Prospect Info: Devils Picking 4th Overall, Part II

[Devils731]

imagine if hughes is gone and we end up with power

The chaos I’m looking for is Power not going #1 and everyone freaking out even though it’s not unreasonable to like another draftee more.

 

[Brodeur]

TSN has Hughes way down at 8 based on their consensus. In terms of players with votes for 2nd in the class according to TSN the following players got votes Beniers (4 Votes), Edvinsson (3 votes), Guenther, McTavish and Eklund each got 1 vote.

My fear of reaching for Luke Hughes is gaining, to the point where I’m not sure I’ll be overly excited in selecting him.

mcTavish to me is tantalizing with his size and shot

McKenzie himself says that the 2-9 group is very close based on the responses he got. Taking Cole Sillinger at #4 would be a reach, but taking Luke Hughes at #4 wouldn't be. Sometimes we get into Spinal Tap "these goes to 11" territory with the rankings. The difference between #4 and #8 isn't necessarily the same at #8 and #12.

There's always a bit of recency bias with the rankings. Hughes missed the U18s due to injury, so that didn't give him a chance to make a final impression.

On a related note, Bob won't be doing the draft broadcast for the first time in 18 years. So it looks like he's tweeting nuggets of info (possibly while having a margarita). Namely that he thinks the top 5 will consist of 3F and 2D.

 

[OmNomNom]

Edvinsson divisive up to draft day

 

[StevenToddIves]

imagine if hughes is gone and we end up with power

No way in the universe Power gets past Anaheim at #3, much less Seattle at #2.

 

[R8Devs]

With 3f and 2d (with knowing that Power and Beniers are probably going 1-2)
and looking at fanduel's odds, two ways to get 3 forwards and 2 defenseman

1 - Power
2 - Beniers
3 - Guenther (Fanduel has him at +105 for 3rd overall pick)
4 - Hughes (Fanduel has him at -125 for the 4th overall pick)
5 - Mctavish (Fanduel has him at +170 for the 5th overall pick)

The other way then would be

1 - Power
2 - Beniers
3 - Guenther
4 - Eklund (Fanduel has him at +195 for the 4th overall pick which is higher than any other spot for Eklund)
5 - Edvinsson (Fanduel has him at +125 for the 5th overall pick)

 

[StevenToddIves]

Lambos would be a great gamble at #29.

My honest conviction is that Lambos is a great gamble at #10. At #29 he's an unbelievable steal of epic proportion. When he's on his game, he's as good as any defenseman in the entire draft.

 

[The 29th Pick]

McKenzie himself says that the 2-9 group is very close based on the responses he got. Taking Cole Sillinger at #4 would be a reach, but taking Luke Hughes at #4 wouldn't be. Sometimes we get into Spinal Tap "these goes to 11" territory with the rankings. The difference between #4 and #8 isn't necessarily the same at #8 and #12.

There's always a bit of recency bias with the rankings. Hughes missed the U18s due to injury, so that didn't give him a chance to make a final impression.

On a related note, Bob won't be doing the draft broadcast for the first time in 18 years. So it looks like he's tweeting nuggets of info (possibly while having a margarita). Namely that he thinks the top 5 will consist of 3F and 2D.

I had to!

 

[StevenToddIves]

With 3f and 2d (with knowing that Power and Beniers are probably going 1-2)
and looking at fanduel's odds, two ways to get 3 forwards and 2 defenseman

1 - Power
2 - Beniers
3 - Guenther (Fanduel has him at +105 for 3rd overall pick)
4 - Hughes (Fanduel has him at -125 for the 4th overall pick)
5 - Mctavish (Fanduel has him at +170 for the 5th overall pick)

The other way then would be

1 - Power
2 - Beniers
3 - Guenther
4 - Eklund (Fanduel has him at +195 for the 4th overall pick which is higher than any other spot for Eklund)
5 - Edvinsson (Fanduel has him at +125 for the 5th overall pick)

I feel Beniers is a lock for the top 3 and McTavish for the top 5, but I that third forward could be even odds for Eklund or Guenther.

 

[The 29th Pick]

No way in the universe Power gets past Anaheim at #3, much less Seattle at #2.

would you give up #4 and #28 to get Power?

 

[SYWTom]

I’m not against the Hughes pick and obviously I’ll support the team as I have through good and bad. But it’s hard not to think of Luke Hughes as a pick to make Jack happy especially with Jacks comments about it.

gotta admit it would feel that way, at least a little bit

 

[OmNomNom]

I’m not against the Hughes pick and obviously I’ll support the team as I have through good and bad. But it’s hard not to think of Luke Hughes as a pick to make Jack happy especially with Jacks comments about it.

gotta admit it would feel that way, at least a little bit

it would definitely feel that way, but hopefully he's more of a player than rob neidermayer was (if we get him)

 

[The 29th Pick]

it would definitely feel that way, but hopefully he's more of a player than rob neidermayer was (if we get him)

Luke could be the better player down the road
I just don't want Jack "thinking" about why we didn't take his bro, it might effect him (negatively) in a few ways

 

[The Wumpus]

I kind of like the top Fs better than the top Ds this year

 

[StevenToddIves]

would you give up #4 and #28 to get Power?

Nope

 

[The 29th Pick]

Nope

what are we gonna get at 28? another John Quenville or Stefan Matteau ?

 

[Lou is God]

I’m not against the Hughes pick and obviously I’ll support the team as I have through good and bad. But it’s hard not to think of Luke Hughes as a pick to make Jack happy especially with Jacks comments about it.

gotta admit it would feel that way, at least a little bit

The thing is we need a defenseman and if it's a dynamic offensive defenseman that's all the better, even without Jack on the team he checks all the boxes.

 

[Buck Dancer]

That's your opinion.

It is and it appears to be the opinion of many as well cause I don’t see him ranked anywhere in the top #4 and if he is ranked by some at 4th or better, I haven’t seen it.

 

[Comparison Ford]

I'm hoping for L'Heureux or Othmann at #28 -- the Devils need more sandpaper and goal-scoring ability at wing. I'd also be thrilled with Rosen -- he might have more pure offensive upside than all the forwards who are surefire top 10 picks. I suppose my ultimate dream would be if Carson Lambos fell -- in my opinion, he could potentially wind up the best defenseman from the entire 2021 draft.

I would absolutely love L'Heureux but with the way GMs are overpaying big physical players this offseason, i dont think hes gonna get past the 20th overall selection tomorrow.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I would absolutely love L'Heureux but with the way GMs are overpaying big physical players this offseason, i dont think hes gonna get past the 20th overall selection tomorrow.

I'm thinking Boucher goes way early too

 

[Buck Dancer]

Yes.

I'm not saying McTavish is better -- I have Eklund ranked higher in my Top 96 rankings. But I feel McTavish fills more of a Devils need -- which is a physical forward who plays a heavy game and can snipe.

Though the Devils have a ton of talent in the pipeline, they have no center or LW (McTavish can play either position) who is a "true goal-scorer" aside from perhaps Nolan Foote. They also lack any sort of power forward/net-crasher aside from perhaps Dawson Mercer.

I'm a huge fan of Eklund and would be thrilled to see him in a Devils sweater, but he would be another cog (albeit an outstanding cog) in the wheel, whereas McTavish would redefine that wheel, adding a whole new dimension. I feel an elite hockey line combines multiple elements, as with MacKinnon/Landeskog/Rantanen or Bergeron/Pastrnak/Marchand instead of simply having three great scorers. The Devils simply lack players who have opposing defensemen looking over their shoulders, the Devils rarely score goals off netfront battles, and the Devils are weaker on the cycle than almost any team in the NHL.

McTavish is more than just a power forward, he's also terrific defensively and a stud on either the PP or PK. I also feel Eklund is an all-situations, two-way player and, to be honest, I think he will have more total points potential than McTavish. But I feel McTavish will score more goals and make the Devils far more difficult to play against.

Fitzgerald has to realize the Devils need for more pushback and physicality up and down the line-up. The loss of Bastian does not help, although Bastian is clearly a bottom 6 forward and not a long-term answer as a franchise core piece. I feel McTavish would be precisely this.

Those are all valid points, thanks for the info.

If we need some more sandpaper and we’re thinking of taking a forward with our pick, I’d send it to Calgary with Zacha and whatever else for Tkatchuk.

It'll never happen but that would be my dream scenario for tomorrow around 8:20’ish.

 

[Lou is God]

It is and it appears to be the opinion of many as well cause I don’t see him ranked anywhere in the top #4 and if he is ranked by some at 4th or better, I haven’t seen it.

We're talking about Luke Hughes, right?

 

[SYWTom]

The thing is we need a defenseman and if it's a dynamic offensive defenseman that's all the better, even without Jack on the team he checks all the boxes.

but from what I read that would be Clarke, where as Hughes is more of a transition player and not pure offensive skill like Brandt.

 

[Buck Dancer]

We're talking about Luke Hughes, right?

For the past couple of hours, yes.

 

[R8Devs]

It is and it appears to be the opinion of many as well cause I don’t see him ranked anywhere in the top #4 and if he is ranked by some at 4th or better, I haven’t seen it.

2021 NHL Draft Aggregate

This is an aggregate ranking of a lot of rankings. Hughes is ranked 5 in aggregate but you can see there's rankings with him above that.

 

[Lou is God]

For the past couple of hours, yes.

NHL Draft prospect rankings 2021: Luke Hughes remains No. 1 in spring's top 32

NHL Draft 2021 - Top 100 Draft Prospects & Fantasy Outlook

Top 151 Prospects for 2021 NHL Draft: Owen Power leads Corey Pronman's final rankings

^^^
Cory Pronman has him at #4

That's three right there I found just like that, there is plenty more.