask for more) for sure, but Stamkos was special. (Show some respect!)

 

[Rydev]

Gauthier have great size and much better scoring ability.

Hed be a great option too then

A bigger-sized winger for some board play and physicality with Nico or for Jack is a great idea

 

[Guadana]

Hed be a great option too then

A bigger-sized winger for some board play and physicality with Nico or for Jack is a great idea

This is exactly what he is doing. And he has pretty good passing vision too. His offensive IQ quite good, and he is competent enough to play defensive role. I need more time to understand how good he is against opponents transistion, but overall I like his 200 foot game for a winger.
And he can shoot the puck. Shoot the puck well and fight for his right to shoot it. He is some kind of "Nolan Foote"(what Devils want to see from him as a concept of the player with special pack of skills and tools) if he could be much better and faster skater.

And I like McGroarty too. If we will have another pick in first round in second half, he is one of my "wishes" for late round pick with Perevalov and Chesley.

 

[Buck Dancer]

Please provide us with links or quotes with respected members of the scouting community doubting Wright's ability to be a top center or compete level. Also, it should be said that I can loosely be described as a portion of the scouting community, and here's my take:

"There is no reason, physically or mentally, that Shane Wright cannot become a highly effective two-way #1 center at the NHL level."

You're welcome.

You’re a gem when it comes to prospects on our board but I’ll take the opinions of those who get paid to do just that as a living.

By the way, I’ve already provided the info you’re looking for when I replied to one of your posts a couple of weeks ago by giving you quotes from Bob McKenzie’s mid year review. Feel free to scroll back a couple of pages or simply check out his mid year review on the TSN website.

Edit: Here, I decided to help you out a little and save you some time…

Bob McKenzie's Mid-Season Draft Rankings - TSN.ca

 

[StevenToddIves]

Here's a new mini-mock for 2/10:

1 MTL C Wright
2 ARI C Cooley
3 SEA LW Slafkovsky
4 BUF C/LW Savoie
5 NJ RD Jiricek
6 PHI RD Nemec
7 OTT L/C Gauthier
8 CBJ RW Kemell
9 CBJ C Geekie
10 DET W Yurov
11 NYI R/C Nazar
12 VAN W Miroshnichenko

The biggest revision here is Slafkovsky moving up -- he's just so dominant down low and his mix of power and elite puck skills should not see him slip past the top 5. He possesses the potential to be a unique and rare player. With the Devils, I'm sticking with Jiricek -- he seems exactly the type of D which GM Tom Fitzgerald evidently covets and the Devils just have a huge organizational need at RD. The pick of Hughes last year is proof a major injury in a draft-eligible campaign will not scare off the Devils front office. I'm sticking with Gauthier to Ottawa despite the discrepancy in consensus ranking -- the Senators have their own agenda on draft day and Cutter fit it to a T. No way Yurov slips past Detroit -- he is precisely the type of skilled high IQ, high-compete player Stevie Y covets year in and year out.

 

[Guadana]

Here's a new mini-mock for 2/10:

1 MTL C Wright
2 ARI C Cooley
3 SEA LW Slafkovsky
4 BUF C/LW Savoie
5 NJ RD Jiricek
6 PHI RD Nemec
7 OTT L/C Gauthier
8 CBJ RW Kemell
9 CBJ C Geekie
10 DET W Yurov
11 NYI R/C Nazar
12 VAN W Miroshnichenko

The biggest revision here is Slafkovsky moving up -- he's just so dominant down low and his mix of power and elite puck skills should not see him slip past the top 5. He possesses the potential to be a unique and rare player. With the Devils, I'm sticking with Jiricek -- he seems exactly the type of D which GM Tom Fitzgerald evidently covets and the Devils just have a huge organizational need at RD. The pick of Hughes last year is proof a major injury in a draft-eligible campaign will not scare off the Devils front office. I'm sticking with Gauthier to Ottawa despite the discrepancy in consensus ranking -- the Senators have their own agenda on draft day and Cutter fit it to a T. No way Yurov slips past Detroit -- he is precisely the type of skilled high IQ, high-compete player Stevie Y covets year in and year out.

It is really interesting what Steve Yzerman think about this draft. They hardly need in centers. Larkin is 26 when the next season will start.
WHat Steve Y thinks about it? Their early performance really can hurt them on the ling distance. Of course if Cossa is a future vezina level talent, it would be easier to make a playoff, with good defensive line they built, but their offensive line is still a big quesion mark. Will they sign a big free agent?
Or will try to make a bet on Lambert? I don`t think Nazar has top-line center potential. May be top line complimentary winger with skill and quickness. But he can`t cover the zones. May be they really think Yurov can play center role. And sometimes he did it in MHL. As always I`m very intriguing by the moves Yzerman doing.

 

[StevenToddIves]

It is really interesting what Steve Yzerman think about this draft. They hardly need in centers. Larkin is 26 when the next season will start.
WHat Steve Y thinks about it? Their early performance really can hurt them on the ling distance. Of course if Cossa is a future vezina level talent, it would be easier to make a playoff, with good defensive line they built, but their offensive line is still a big quesion mark. Will they sign a big free agent?
Or will try to make a bet on Lambert? I don`t think Nazar has top-line center potential. May be top line complimentary winger with skill and quickness. But he can`t cover the zones. May be they really think Yurov can play center role. And sometimes he did it in MHL. As always I`m very intriguing by the moves Yzerman doing.

I don't think Lambert makes the NHL as a center, his best bet is likely on the RW. Detroit has a couple nice possibilities for bottom 6 centers in Veleno and Soderblom, but I agree they need some top 6 options. I would not be shocked if Yzerman took a close look at Marco Kasper with his first round pick -- the young Austrian plays a high-speed, high-compete two-way physical style and has been a bit underrated by the general draft consensus.

 

[Mgd31]

Doesn't Arizona have Montreal's pick in the Dvorak trade or is it protected?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Doesn't Arizona have Montreal's pick in the Dvorak trade or is it protected?

It's complicated. Arizona gets the higher of Montreal's two first round picks (their own and Carolina) --- unless one of the picks is in the top 10, in which case Arizona gets the lower of the Montreal picks.

 

[The Wumpus]

Doesn't Arizona have Montreal's pick in the Dvorak trade or is it protected?

I think it's top-10 protected