Midseason grades?

[billingtons ghost]

Well, we passed the Half-way point.... this should be fun.

25th in points
27th GF
22nd GA <fixed>
29th PP
13th PK
27th SF/Game
24th SA/Game
11th in Facoffs

Hynes: D+ Early season line-juggling, inability to find any kind of momentum
Coaching staff: D That 29th ranked PP sucks. Haven't seen them add anything of note.
Shero: C The Boucher waiver fiasco was a clown show. Nothing else of note. Grade would be much higher if it included off-season.


Player
Beau Bennett C-
Michael Cammalleri C+ His poor sick kid made things tough - he went on a mini-tear afterwards. Still not enough to what has been pretty lackluster for him.
Blake Coleman INC
Vernon Fiddler C- He hasn't really been GREAT in his role - looks a step slow/old
Luke Gazdic C For what he is, he's fine. No expectations. Shero/Hynes get a - for bringing him up.
Taylor Hall B- Injuries, occasional disappearances.
Adam Henrique B- After last year, disappointing - but still one of our best players.
Jacob Josefson C- meh.
Sergey Kalinin C- meh meh.
Nick Lappin B Pleasant surprise has faded a bit. Part of the future.
Kyle Palmieri C After last year, disappointing - but beating career #s, so it's an expectation thing
PA Parenteau C+ Gets an A for the goal scoring (which no one else can do) and a D for the brainfarts.
Devante Smith-Pelly D+ What happened? Can we tell him he's been traded again?
Miles Wood A+ Can't say enough good things. Raw raw raw, but that speed tho.
Pavel Zacha B+ Showing glimpses of good talent - just a 19 year old so he gets a pass on inconsistencies and tentativeness in his game.
Travis Zajac B+ Had a fantastic start. Tailed off a bit.


Player
Yohann Auvitu B Shows promise, but clearly hasn't gotten it together yet (according to coaching staff)
Andy Greene B Hasn't been a great Andy Greene year, but still our best on the blueline
Seth Helgeson C- Just plain limited in his abilities and smarts.
Ben Lovejoy C+ Has been good at times, tho overplayed, and better lately.
Jon Merrill B Rocky start, but has looked steady recently
John Moore C- Great skating and puckcarrying offset by awfulness in our zone
Kyle Quincey C+ Playing his offside gives him a bump for degree of difficulty
Steven Santini A Looks good so far.
Damon Severson C Like Moore, his great offensive ability is somewhat dimmed by that -27 albatross. Some really bad pinches and keeps have cost us.
Karl Stollery INC

Keith Kinkaid A- Can't ask much more of this guy
Cory Schneider B- Still awesome most of the time - but what a crappy run he had there.


Player GP G A P +/- PIM PPG PPP SHG SHP GWG OTG S S% FO%
Taylor Hall 32 9 16 25 -7 10 4 7 0 0 2 1 105 8.6 50
Travis Zajac 41 8 17 25 -8 20 3 6 0 1 1 0 77 10.4 53.25
Adam Henrique 42 10 13 23 -7 24 2 4 1 1 1 1 73 13.7 50
Kyle Palmieri 40 8 14 22 1 14 3 9 0 0 1 0 75 10.7 42.11
Michael Cammalleri 36 10 11 21 -5 17 1 5 0 0 3 1 83 12 54.55
Damon Severson 42 3 17 20 -25 37 0 9 0 0 1 0 61 4.9 0
PA Parenteau 40 12 6 18 -9 31 4 4 0 0 2 0 78 15.4 25
John Moore 37 5 8 13 -6 33 0 2 0 0 0 0 51 9.8 0
Andy Greene 39 3 6 9 -11 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 51 5.9 0
Kyle Quincey 40 2 7 9 4 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 4.4 0
Beau Bennett 35 2 6 8 -6 14 1 2 0 0 0 0 60 3.3 33.33
Miles Wood 23 5 2 7 -3 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 13.5 100
Nick Lappin 34 4 3 7 -9 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 8.7 33.33
Devante Smith-Pelly 36 2 5 7 -9 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 56 3.6 45.28
Pavel Zacha 35 2 5 7 -12 17 1 3 0 0 0 0 33 6.1 43.61
Sergey Kalinin 34 2 2 4 -11 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 6.1 38.89
Yohann Auvitu 25 2 2 4 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 54 3.7 0
Ben Lovejoy 42 1 3 4 -9 16 0 0 0 0 1 0 45 2.2 0
Vernon Fiddler 35 1 2 3 -7 25 0 0 1 1 0 0 33 3 54.88
Jon Merrill 19 1 2 3 -1 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 5.9 0
Jacob Josefson 16 0 2 2 -2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 16 0 55.43
Steven Santini 5 0 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
Luke Gazdic 8 0 0 0 -2 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Seth Helgeson 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

GP GS W L T OT SA GA GAA S Sv%SO
Cory Schneider 32 32 12 14 0 6 946 86 2.73 860 .909 2 Keith Kinkaid 11 10 4 4 0 2 362 30 2.74 332 .917 0

Click to read more...

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

We're dead last in the East in terms of pts per game played... this should be fun. It's basically a melting-pot of every thread going on our board.

 

[Cheddabombs]

F

everyone

 

[Devils Dominion]

7th in GA??

 

[Blender]

7th in GA??

I think he read 7th last. We're 22nd in GA/GP right now.

 

[Bleedred]

Beau Bennett C- (needs to finish more scoring chances)
Michael Cammalleri B- (too streaky and too many droughts or it would be higher)
Vernon Fiddler C- (just whatever)
Luke Gazdic F (too slow and adds nothing)
Taylor Hall B+ (pretty good up until recently)
Adam Henrique B- (can't really expect much more from him and is one of the few guys that provides offense of any kind)
Jacob Josefson C- (not his fault the staff haven't gotten the memo that he sucks at offense but he gets a C- for being one of the only good defensive players on the team and the shootout)
Sergey Kalinin D- (really isn't good at anything other than PK and is a replacement level player at best but gets a D- instead of an F because it's not his fault that the staff loves him)
Nick Lappin C (strong start but tailed off a bit, maybe he overachieved early on?)
Kyle Palmieri B- (hasn't been very good but is one of the few guys that actually provides offense of any kind)
PA Parenteau B+ (just because nobody else would have scored all those goals for this popgun offense)
Devante Smith-Pelly D+ (can't think of any thing good that he does, gets a D+ for a few points early on)
Miles Wood B- (still needs a lot of work and on for a lot of shots again, one of 6 guys with at least handful of goals though LOL)
Pavel Zacha D+ (won't lie, he's been disappointing so far)
Travis Zajac B+ (only a B+ and not an A because of current lengthy goal drought)



Yohann Auvitu C (was able to drive play early on)
Andy Greene B (still the best defenseman on the team)
Seth Helgeson F---------- (terrible at the NHL level and not even worth a call up for the practice squad)
Ben Lovejoy D+ (been disappointing, probably playing above his capabilities though)
Jon Merrill B- (wouldn't have given him anything better than a C at best the last few years, so it's an improvement)
John Moore D- (he's terrible, no other way to put it)
Kyle Quincey C (hasn't been that bad, nor that good)
Steven Santini A (only A I'm giving on the team, very limited sample size though)
Damon Severson B- (couldn't decide on whether to give a C+ or B-)


Keith Kinkaid A- (I guess I'll give him an A too, only because I expected much less from him and he's been one of the pleasant surprises of the season)
Cory Schneider C- (great first month and been good the past couple weeks again, pretty poor month and a half in between)

Hynes and staff get a D- at the very best, think I'm being quite generous with this grade too.

 

[The Great Dame]

Bennett - D
Kalinin - C
Josefson - C-
DSP - C
Cammalleri - B-
Henrique - B-
Palmieri - C+
Hall - A-
Lappin - C
Wood - A-
Fiddler - C-
PAP - B-
Zacha - C
Zajac - B

Lovejoy - C
Greene - B-
Severson - C+
Merrill - B
Quincey - C
Moore - C

Kinkaid - A
Schneider - B-

 

[Emperoreddy]

How the hell so you guys give Severson Cs? 22 year old being asked to play top pairing minutes and he is doing a good job.

Never mind he is on pace for like a 40 point season.

 

[JK3]

From AG.

Last season, the Devils finished with an NHL-low 182 goals, including a league-low 109 skating five on five. Entering Sunday’s play, the Devils are 25th out of 30 teams with 92 goals and 26th with 59 goals skating five on five.

The Devils have an Eastern Conference-worst goal differential of minus 26 and have surrendered four or more goals 17 times.

 

[Bleedred]

How the hell so you guys give Severson Cs? 22 year old being asked to play top pairing minutes and he is doing a good job.

Never mind he is on pace for like a 40 point season.

I struggled more with him than anyone to decide whether to give him a C+ or B-.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I think he read 7th last. We're 22nd in GA/GP right now.

Yeah should be corrected.

 

[Billdo]

Greene- C-
Severson- C
Lovejoy- C-
Quincey- D+
Auvitu- C
Merrill- B- (recently, C otherwise)
Santini- B
Helgeson- D, just go away now please
Moore- D+, the plus is for his offense only. If that's not there he's an easy F.

Schneider- C
Kinkaid- C+

Hall- B+
Zacha- C-
PAP- B-
Cammalleri- C-
Zajac- B+
Palmieri- D
Henrique- D
DSP- F
Kalinin- D+
JJ- C-
Lappin- C-
Bennett- C+ (needs more PT)
Wood- B+
Gazdic- D
Fiddler- C-


Hynes- F
PP/PK- F

 

[Emperoreddy]

I struggled more with him than anyone to decide whether to give him a C+ or B-.

He has been handed an insane amount of responsibility and is rising to the task. +/- is a bogus stat. He had a -2 last night because of ENGs.

Kid deserves a solid B easily.

 

[Bleedred]

He has been handed an insane amount of responsibility and is rising to the task. +/- is a bogus stat. He had a -2 last night because of ENGs.

Kid deserves a solid B easily.

I definitely didn't factor in the +/-, as Schlemko had a terrible one last year and was one of our best defensemen.

I could give Severson a B- but that's the only grade I'll slide on.

If I think about it much longer, I might give Hynes and company an F.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I definitely didn't factor in the +/-, as Schlemko had a terrible one last year and was one of our best defensemen.

I could give Severson a B- but that's the only grade I'll slide on.

If I think about it much longer, I might give Hynes and company an F.

Hynes and crew get a F. I can't think of one button they have hit correctly.

 

[The Great Dame]

How the hell so you guys give Severson Cs? 22 year old being asked to play top pairing minutes and he is doing a good job.

Never mind he is on pace for like a 40 point season.

Because he's a turnover machine and his d zone awareness is suspect at times. That's just my 2 cents. Dissenting opinions are welcome.

 

[billingtons ghost]

How the hell so you guys give Severson Cs? 22 year old being asked to play top pairing minutes and he is doing a good job.

Never mind he is on pace for like a 40 point season.

He's -25 despite being on pace for a 40 point season.

Adam Larsson (23) was +15 paired with Andy Greene last year.

No matter how much I like Adam Larsson, I actually think Severson should be as good, or better - because he will get his points. You think Larsson >> Severson?

Yeah, top pairing minutes but 25 is a pretty big goal differential when this team may only score 150 this year TOTAL.

I gave him a C and I think that might be generous... considering Merrill was playing mid-pairing minutes with much inferior defensemen, and wasn't as much of a turnover machine. His reads and his pinches and his giveaways this year have certainly contributed to our position.

 

[billingtons ghost]

He has been handed an insane amount of responsibility and is rising to the task. +/- is a bogus stat. He had a -2 last night because of ENGs.

Kid deserves a solid B easily.

Those might have been the only two EN goals of the -25. Don't worry - he's been on for quite a few good ones too.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Bennett, Beau C+
Not a net negative, which is good, but he needs to produce at some point.

Cammalleri, Michael C-
Saved by early season heroics, has been supremely disappointing the past 8 weeks.

Fiddler, Vernon B-
Does what he's supposed to do, but isn't notably great at it. Limited player, but we knew that coming in.

Gazdic, Luke F
Tough guy that isn't tough, fighter that doesn't fight, waste of a roster spot.

Hall, Taylor B+
Clearly dealing with some lower body issues. When he's on he's a dynamic gamebreaker. Still putting up points, but there's more here.

Henrique, Adam C
Somehow he's getting points, but looks like uninspired ass.

Josefson, Jacob C-
Joe is what he is at this point, I won't bother telling you what you already know.

Kalinin, Sergey D+
Barely NHL caliber. Send to Moscow and DNR.

Lappin, Nick C+
Came in awesome, cooled off quite a bit. Wouldn't mind him seeing more time in Albany.

Palmieri, Kyle C-
Every time I think he's going to break through he goes back to old habits. Playing with a tight stick and trying to force things.

Parenteau, PA B+
Surprising in a positive way. Is getting points and will hopefully return a nice asset in a few months.

Smith-Pelley, Devante D+
Barely NHL caliber. Should be hitting and doing the little things, this guys sucks.

Wood, Miles A-
Golden Turd of the year so far. Still needs some polishing, either here or in Albany, but we have the makings of a great player.

Zacha, Pavel C+
Needs confidence, but there's a great player in there. Doesn't surprise me that a 19 year old is struggling, but he can definitely play at this level.

Zajac, Travis B+
Current goal drought aside, has been one of our best offensive players.


Auvitu, Yohann C+
Obvious natural ability, but his play has fallen off. Would like to see him grow and develop.

Greene, Andy B-
Not the same player he used to be, but when he's not in the lineup you can tell.

Lovejoy, Ben D+
Not good, like at all. Dumb player. Makes basic fundamental mistakes.

Merrill, Jon B
His play lately has been a bright spot, I really hope his career has turned a corner because we really need him.

Moore, John C-
If not for the early season offense he'd be D range, this guy sucks balls.

Quincey, Kyle D+
Fringe NHL player.

Santini, Steve A-
Very encouraging to see a young player excel so quickly. Bright things ahead.

Severson, Damon B
He has a very tough job, has largely done well. Mistakes come with the territory, I try not to dwell on them when you have such huge responsibility.


Kinkaid, Keith A-
Hasn't really let us down.

Schneider, Cory C
People forget his early season heroics. Has room for improvement, no doubt. His team has let him down more often than vice versa.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

Coaches F
Skaters not named Wood, Santini D
Goalies not named Kinkaid C-
Kinkaid B
Santini B+
Wood A-

 

[Emperoreddy]

Those might have been the only two EN goals of the -25. Don't worry - he's been on for quite a few good ones too.

Yeah because he controls what situations he is out on the ice for.

+/- is bunk.

 

[Alex NJD]

Bennett C
Cammy - C-
Fiddler- C+
Gazdic - Shouldn't be on this list to begin with but a solid F
Hall- B+
Henrique - B-
Josefson - C-
Kalinin - D
Lappin - C+
Palmieri- C-
Parenteau - B
DSP- D
Wood- A-
Zacha- B-
Zajac- A-

Auvitu- C+
Greene- B
Lovejoy- C
Merill- B
Moore- D+
Quincey- C
Santini- A
Severson- B

Schnieder- C
Kinkaid- B+

 

[Devils Dominion]

Hall: B-, was an A+ before the injury by adding a speed with playmaking dimension we haven't had in a while. But, he grades a C+ at best since return from injury, too much gliding getting back on defense and he hasn't made too many smart decisions of late.

Severson: C-
He has the tools to be much better.
I think he has to get a stronger physical foundation and I'd like to see him skate with more jump.
Brainfreeze turnovers also have to be eliminated from his game.

Trav: B He also started off hot offensively and now is in an extended drought. But he's solid in many areas of the game aside from actual goal scoring.
Team misses him when he's out.

Rico: C He's been better than early on but I still see too much loafing out of him in too many games. Needs to improve on faceoffs and score more often since he has a good shot. And of course stop being so lazy too many nights.

Palms: C If he wasn't blocking so many shots I'd lean towards C- since he's been subpar offensively and brutally bad on the PP.

Camm: C- I was leaning towards giving him a D+ but then I'd have to hear too much griping about it so I went with C-. He has been charmin soft this season and overall disengaged too often. He had one good streak of games with goals but has cooled off once again and looks cooked. Of course he's a solid guy in the locker room but if I'm Shero I ask Camm to waive his NTC and deal him at the deadline.

PAP: B We shouldn't expect too much from a waiver claim and here we are in January and he's leading the team in goals. He also may be able to get us a draft pick and should be moved at the deadline.

Moore: C- Provides top-end skating from the blueline and the knack for scoring goals but we all know he's an absolute mess in the d-zone.

Greene: B- He's starting to show signs of age this season and has surprisingly struggled in the d-zone with failed clears a lot this year. But he's still our best back there and we're much worse without him at the moment.

Quincey: C- I wouldn't be fair if I didn't point out that he's been asked to play on the right side for most of the season which is not easy. He's a pro, willing to block shots and he has a decent shot himself. But he gets coned a lot and is close to being a grenade handler in our own end. I don't like the short stick that he uses either.

BB: C To the eye test he looks good for the most part. He's a skilled guy who sees the ice well. The problem is he only has 2 goals and 8 points in 35 frickin games. Yeah he's been snake bitten with around 5 posts and is mis-used by Hynes but if he's gonna stick around this league he has to score goals, period.

Wood: A- He's been a fresh breath of air around here with his speed and his passion for the game. Sure he has a lot of work on and could prob use some more development time in Albany, but, he's one of the few players we have that gives me an ounce of excitement/enjoyment of late.

Lappin: C His game has really tailed off and he should be sent back to Albany to finish out the season. He has shown me enough that he can be a productive 3rd/4th line forward in this league at some point.

Zacha: D Much heralded 6th overall Conte going away gift has been invisible for most of the season. Sure he's still a pup and still has time to develop into a good player with his size and shot, but so far he hasn't produced nor added any element to the team this season that is worthwhile.

DSP: D- I knew he would not score with the frequency he did last season but he just looks like a completely different player this season. He's looked slow as molasses and fumbles the puck with regularity. Can't see him back next season.

Auvitu: B+ I really like the Frenchman's game, especially his skating and puck moving abilities. He even showed a good tippable shot that got through to the net earlier in the season when he was given a chance.
Needs some work along the boards of course and I hope he heals up fast and shows us more promise the rest of the way.

Kalinin: D- He's been quite awful this season. Prob the slowest overall skater on the team and he's not getting in front of the net like he did last season.
Been prone to bad giveaways of late too.

LJ: D I never liked the signing and I dislike it even more at this point. The only thing he really adds is decent penalty killing overall. Other than that, he's just not good and should be a 3rd pairing or even 7th defenseman ideally.

Merrill: C+ He's come on a bit of late and played with some confidence that he's lack for much of his career. He and LJ should be our 3rd pairing next season.

Fiddler: D: Would give him an F if he wasn't such a good teammate to Zacha and also that he actually can win a key faceoff. He was brought in to win faceoffs, play well on the pk and chip in around 10 goals. His 1 goal is not cutting it, he's been a disappointment.

Santini: A Small sample size but how can anyone not like him so far. He's been solid, tough and smart. I'm excited to see him get better and I think he will.

JJ: C- Could even knock that down to a D+, but he is capable in the SO and you can't question his effort. He's been "sick" a lot of late, is he actually suffering from a head injury? who knows, but I don't think he will be in NJ next season and it's too bad because he's a likable dude.

Gazdic and Helgeson: F Not NHL players and simply don't belong here.
Helgeson can still have a good AHL career.

Cory: C+ He's been outstanding some nights, left out to dry on other nights and simply horrendous on occasion too. He faces a tall task every game knowing that we have a popgun offense and our defense corps is also littered with bush leaguers. Cory can be one of the best if you put a good defense in front of him and give him even average goal support.

Kink: B+ As hard as it's on Cory it's even tougher on Kink. It's very difficult to be a backup who plays so little, he has no chance to get into any rhythm.
He's stood on his head and stole a few games but he's also had a few clunkers as well.

Hynes/Ward/Nass: F The lineup decisions have been questionable, we're getting heavily outplayed in all zones, the PP is a trainwreck, the team looks lazy and soft with no hope in sight.
Pink slip em.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Yeah because he controls what situations he is out on the ice for.

+/- is bunk.

because, somehow - advanced stats make more sense than:

I was on the ice for a goal against.

I was on the ice for a goal for.

Somewhere, Scott Stevens and his +377 wants to punch your face.

 

[tr83]

Bennett, Beau D

Nice possession numbers but can't do much else.

Cammalleri, Michael D

Part of the problem. I don't see his head being in the game most nights. Doing a good Michael Ryder impression

Fiddler, Vernon B

Doing his job fine. His linemates are brutal so of course his offensive upside has been limited

Gazdic, Luke D-

You can't be the tough guy if you're not tough. But doesn't look out of place when he gets his 12 second shift

Hall, Taylor C+

Great initially. But doesn't look well now. It's been going on too long to stay in the B range

Henrique, Adam D

Meh. Floats too much. Being asked to do more than he's capable. No passion in his game. Don't know how he ends up on the scoresheet but it's not reflecting his game. If he wasn't on the scoresheet as much, this would be an F

Josefson, Jacob C+

He's OK for what he does and has been a little better 5 on 5 this year. Remember, the grade is based upon his average.

Kalinin, Sergey F

New space junk

Lappin, Nick C+

Will be a nice player in the bottom 6 in a year or two. Needs more seasoning and better linemates

Palmieri, Kyle F

Where is the guy from last year? This guy can't hit the broadside of a barn with his slapshot. Has zero confidence

Parenteau, PA B

Good FA signing. Already has proved more than he's worth. I wish he was better in the defensive zone.

Smith-Pelly, Devante F

He does NOTHING well.

Wood, Miles A

The only guy on the team that looks like he gives a damn on every shift. Grows with every game. Needs a letter on his chest.

Zacha, Pavel C-

Dude, just relax and do what comes naturally.

Zajac, Travis A

I don't think you could have asked much more from him. He's the only guy other than Wood that seems to give a damn. Looked like Jonathan Toews for a few weeks


Auvitu, Yohann C+

Not bad. Needs work in the D zone.

Greene, Andy C

I expect the captain to be better. He's better in the O-zone, but just isn't the same in the D zone.

Lovejoy, Ben D

Looks like the guy I expected: An easily scratchable player.

Merrill, Jon B

I hope he continues his solid play. Speeds up the rebuild by a half year if he develops into what he's supposed to be

Moore, John F

I don't care how many goals this guy has, he's kryptonite to his defensive partner.

Quincey, Kyle F

The best goalie screener on the team, except his screens his own goalie. Slow as molasses and an circus in his own zone. Lidstrom couldn't save this guy

Santini, Steve A

Stabilized the defense. He looks to be the best defender on the team.

Severson, Damon B

Cooled off after starting on fire. He's playing over his head and hanging in there.

Kinkaid, Keith A-

This is not the Kinkaid from last year. Solid and fun to watch.

Schneider, Cory C

I want to give him two grades A and F for his streakiness this year. But I'll merge it into one.


Coaching F

Hynes shouldn't be coaching in the NHL. His assistants bring nothing and make nobody any better. Players don't learn from their mistakes. He doesn't learn from his mistakes.