Prospect Info: Steve Santini

[JimEIV]

I thought Helgeson was gonna be an NHL player as well, even if it was just a good third pairing guy who could move up a pairing for a short period of time in case of injury. That size, physical play and the fact he moves pretty well for a guy that size impressed me and I thought he'd be the next Colin White. He just doesn't have the puck skills and hockey sense to be anything more than a 7th and even that's pushing it. Maybe his type of player is just going the way of the dodo bird in the NHL.

As for Santini, I really love this kid's game. We also have to remember he was the biggest draft day called for a guy projected to be a 1st round pick. I was at that draft and he was ranked around 20th among all players and fell to 42nd, I believe it was where we grabbed him. People were afraid his offense wouldn't develop at all and he didn't have much up side, but was always looked at as sure of future NHL defensman as you can get even if he only topped out as a 3rd pairing guy. If everything breaks perfectly he could be a Ryan McDonagh type defensman. That's if things work out perfect and even if they do I think he has a little more of a physical game and will be more of a 30 point guy than a 35-40 point player. You have to remember McDonagh never put up more than 19 points in college at Wisconsin. But I really do think he could be a guy who could eat up minutes at even strength, be a fantastic penalty killer and even fill in on the PP because he does have enough puck moving skills.

Santini's emergence along with Severson also makes the Larsson for Hall deal look even better. If we add a solid defensman through free agency our defense could be in fantastic shape, especially with Merrill finally looking like the player we all thought he would be as of late. Greene should have a few more solid years left in him and I think Lovejoy is a berth solid NHL defensman.

If Santini can put up points....Well I don't want to get ahead of myself but that would be an incredible player. Honestly though, I don't think he has the shot to be a big point producer...I could be wrong here but from what I've seen so far, his shot is pretty pedestrian.

Santini definitely changes the context of the Larsson trade. It REALLY makes you wonder if was part of the plan?

 

[MichaelJ]

If Santini can put up points....Well I don't want to get ahead of myself but that would be an incredible player. Honestly though, I don't think he has the shot to be a big point producer...I could be wrong here but from what I've seen so far, his shot is pretty pedestrian.

Santini definitely changes the context of the Larsson trade. It REALLY makes you wonder if was part of the plan?

5 goals and moving the play forward...all I want

 

[Kurt Cobain]

If Santini can put up points....Well I don't want to get ahead of myself but that would be an incredible player. Honestly though, I don't think he has the shot to be a big point producer...I could be wrong here but from what I've seen so far, his shot is pretty pedestrian.

Santini definitely changes the context of the Larsson trade. It REALLY makes you wonder if was part of the plan?

Yeah, I'm not saying that he will be a 35-40 point guy, but if everything goes perfect for him I think he'll suprise people with what he's capable offensively. That's what happened with McDonagh and the funny thing is McDonagh's best offensive year in college was still one less point than Santini with more games played. I do think there is more for offensive production and skill in his game than what he showed in college, similar to McDonagh and I don't think anyone expected 5 points in his first 11 games. Plus the fact he's done it in very limited minutes.

I don't want people to think I'm saying he's the next McDonagh, I'm not at all, but I do think we have a damn good young defensman on our hands. A minute munching defensman with an edge who can move the puck up the ice and produce 25-30 points a season once he reaches his prime. I also really think that Santini was the bigger reason for Shero being willing to pull the trigger on the Larsson trade rather than Severson. I'm sure not everyone agrees with that, but I think Santini will be the better all around defensman than Severson. Don't think I'm not high on Severson going forward just because I think that.

Also since we have Santini, Severson and Lovejoy who are all RHD it makes me wonder if we should go after a LHD in free agency rather than Shattenkirk, which goes against what I said in the other thread. Maybe a guy like Alzner would be a better option.I know a lot of people aren't all that big on him, but I think he's a solid NHL defensman who's very dependable and a guy who will be much cheaper than Shattenkirk, which will then leave us more money to sign a player like Oshie. I also think Severson will continue to get better offensively year after year. He's on pace for about a 40 point season, maybe just short, but I think he'll be 45-50 point guy for a long time when he reaches his prime. Something I think he could be doing as soon as next season. Idk we still got 34 games to go this season and they will tell us a lot about what direction we should be looking come free agent time. We got the money and we better spend it that's all I know at this time. I've really like Quincy but we can do better in free agency, we can outbid any team if we wanted to.

 

[Combat Koala]

It wouldn't surprise me too see Santini go for 30 points or more at some stage in his career if the learning curve goes upwards from here on out. He can move the puck well and is a pretty mobile guy all over the ice. Solid in all zones, can play with an edge. I've always liked his game and seen him as a defensively adjusted guy with the ability to move to puck out of the zone; it's something that doesn't always show up on the scoresheet but is an important part of the team being able to transition to offense.

It was odd to me that he didn't have any points in the AHL this season. Glad he brought some offense with him to New Jersey though. As of now I think he's just going on all cylinders and will cool down eventually. For what I care, I'd be happy with a 20 point defenseman with a solid all around game going forward. Have to try and temper my expectations a bit.

 

[Bleedred]

If Santini gets sent back to the AHL, I will set myself on fire.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

If Santini gets sent back to the AHL, I will set myself on fire.

I swear when Greene and Moore get healthy and are ready to come back. If they take out Santini instead of Stollery and play Moore over Merrill, because in my opinion Moore has lost his top 6 defensive spot to Merrill. Which I always knew was a matter of time because of his superior hockey sense and ability to not make then dumbest descison with the puck as often like Moore is. I won't set myself on fire, but I'll be really really mad so I'm with you man.

But seriously though does anyone know when Greene is coming back? Or if Moore is expected to come back at all? I'm praying he'll recover near the very end of the season so we can trade him for a pick, since I expect us to sign someone anyway. If he's doesn't come back at all this season he's probably untradable and I don't want that. I bet we could get a third at the draft from some desperate team.

 

[devilsblood]

I can see Santini getting squeezed when Moore and Greene come back.

No way does Merrill get squeezed. He has no where to go.

 

[devilsblood]

If Santini can put up points....Well I don't want to get ahead of myself but that would be an incredible player. Honestly though, I don't think he has the shot to be a big point producer...I could be wrong here but from what I've seen so far, his shot is pretty pedestrian.

Santini definitely changes the context of the Larsson trade. It REALLY makes you wonder if was part of the plan?

It certainly made the trade easier to make.

Was it part of the plan? Well if it was it makes Shero's insistence on Hall, as opposed to settling on RNH, Eberle or whomever, all the more impressive.

 

[Bleedred]

I can see Santini getting squeezed when Moore and Greene come back.

No way does Merrill get squeezed. He has no where to go.

**** no!

Santini should not be sent back, I'd rather waive Quincey, especially if he ain't gonna be worth anything at the deadline.

It's not that Quincey sucks, as much as it's more realistic that he'd be waived before Moore. We've already seen him as a healthy scratch a couple of times.

Unless Santini falls off, there's no justifiable reason to send him down. Either we suck and have nothing to play for, so we should be seeing more of him because we have nothing to lose. Or we have something to play for and he's easily one of the best 6 defensemen that we could ice every night.

Maybe he will be sent down, but it would be a brutal decision. There is no roster limit after the deadline though.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

I can see Santini getting squeezed when Moore and Greene come back.

No way does Merrill get squeezed. He has no where to go.

Merrill could be the 7th defensman but he's so much better than Moore too. I'd be so pissed if that happened to Santini. Santini is already a better player defensively and if he also continues to put up points than it would be a damn shame. Plus the fact Santini is way too important to the future of this organizations defense. He's an NHL defensman and would gain nothing from the AHL, gaining more NHL experience is more important for him in the long run. Just make Moore the 7th defenseman who only plays when someone's injured. I'm also not sure it will happen because with Santini in we have an even three RHD and three LHD. So like bleedred said only if Santini's game falls off, but I however don't expect that. He plays a very simple and mistake free game. I could see his point production slowing down but as for overall play he just too smart of a player and I just can't see him playing so bad Moore deserves to play over him.

 

[Kurt Cobain]

It certainly made the trade easier to make.

Was it part of the plan? Well if it was it makes Shero's insistence on Hall, as opposed to settling on RNH, Eberle or whomever, all the more impressive.

Even after just that one game Santini played to end last season you could see that he was gonna be something. That open ice hit he made in his first NHL shift really said a lot about the kid. I was at the 2013 draft and Santini was a 1st round talent who was ranked around 20th overall but he took the biggest fall out of guys ranked that high. People questioned his upside but he was as sure of sure thing gets for player ranked outside the top 10 in that deep draft, even if he only ended up as a Lovejoy type player at best which was what the concern was. He ended up falling to us at 42nd. Kinda reminded me of Merrill he was a 1st round talent that fell to the 2nd, but it was in a weaker draft and I think it was cause he failed a drug test. We might end up with two defensman who could both be very effective players for us for a long time and it only happened cause they fell in their draft years.

 

[njdevils1982]

Even after just that one game Santini played to end last season you could see that he was gonna be something. That open ice hit he made in his first NHL shift really said a lot about the kid. I was at the 2013 draft and Santini was a 1st round talent who was ranked around 20th overall but he took the biggest fall out of guys ranked that high. People questioned his upside but he was as sure of sure thing gets for player ranked outside the top 10 in that deep draft, even if he only ended up as a Lovejoy type player at best which was what the concern was. He ended up falling to us at 42nd. Kinda reminded me of Merrill he was a 1st round talent that fell to the 2nd, but it was in a weaker draft and I think it was cause he failed a drug test. We might end up with two defensman who could both be very effective players for us for a long time and it only happened cause they fell in their draft years.

was it?

 

[MadDevil]

was it?

IIRC he and a couple of teammates were accused of sexual harassment during some kind of hazing incident, and he didn't interview very well. The longer suspension he got in college (for "violating team rules") was after we drafted him.

 

[njdevils1982]

IIRC he and a couple of teammates were accused of sexual harassment during some kind of hazing incident, and he didn't interview very well. The longer suspension he got in college (for "violating team rules") was after we drafted him.

so 2 incidents then? ok …was just wondering …thought it was just the hazing one

 

[MadDevil]

so 2 incidents then? ok …was just wondering …thought it was just the hazing one

The second incident they never really said for sure what it was, but I kind of get the impression he may have had some maturity issues. Which, let's be honest, isn't that surprising. I was a completely irresponsible ******* my first year in college.

 

[Bleedred]

I swear when Greene and Moore get healthy and are ready to come back. If they take out Santini instead of Stollery and play Moore over Merrill, because in my opinion Moore has lost his top 6 defensive spot to Merrill. Which I always knew was a matter of time because of his superior hockey sense and ability to not make then dumbest descison with the puck as often like Moore is. I won't set myself on fire, but I'll be really really mad so I'm with you man.

But seriously though does anyone know when Greene is coming back? Or if Moore is expected to come back at all? I'm praying he'll recover near the very end of the season so we can trade him for a pick, since I expect us to sign someone anyway. If he's doesn't come back at all this season he's probably untradable and I don't want that. I bet we could get a third at the draft from some desperate team.

Greene had a setback in his progress from recovery or something. He was on the entire Canadian road trip but never played. That started 2 weeks ago. I read that Moore started skating on his own last week, and I'm almost positive I read that Auvitu was practicing with the team today, or maybe he just skated on his own and didn't practice with the entire team? I forget already.

Now that I look it up, Auvitu was one of the first on the ice for today's practice, so he did practice with the team today. Greene and Moore skated before practice.

We might need Shero to pull some Lou IR magic here. I just can't see them giving up on Moore just yet. Nothing that I saw before his injury showed me they were ready to cut his usage or even make him eligible to receive healthy scratches.

 

[JimEIV]

Greene Santini/Severson
Merrill Severson/Santini
Quincey/Moore Lovejoy


Our young defenders are better than the Lovejoy's Quincey's and Moore's and they should be getting those minutes from here on out.

Time to take the training wheels off of Santini but I would rotate Santini and Severson so Santini can get some time with Greene.

 

[HischierSeDgewOrk]

Greene Santini/Severson
Merrill Severson/Santini
Quincey/Moore Lovejoy


Our young defenders are better than the Lovejoy's Quincey's and Moore's and they should be getting those minutes from here on out.

Time to take the training wheels off of Santini but I would rotate Santini and Severson so Santini can get some time with Greene.

This exactly.