Prospect Info: Devils Prospects Re-Ranked For 2022

[Stephen Gionta]

Foote is a better skater than Salminen and Holtz can easily out-skate either of them. Salminen's skating needs more improvement to make the NHL than any other Devils' prospect, in my opinion.

I agree with you that Gritsyuk's upside is the most intriguing story line of the entire NJ prospect season, even moreso than Luke Hughes' NCAA explosion.

Gristyuk statlines are very very similar to both Panarin and Kucherov in their 18 year old, 19 year old, and 20 year old seasons in the MHL/KHL. It's hard not to get super super excited about him.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Thanks for finding this. Okhotyuk was 2019, not 2018. I was very high on Jake Wise, and very wrong about his talent ceiling. I thought I had K'Andre ranked higher than Joe Veleno or Ty Smith, did I remember that wrong?

If you want to go back to 2016/17 -- in 2016 I had Barzal as my top available when we took Zacha, but in 2017 I had Nolan Patrick over Nico and should've been fired on the spot.

My 2016 2nd rounder would have been Adam Fox over Bastian and my 2017 2nd rounder would have been Dylan Samberg over Boqvist.

I think we should include my 2020 and 21 3rd rounders, just because I'm self-obsessed and they make me look good. 2020 was Rashevsky over Daws and 2021 was Svozil over Salminen.

Sorry, my bad. It should have been:

2019) Pavel Dorofeyev (Nikita Okhotiuk)

You had Veleno 8th and Miller 9th, if I looked correctly. Smith was 13th.

 

[Call Me Al]

Gristyuk statlines are very very similar to both Panarin and Kucherov in their 18 year old, 19 year old, and 20 year old seasons in the MHL/KHL. It's hard not to get super super excited about him.

is he anything like them stylistically? i have only seen a few highlights posted here and i’m glad we have another prospect who is performing really well. but these are real lofty comparisons, im tempering any excitement about him until he puts up points in the nhl

 

[FooteBahl]

Gristyuk statlines are very very similar to both Panarin and Kucherov in their 18 year old, 19 year old, and 20 year old seasons in the MHL/KHL. It's hard not to get super super excited about him.

My pant zipper is busting at the seam after reading this post.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

is he anything like them stylistically? i have only seen a few highlights posted here and i’m glad we have another prospect who is performing really well. but these are real lofty comparisons, im tempering any excitement about him until he puts up points in the nhl

He can skate well, incredible hockey IQ, seems to have a great sense of when to shoot or pass, backchecks well. He checks all the boxes for me. Looks like Kucherov out there stylistically.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Gristyuk statlines are very very similar to both Panarin and Kucherov in their 18 year old, 19 year old, and 20 year old seasons in the MHL/KHL. It's hard not to get super super excited about him.

I was trying to be conservative by moving him up to #4 behind Holtz and Mukhamadullin, but yes, he has knocked my socks off this year.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Sorry, my bad. It should have been:

2019) Pavel Dorofeyev (Nikita Okhotiuk)

You had Veleno 8th and Miller 9th, if I looked correctly. Smith was 13th.

Wow. I thought I had Veleno 10 -- was just discussing him with my Red Wings friends a few days ago. Thanks for that.

 

[StevenToddIves]

My pant zipper is busting at the seam after reading this post.

Buy Levis. They're just made better than the fancy designer jeans you keep throwing out all your money on.

 

[My3Sons]

Yes, I know. The season has been depressing. So, I decided to take a look towards a bright Devils future and re-rank the prospects.

First, I'll rank them by position. Then I'll give us a combined top 20 list to argue about. Wingers and D are listed by what hand they shoot with. No goalies on this list, because I suck at goalies.

Here's your color key:
Red: Future top-liner or top-pairing D, potential star
Green: Very likely NHL regular
Blue: Decent shot to be an NHL-er or long-term prospect with bottom 6/ bottom pairing aspirations
Pink: Likely AHL-caliber or prospect with remote chance for NHL
Black: Very, very long shot for NHL

CENTER:
1) Jaromir Pytlik strong two-way center with size can be bottom sixer if development goes well
2) Jesper Boqvist never achieved his draft-day promise, but speedy center still has some hope
3) Nate Schnarr might see a few games somewhere, but likely an AHLer
4) Artem Shlaine hasn't progressed much in NCAA, maybe can make AHL someday in bottom-line role
5) Benjamin Baumgartner not worth even considering signing out of Europe

The Skinny: The Devils are really weak up the middle in the prospect pool, and this will have to be addressed at the 2022 draft. There are no top 6 possibilities, and Pytlik is the only viable prospect here.


LEFT WING:
1) Arseni Gritsyuk biggest riser on this list, a quick and tenacious two-way wing who can be a top-six NHLer
2) Nolan Foote power winger with a cannon for a shot, developing into a strong middle six forward
3) Zakhar Bardakov bruising forward with a strong two-way game, could be a 4th line fixture one day
4) Samu Salminen needs to improve skating for top 6 role or improve 200-foot play for bottom 6 role
5) Aarne Talvitie injuries and setbacks have taken their toll, but high-character guy has 4th line possibility
6) Nikola Pasic likelihood of being signed out of Sweden is growing slimmer, but a decent two-way wing
7) Eetu Pakkila hasn't taken the jump the Devils hoped he would in Finnish Liiga

The Skinny: Gritsyuk looking like a first-round value really improves the outlook here, while Foote's interior/shooting game is something the Devils sorely need at the pro level.


RIGHT WING:
1) Alexander Holtz sniping winger is also an underrated passer with a very strong 200-foot game
2) Chase Stillman physicality, smarts and shot give him a high floor, but is he a mid-six or bottom-six guy?
3) Tyce Thompson has developed nicely in his 200-foot game, can play physically and score
4) Patrick Moynihan an all-situations stud at Providence, high floor as an NHL bottom 6 high-motor guy
5) Graeme Clarke has puck skills and a shot, but needs to improve his skating another level
6) Fabian Zetterlund feisty winger with some scoring pop could get his NHL chance soon
7) Marian Studenic has shown the speed and energy to fill in a 4th line NHL role in a pinch

The Skinny: with the depth and quality here, the Devils probably have the best group of RW prospects in the entire NHL right now.

LEFT DEFENSE:
1) Luke Hughes lightning-fast defenseman tearing up the NCAA right now and has superstar potential
2) Shakir Mukhamadullin minute-munching two-way D just keeps getting better in the KHL
3) Nikita Okhotyuk fast and physical D has everything you want for a bottom-pairing player
4) Kevin Bahl huge and mobile D has not progressed with the puck, but getting better on D
5) Michael Vukojevic another physical defensive D, better than expected with the puck
6) Daniil Misyul defensive defenseman is progressing very well in KHL
7) Yegor Zaitsev defensive defenseman is progressing very well in KHL
8) Topias Vilen stay at home D plays responsible, defensive-minded role in Finland's Liiga
9) Colin White not really a prospect, but has filled in at the NHL level without getting completely caved
10) Ethan Edwards basically the LD U of Michigan foes hope they see out there instead of Hughes or Power

The Skinny: with star quality on top and a ton of depth, this is the runaway best LD pool in the entire NHL.

RIGHT DEFENSE:
1) Case McCarthy strong, mobile, smart stay-at-home D has been downright excellent in Boston U.
2) Reilly Walsh has skill with the puck, but may struggle too much without it for regular NHL role
3) Viktor Hurtig long term project, will be years before we can truly evaluate this big, raw D

The Skinny: slim pickings here, but at least McCarthy has taken a big step this year. If only a few of the LD were ambidextrous...

THE TOP 20
1 LD Luke Hughes
2 RW Alexander Holtz
3 LD Shakir Mukhamadullin
4 LW Arseni Gritsyuk
5 RW Chase Stillman
6 LW Nolan Foote
7 RW Tyce Thompson
8 RD Case McCarthy
9 LD Nikita Okhotyuk
10 LD Kevin Bahl
11 LD Michael Vukojevic
12 LD Daniil Misyul
13 RW Patrick Moynihan
14 LD Yegor Zaitsev
15 RW Graeme Clarke
16 LW Zakhar Bardakov
17 RW Fabian Zetterlund
18 LW Samu Salminen
19 C Jaromir Pytlik
20 C Jesper Boqvist

Based on this season, you wouldn't put Zetterlund over Moynihan and Clarke?

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Gristyuk statlines are very very similar to both Panarin and Kucherov in their 18 year old, 19 year old, and 20 year old seasons in the MHL/KHL. It's hard not to get super super excited about him.

So I had to go back to take a look again...He isn't really comparable to Kucherov at all imo. Kucherov just had way better production period. However he is indeed pretty similar to Panarin and unless I'm mistaken, he is actually doing better than Panarin's 20 year old season. But let's remember that Panarin wasn't even drafted so this is an extreme rarity for someone like him to become a superstar (talking about Panarin).

 

[Stephen Gionta]

So I had to go back to take a look again...He isn't really comparable to Kucherov at all imo. Kucherov just had way better production period. However he is indeed pretty similar to Panarin and unless I'm mistaken, he is actually doing better than Panarin's 20 year old season. But let's remember that Panarin wasn't even drafted so this is an extreme rarity for someone like him to become a superstar (talking about Panarin).

Gritsyuk age 18 season in the MHL: 63 points in 59 games
Kucherov age 18 season in the MHL: 43 points in 23 games

Gristyuk age 20 season in the KHL: 28 points in 39 games
Kucherov age 20 season in the NHL and AHL: 18 points in 52 NHL games, 24 points in 17 AHL games
(Safe to say Gritsyuk production in the AHL would be similar considering KHL is better than AHL)

Gritsyuk at U20 WJC: 4 points in 6 games
Kucherov at U2o WJC: 7 points in 7 games


It's not as similar as Panarin and Gritsyuk but its also not THAT far off. Keep in mind Kucherov was a 2nd round pick and Gritsyuk was a 5th round pick.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Based on this season, you wouldn't put Zetterlund over Moynihan and Clarke?

I think Zetterlund's upside is bottom 6, but I sure like him ideally for that role. Clarke has middle-six upside still. Moynihan is a kid whom everyone knows I love -- just a heart and soul bottom 6 Swiss army knife with some sneaky scoring pop.

 

[My3Sons]

I think Zetterlund's upside is bottom 6, but I sure like him ideally for that role. Clarke has middle-six upside still. Moynihan is a kid whom everyone knows I love -- just a heart and soul bottom 6 Swiss army knife with some sneaky scoring pop.

Do you think Zetterlund has the defensive chops to play as the RW3? He's strong and somewhat feisty and would help NJ with some of that. I never expected him to show this much offense based on past seasons. He's impressed me this year. I expected Talvitie to be the guy who made the jump. I still think we were right about him and it was the injuries that have slowed him.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Do you think Zetterlund has the defensive chops to play as the RW3? He's strong and somewhat feisty and would help NJ with some of that. I never expected him to show this much offense based on past seasons. He's impressed me this year. I expected Talvitie to be the guy who made the jump. I still think we were right about him and it was the injuries that have slowed him.

I will not give up on Talvitie, because I just love the kid's character. If he makes it as a 4th liner in the NHL? Well heck, he's still a 6th rounder who made it, and his hockey career is a massive success despite all the obstacles he's faced.

As for Zetterlund, he's still young and I like his gumption. I don't see any reason why he can't become a very good 3rd line winger. He'll have a chance to make the team out of camp next year, and maybe even this year if the Devils can get trade good returns for Tatar, Zacha and Johnsson.

 

[Devs3cups]

When looking at Grytsyuk, should there be any concernes as to him coming to North America eventually?

 

[StevenToddIves]

When looking at Grytsyuk, should there be any concernes as to him coming to North America eventually?

Only that the plane won't carry him here fast enough.

 

[Devs3cups]

Only that the plane won't carry him here fast enough.

Thanks, understood

 

[Guttersniped]

Some of these guys can be called up this year, if NJ makes trades at the deadline. If Subban goes, we can see Walsh -- which I would not prefer, because I am not a big believer in offensive defensemen whose minutes you have to shelter because they are such liabilities in their own zone. It's also possible the Devils go with a left-shot heavy D group and bring up Bahl or Okhotyuk.

If any of the forwards who could be traded are actually dealt -- a list I'd include Tatar, Johnsson and Zacha upon -- I'd agree with @PKs Broken Stick list of Holtz, Clarke, Zetterlund, Foote or Talvitie... and of course, Studenic is still prospect technically, as well.

Walsh + Smith = ?

 

[Guadana]

Walsh + Smith = ?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Walsh + Smith = ?

Smith has upside, we know this because he was pretty effective in certain roles last year. I really have felt all year that he just needs some time in the AHL to get his head straight and his game back. As for Walsh, I've never seen him be remotely effective defensively. I think he can produce points in the NHL given his abilities, but this will come at the cost of probably costing more high-danger chances against. I'd like to see Walsh shopped in the off-season -- as a RD with offensive ability, certain teams may value him more than I do.

 

[Rydev]

It's too early to say "no chance". Bardakov has a better shot, because he was drafted as a bottom 6 type of player. He's a big physical grinder with a bit of offensive pop.

Salminen is more of a scoring type, so he would have to seriously improve his skating and 200-foot game to play up in the middle in a top 6, or even middle 6, role. He's also much more of a finisher than a playmaker. All of these aspects would seem to limit his capability of playing up the middle, and lend to the belief his NHL future would lie on the wing.

Salminen has been a bit of a concern to me in that his statistical progress has stalled a bit in Finnish juniors along with his lack of discernible improvement in his skating. I've seen this a lot with OHL players -- who did not even have a season due to the pandemic last year -- but not so much in the Euro leagues where the kids actually played. So, going from 26 points in 17 games as a 17/18 year old in a U20 league to 30 points in 26 games in the same U20 league as an 18 year old (so far, he's an April 03) is not the numerical arc we'd like to see.

As such, I wanted to put Salminen -- a 3rd round pick just a few months ago -- in my top 15, but I could not justify it. However, I'd like to say with some optimism that this is a character kid and the second youngest Devils prospect -- only Luke Hughes is younger -- so he clearly has a lot of room to grow in his game.

Are you an amateur scout?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Are you an amateur scout?

Long-time internet draft writer, now retired and working for free for you guys on the HFBoards Devils draft threads. I do it for the glory haha.

 

[Rydev]

Long-time internet draft writer, now retired and working for free for you guys on the HFBoards Devils draft threads. I do it for the glory haha.

Well thats cool, and its awesome that you decided to continue your passion online with fellow fans. You are a Devils fan, right? Lol

Random question but were you following prospects this closely when Stephane Richer came into the draft? Id be curious to know what his profile was like then; he is my mother's favorite player

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Hoping Boqvist can turn the corner and we see more of his skills on display....Misyul and Okhotyuk are very good prospects I think Bahl should be below both of them imo.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Well thats cool, and its awesome that you decided to continue your passion online with fellow fans. You are a Devils fan, right? Lol

Random question but were you following prospects this closely when Stephane Richer came into the draft? Id be curious to know what his profile was like then; he is my mother's favorite player

If I was writing up prospects when Richer came into the draft, I'd have to be 90 years old, right?

Just kidding, I remember Richer. Was a big fan. If I recall correctly, we traded Kirk Muller for him. Richer had a sick shot. But I was a kid when he was on the Devils.

I started writing up prospects in the early 2000s, around the same time the internet allowed for me to watch them play online. I think my first published draft ranking was on a now defunct fantasy site in 2004, I remember the year because of my abnormally high ranking for Travis Zajac. I had Zajac in my top 10, and I recall doing a little dance when the Devils got him at #20 because, yes, I am an enormous Devils fan.

I'm not a typical fan in that I closely follow all 32 organizations and prospects to the best of my abilities. But the Devils are closest to my heart.