Prospect Info: Devils picking 4th Overall.

[brakeyawself]

Hughes seems like the pick to me if he's there. I think he suits the Devs needs as well. He's better defensively than Clarke or Edvinsson and that should make all the difference in the world. It's what the Devs need most, certainly ahead of a forward or pure offensive Dman.

And Hughes is no offensive slouch either. Which is why I think he could even be taken prior to #4 in which case, id probably roll Edvinsson or Clarke I guess.

 

[Hisch13r]

Hughes seems like the pick to me if he's there. I think he suits the Devs needs as well. He's better defensively than Clarke or Edvinsson and that should make all the difference in the world. It's what the Devs need most, certainly ahead of a forward or pure offensive Dman.

And Hughes is no offensive slouch either. Which is why I think he could even be taken prior to #4 in which case, id probably roll Edvinsson or Clarke I guess.

uhhh What? Hughes is the pure offensive defenseman here who is the worst defensively of the 3. Edvinsson is the best defensively and doesn't provide much offensively. Clarke is the 2nd best at both ends.

 

[ScottyK]

Hughes seems like the pick to me if he's there. I think he suits the Devs needs as well. He's better defensively than Clarke or Edvinsson and that should make all the difference in the world. It's what the Devs need most, certainly ahead of a forward or pure offensive Dman.

And Hughes is no offensive slouch either. Which is why I think he could even be taken prior to #4 in which case, id probably roll Edvinsson or Clarke I guess.

I like Hughes but his defense is not his strong suit what so ever

 

[Nico Hughes]

I like Hughes but his defense is not his strong suit what so ever

I could agree that, from what little tape Ive seen, Hughes looks to give more effort on the defensive side. To say hes better I cant, but I do think his stride and reach will make it very hard for him to not be above average defensively

Clarke's defense can be considered a legit concern, just like what we thought with Ty. But probably not any more legit a concern than Luke or Owen

 

[Billdo]

Yes. Watch video. It was the first thing that jumped out at me before the skating reports from scouts even started to surface. He’s a very unconventional/awkward skater.

Just watched some clips. He seems almost knock kneed.

 

[aboriginal]

Just watched some clips. He seems almost knock kneed.

Just watched too, I kinda thought he also looked buck toothed, horse faced and kinda like a space dog.

 

[The Devil In I]

Just watched some clips. He seems almost knock kneed.

An Anecdotal Case Analysis of Brandt Clarke's Skating Deficiencies

 

[AfroThunder396]

I am warming up to the idea of Hughes simply because of his age. He is 6-12 months developmentally behind his peers and already a top-5 player in his draft class. Getting healthy and playing in a top program will do wonders for his development.

I'll bet his D+1 season will be more impressive than Power's D+0 season, which is really the best comparable in terms of age and development. The more I think about it the more I'm convinced he has the most room to grow, which is scary considering how highly he's already regarded.

 

[Guttersniped]

I could agree that, from what little tape Ive seen, Hughes looks to give more effort on the defensive side. To say hes better I cant, but I do think his stride and reach will make it very hard for him to not be above average defensively

Clarke's defense can be considered a legit concern, just like what we thought with Ty. But probably not any more legit a concern than Luke or Owen

Yeah people some are saying he’s better defensively than Quinn was back in the day but it’s really for the reasons you’re mentioning, he’s bigger so his stick work and body size can solve more problems for him.

Again with Luke, we have to remember this is the equivalent of Quinn’s D-1 year and not his draft year and it was cut short with no tournaments due to his injury. He showed improvement and you just have to gamble that his development is going to go well from here. He’s a bit of a gamble because he’s behind the other guys. (If it will make other worriers feel better, despite being an enormously cautious person I think it’s a very reasonable gamble to take. It is a gamble though.)

I’ve not heard negative stuff about Power’s defense but I won’t lie, I tend to mostly ignore him since we were never getting him.

Most people feel Clarke made improvements in his defense game during his stint in the Slovakian men’s league. He became more conscientious about his role there as he had to play a more defensive style than he did in juniors.

 

[jkrdevil]

Not directly related, but Friedman was on NHL Network and one of the things he mentioned is there is a thought around the league that they are trying to get Caleb Jones in a trade with Edmonton for Keith in part to put them in the drivers seat to sign Seth next year.

All these brothers want to play together. I’m not sure how you pass Like Hughes even if the other two are “slightly ahead” on the board. It just gives you added security with Jack which has real value. I know even have the other Clarke brother as well, but it isn’t the same. Hughes is more valuable to the organization.

 

[MartyOwns]

Not directly related, but Friedman was on NHL Network and one of the things he mentioned is there is a thought around the league that they are trying to get Caleb Jones in a trade with Edmonton for Keith in part to put them in the drivers seat to sign Seth next year.

All these brothers want to play together. I’m not sure how you pass Like Hughes even if the other two are “slightly ahead” on the board. It just gives you added security with Jack which has real value. I know even have the other Clarke brother as well, but it isn’t the same. Hughes is more valuable to the organization.

what the f*** is up with this brother bullshit? are other sports like this?

 

[KovalSNIPE]

After watching this video, Clarke is officially on my "do not draft" list.

 

[jkrdevil]

what the f*** is up with this brother bullshit? are other sports like this?

Well other sports have much much larger player pools than 5 families.

 

[Guttersniped]

what the f*** is up with this brother bullshit? are other sports like this?

Don’t sleep on the stories that Calgary kept crap forward Freddie Hamilton on their roster so he could be roomies with Dougie.

Calgary traded for Dougie on June 26, 2015 and traded for Freddie, from Colorado for a conditional 7th round pick, on Oct 4 2015. The rumor was Dougie was unhappy/disgruntled to some degree (depending on who you believe) when Freddie was waived and picked off of waivers by the Coyotes in January 2018.

The good news is Freddie retired after 2017-18. The bad news is the dumb brother thing and that these guys officially went by “Freddie” and “Dougie”. We have nicknames for a reason fellas, you’re grown men.

Freddie Hamilton Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[Nico Hughes]

what the f*** is up with this brother bullshit? are other sports like this?

Hockey is a business but teams are in the business of making players happy as well; the team wont take Luke if hes not near BPA but at the same time we practically know thats not the case.

theyd have to have what id consider a 'different' opinion of Luke to not take him (have him ranked 8-10 for example). If you have him in your top-6/7 then the brother connection begins to take over, especially since its at the position Jack knows we need.

Not to mention the PR for the majority of fans would look really bad if we took another dman over Luke, especially with Jacks words in that one interview.

I dont think its them pandering to Jack but instead trying to capitalize on what could be an increase in ceiling for each player, as well as easier contract negotiations and player relations. Among other things related to marketing and monetary gain

 

[ninetyeight]

It’s still #1 Hughes #2 Power for me. I’m undecided on Clarke, I get the criticism, but we are talking about teenagers here, they’ll grow and develop. When the opposition is weak he might take more chances or make ”bad plays” that won’t fly in the NHL. But with age, experience and high level coaching I’m sure he’ll adjust.

I do like Edvinsson too, but I feel his value (at least right now) isn’t quite 4OA level, so if he’s the only top d left, trading the pick might get us an already established dman that fits the timeline better.

And if we do take Eklund or Beniers, how mad can you really be? Our forward depth would be excellent and then you just trade the pieces you don’t need and try to sign free agents to fill in the defence. And realistically there’s still 3-4 years to draft defensive depth that has time to develop before our core’s prime years are over.

 

[Billdo]

Just watched too, I kinda thought he also looked buck toothed, horse faced and kinda like a space dog.

Snark aside, you don't agree that he's a bit of an awkward skater?

 

[aboriginal]

Snark aside, you don't agree that he's a bit of an awkward skater?

No idea, I didn’t watch. That scouching guy is just another dude.

 

[MartyOwns]

Hockey is a business but teams are in the business of making players happy as well; the team wont take Luke if hes not near BPA but at the same time we practically know thats not the case.

theyd have to have what id consider a 'different' opinion of Luke to not take him (have him ranked 8-10 for example). If you have him in your top-6/7 then the brother connection begins to take over, especially since its at the position Jack knows we need.

Not to mention the PR for the majority of fans would look really bad if we took another dman over Luke, especially with Jacks words in that one interview.

I dont think its them pandering to Jack but instead trying to capitalize on what could be an increase in ceiling for each player, as well as easier contract negotiations and player relations. Among other things related to marketing and monetary gain

i understand that, i was asking why brothers in hockey were so hell bent on playing with each other and whether that was the case in other sports. i wouldn’t work with my brother for a million dollars a year

 

[SJinNewJersey]

I want the Devs to take Clarke. He fits an organizational need, isn't a reach at that pick, and already knows how to play defense. If Clarke is gone by our pick then take Hughes.

 

[Devils731]

No idea, I didn’t watch. That scouching guy is just another dude.

You can watch videos of Clarke and draw your own conclusion.

My conclusion is his skating is awkward in a way that hurts him defensively but doesn’t hurt him much offensively.