Prospect Info: Pavel Zacha

[GameSeven]

Most notable times the Devils picked against who I wanted:
Tedenby over Carlson
Larsson over Couturier
Zacha over Barzal

*But* I also wanted Patrick over Nico, so what do I know.

If any of the picks above were changed, the complexion of this team doesn't look the same. Maybe with Carlson, there's no Larsson, without Larsson no Hall...

And now that all of the above is in the past, I'm pulling for Zacha to continue to trend upward. I think he has it in him to deliver on his potential and, if he hits it, he could be a huge part of our middle 6.

 

[Unknown Caller]

And literally every other ranking had Provorov over Zacha...
2015 NHL Draft Prospect Rankings

What's nonsense is cherry-picking the 1 ranking that has Zacha over Provorov.

I would not call Bob Mackenzie's rankings "cherry-picking." It's far and away the most reliable and widespread rankings prior to the draft.

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

Most notable times the Devils picked against who I wanted:
Tedenby over Carlson
Larsson over Couturier
Zacha over Barzal

*But* I also wanted Patrick over Nico, so what do I know.

If any of the picks above were changed, the complexion of this team doesn't look the same. Maybe with Carlson, there's no Larsson, without Larsson no Hall...

And now that all of the above is in the past, I'm pulling for Zacha to continue to trend upward. I think he has it in him to deliver on his potential and, if he hits it, he could be a huge part of our middle 6.

I was really excited for either Couturier or Hamilton in 2011 until we won the lotto. Seemed like we caught a break with Larsson falling into our laps, until he didn’t exactly pan out as expected and Hamilton turned into a top pairing D (meanwhile Couturier seemed like a solid shutdown center with a limited ceiling, until this year). Then Lars turns it around a bit, and somehow nets us Hall because Chiarelli is an idiot.

I guess the moral of the story is ya really never know. Encouraged by Zacha’s progress, hope he puts it all together one day (or lands us a stud player in a trade with some idiot GM)

 

[NJDevs26]

No way. I mean, have you never watched a hot prospect cool off considerably? Or a young guy get off to a slow start to his career yet develop into a very good player? I bet in October 2014 you thought RNH was going to have a better career then Kucherov. I bet you thought you knew it.

Yakupov was a sure bet to be a star after his first year too. Max Domi had a very good age 20 season and has gone wildly south since. So yes you can't just automatically by rote go by current trends to extrapolate a whole career out.

 

[glenwo2]

I was really excited for either Couturier or Hamilton in 2011 until we won the lotto. Seemed like we caught a break with Larsson falling into our laps, until he didn’t exactly pan out as expected and Hamilton turned into a top pairing D (meanwhile Couturier seemed like a solid shutdown center with a limited ceiling, until this year). Then Lars turns it around a bit, and somehow nets us Hall because Chiarelli is an idiot.

I guess the moral of the story is ya really never know. Encouraged by Zacha’s progress, hope he puts it all together one day (or lands us a stud player in a trade with some idiot GM)

Make no mistake and Bleed would agree with me that we got Hall moreso because Chiarelli IS an idiot. That said, though, Lars had to be good enough for some GM out there to think "Hmmm..he can be even better for us than he is for the Devils". If he wasn't, he'd still be here and Hall would still be rotting in Edmonton.

 

[Cheddabombs]

No way. I mean, have you never watched a hot prospect cool off considerably? Or a young guy get off to a slow start to his career yet develop into a very good player? I bet in October 2014 you thought RNH was going to have a better career then Kucherov. I bet you thought you knew it.

Now, now. It's an easy decision apparently. Can't you see these players will remain on the same trajectory? For shame...

 

[My3Sons]

PZ looks like a different player compared to his early season self. The points will still be hit and miss this season but his level of play is much better. He’s not having to think and process every single step now. Still lots of room for improvement but it’s easy to see the difference.

 

[OmNomNom]

noticed he threw his weight around today and really helped keep possession in their zone, which is a huge step forward for him. really happy with what he's showing.

 

[Ol Dirty Bstrd]

He was phenomenal on breakouts tonight. Great poise with the puck, bought time on several occasions and consistently found the open man

 

[Bleedred]

Most notable times the Devils picked against who I wanted:
Tedenby over Carlson
Larsson over Couturier
Zacha over Barzal

*But* I also wanted Patrick over Nico, so what do I know.

If any of the picks above were changed, the complexion of this team doesn't look the same. Maybe with Carlson, there's no Larsson, without Larsson no Hall...

And now that all of the above is in the past, I'm pulling for Zacha to continue to trend upward. I think he has it in him to deliver on his potential and, if he hits it, he could be a huge part of our middle 6.

The funniest for me was wanting several players picked behind JJ, and we've since added 3 players that were picked just several spots behind him in that same spot, all better players than him (even John Moore). And Vatanen picked a few rounds later and after both Gelinas and Urbom. It's like Shero came in and fixed the 2009 draft for us.

Johansson, Palmieri and Moore were all picked merely spots after Josefson. That was funny to me.

Add to this that if we picked Barzal over Zacha, he probably would have played for us last year and we don't get Nico. Can you imagine if the Flyers picked Nico? Barzal might have gotten us 2-3 more points last year and threw us out of that spot.

 

[Oneiro]

Would've been cool if he scored on that sneaky backhander cutting back around the net.

He's got such a quick stick. It seems like he's just a quick adjustment away from going on a major scoring tear.

 

[Whaddagoal]

He was phenomenal on breakouts tonight. Great poise with the puck, bought time on several occasions and consistently found the open man

The biggest change I see in his game now is the surefire confidence to use his skills and physical attributes. When he goes for the puck, he GOES FOR IT, and hits guys harder now. When he has the puck, he's got that feel that he OWNS the puck. He also seems to be intelligently anticipating getting into the right hotspots to where the puck will be or where he should be to defend better (if playing off the puck). We didn't see that earlier in the year, and last year we only saw glimpses of the cerebral offense stuff last year.

I feel like the last month I'm watching a seasoned NHLer that knows he's got some talent. Of course, it still could be a short burst of confidence this past month or so, but if he keeps it up, he'll be making a sizable impact on the team to come and making his linemates better.

I wasn't too high on his play last year, I called him out last season for being very tentative with getting into the dirty areas, but i don't see that now. To top it off, he's anticipating receiving the puck in smart areas more frequently or making more gutsy plays.

I think the points will start trickling in now, just a matter of time.

 

[Whaddagoal]

Would've been cool if he scored on that sneaky backhander cutting back around the net.

He's got such a quick stick. It seems like he's just a quick adjustment away from going on a major scoring tear.

It's seems like he's made a lot of those plays over the last 5 or 6 or so games. A lot of "so close" that you almost feel like something's gotta give. He had that nice goal a few games ago, but there were other great chances for sure, as you mentioned.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

he made a play in the defensive zone in the third period that I thought was very slick. It looked like he was going to get pinned along the board and he quickly reversed course and made a quick pass to one of our DMen who got it out of the zone

 

[135ace]

he made a play in the defensive zone in the third period that I thought was very slick. It looked like he was going to get pinned along the board and he quickly reversed course and made a quick pass to one of our DMen who got it out of the zone

He's been a lot better defensively recently. He's also started to use his body and throw checks which is fantastic as he can muscle opposing players around.

 

[My3Sons]

he made a play in the defensive zone in the third period that I thought was very slick. It looked like he was going to get pinned along the board and he quickly reversed course and made a quick pass to one of our DMen who got it out of the zone

I remember that play and agree. It was a subtle play that he doesn't make earlier this year. Again, the mental development is starting to show on the ice. If that continues and the confidence stays high next season should be a nice one for him. Of course, he will need to play with the correct line mates. I still think playing him with Wood makes some sense. PZ seems to play with a bit more oomph next to MW.

 

[Holtz My Bahls]

Power forwards don't develop overnight. I'm pretty thrilled with the progress he is making.

 

[OmNomNom]

Would've been cool if he scored on that sneaky backhander cutting back around the net.

He's got such a quick stick. It seems like he's just a quick adjustment away from going on a major scoring tear.

maybe he just needs to change his stick, like coleman did. it seemed to help blake, so maybe it'll help pav

 

[MartyOwns]

Can you imagine if the Flyers picked Nico?

i'd really rather not lol. i dont even want to think about the devils selecting nolan at #1, which i was strongly advocating for. what a nightmare that would've been.

nico is probably the most likable devil since patty, and not just because of his personality. he ticks off all the right boxes on a prospect. the road hasn't been so smooth for zacha, but if he keeps doing what he's been doing we could potentially have a ridiculously good 4 lines down the center next year. nico, zacha, mcleod, zajac. man oh man

 

[Rhodes 81]

The biggest difference is that he's playing faster, which is all about confidence. A versatile 2nd line center is actually a pretty good rate for a 6th pick. Sure a better player could have been acquired with that pick, but I'm happy with Zacha if he establishes himself as a 2C

 

[Kurt Cobain]

Most notable times the Devils picked against who I wanted:
Tedenby over Carlson
Larsson over Couturier
Zacha over Barzal

*But* I also wanted Patrick over Nico, so what do I know.

If any of the picks above were changed, the complexion of this team doesn't look the same. Maybe with Carlson, there's no Larsson, without Larsson no Hall...

And now that all of the above is in the past, I'm pulling for Zacha to continue to trend upward. I think he has it in him to deliver on his potential and, if he hits it, he could be a huge part of our middle 6.

So basically you should be the gm?

 

[GameSeven]

So basically you should be the gm?

Never said that. Just saying that we all have preferences for picks that didn't go our way, but revisionist history is almost never productive. I'm happy with the fact that the boys are back in contention for the postseason, with some promising prospects in the pipeline.

 

[135ace]

Zacha was an absolute beast tonight. Kid is going to be an amazing player if he keeps building on his recent success.

 

[Emperoreddy]

He is getting better.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

1 more goal to go on the goal bet from earlier in this thread!!