Prospect Info: The 2015 Draft Thread Part II

[Benedict Parisechuk]

We would miss by less then 10 if we are picking 12-16. Hell we would be in an actual playoff race if we were that high up.

Does anyone realize we would have to finish better then Philly, Toronto, Philly, Dallas, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, LA, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Calgary.

It isn't happening. We are picking 6-9.

Finishing ahead of Toronto, Philly, Ottawa, and Florida is not unrealistic.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Finishing ahead of Toronto, Philly, Ottawa, and Florida is not unrealistic.

Puts us at 9th. Also you were one of the ones that said no way we finish ahead of Philly. Now we are?

 

[MichaelJ]

We would miss by less then 10 if we are picking 12-16. Hell we would be in an actual playoff race if we were that high up.

Does anyone realize we would have to finish better then Philly, Toronto, Philly, Dallas, Florida, Colorado, Minnesota, LA, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Calgary.

It isn't happening. We are picking 6-9.

Yea, no way we pass both Philly teams.

 

[CerebralGenesis]

ugh from strome/marner to konecny

 

[Emperoreddy]

Zacha, Barzal and Ranatan (sp?) are the guys on out radar now. Please no Crouse.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Finishing ahead of Toronto, Philly, Ottawa, and Florida is not unrealistic.

We're ahead of Toronto, tied with Ott and we'll catch Philly for sure.

You're going to like this, but:

I think we actually have an outside chance of catching Washington for the 8th spot. Their schedule is brutal. 12 points is not impossible.

(ok, I'm high.)

 

[GeNeXt]

Welp, were starting to experience our worst case scenario. Climbing up from the bottom of the league standings and making our way to a finish potentially below the wild card cutoff.

I support the whole "we're gonna play hard and try to win" mentality, because it demonstrates pride and creates a winning culture for the younger guys. However, it could end up meaning the difference between a surefire NHL talent to a boom-bust pick.

I'd be ecstatic to make the playoffs, but I have extreme doubt that this team could force a game 6 versus the East's top teams, let alone win a series.

 

[Benedict Parisechuk]

We're ahead of Toronto, tied with Ott and we'll catch Philly for sure.

You're going to like this, but:

I think we actually have an outside chance of catching Washington for the 8th spot. Their schedule is brutal. 12 points is not impossible.

(ok, I'm high.)

The way were collecting points isn't sustainable. They are playing some of the worst hockey I've seen since Maclean was here. If we fall out of the top 10 I'm going to lose it. Would be a complete waste of a season.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The way were collecting points isn't sustainable. They are playing some of the worst hockey I've seen since Maclean was here. If we fall out of the top 10 I'm going to lose it. Would be a complete waste of a season.

If it's that bad then there is nothing to worry about.

 

[NJDevs26]

We're ahead of Toronto, tied with Ott and we'll catch Philly for sure.

You're going to like this, but:

I think we actually have an outside chance of catching Washington for the 8th spot. Their schedule is brutal. 12 points is not impossible.

(ok, I'm high.)

lol I can't WAIT to see the reaction from this board if we somehow get the eighth spot

Honestly if the Devils really play well enough to get the eighth seed (and 'eventually' they're going to have to start playing better to maintain this winning) then if anything it shows they can play with anyone and aren't as far away as the naysayers think. Why wouldn't anyone want the Devils to make a miracle run to the playoffs, draft pick aside? It's not like the NBA Eastern Conference where the eighth seed is going to be ten games under .500 and is just going to be total cannon fodder in the playoffs.

Plus a sustained run will show the defense/goalie rebuild is working. Then we 'only' need a forward rebuild, which can happen with a few good picks and maybe a trade or two.

 

[Devils Trap]

lol I can't WAIT to see the reaction from this board if we somehow get the eighth spot

Honestly if the Devils really play well enough to get the eighth seed (and 'eventually' they're going to have to start playing better to maintain this winning) then if anything it shows they can play with anyone and aren't as far away as the naysayers think. Why wouldn't anyone want the Devils to make a miracle run to the playoffs, draft pick aside? It's not like the NBA Eastern Conference where the eighth seed is going to be ten games under .500.

Honestly , I would be more excited to see the mainboards reaction if we pulled something like that off

 

[Tretyak 20]

Personally I want cups. I don't want the Devils to become that team whose fans get ecstatic because they manage to sneak into the playoffs once in a while.

Sometimes I worry this team is well on it's way to becoming the new Hartford Whalers - a team that always played hard for pride's sake.... and was still totally irrelevant.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

People need to be careful about how much they wish for our team to tank. Believe it or not, there is a psychological difference between finishing 10th in the conference and 14th in the conference, for both the fans and players. Especially if it occurs over multiple seasons.

As much as this is a lost season, I still enjoy seeing the Devils win.

 

[vtdevils2k]

Personally I want cups. I don't want the Devils to become that team whose fans get ecstatic because they manage to sneak into the playoffs once in a while.

Sometimes I worry this team is well on it's way to becoming the new Hartford Whalers - a team that always played hard for pride's sake.... and was still totally irrelevant.

Well said. The goal is a CUP not the 8th seed and losing quickly in the first round. If Lou has a great plan to get the game-breakinig forwards we need in the next year or so via trades, then great...but with every win we lose a chance at a potential top forward that we really REALLY need and then it becomes a boom or bust pick offensively and our drafting has not been great which is why we are where we are today.

Signing "stars" that are way past their prime and at the wrong side of 30 is not the way to go and free agency this year looks terrible. No more 5 year deals to players who don't deserve it.

I really look forward to seeing how Lou rebuilds the top 3/6 in the next couple of years because it could get VERY ugly if its not fixed soon.

 

[vtdevils2k]

People need to be careful about how much they wish for our team to tank. Believe it or not, there is a psychological difference between finishing 10th in the conference and 14th in the conference, for both the fans and players. Especially if it occurs over multiple seasons.

As much as this is a lost season, I still enjoy seeing the Devils win.

I agree..We all want to win and win the cup...Some of us just want Lou to get that offensive star that the team needs..that game breaker who when the team is down 1-0 can go out there and get it done. The team is not close to competing with the top teams in the East/West at the moment. We have to play the 1-2-2 and rely heavily on the goaltending to bail the team out. We're currently beating up on bad teams and are severely outplayed in most if not all of the games and are winning because of Cory/Keith and a bounce here and there. I mean Zubrus was the #1 LW last night...come on

 

[devilsblood]

So I watched that Eerie vs Ottawa game from over the weekend.

Couple things stood out on McDavid. First and foremost imo is how he kicks it into an extra gear when he has the puck, then the control and vision while at that speed, very impressive. But when I watch him without the puck, it makes me ask, where is that same effort? Dare I say it looks like he loaf's a bit?

On Strome, you can def see the need to improve skating. He had a goal and 2 assists, so a good game, but didn't stand out anywhere near the way McDavid did.

 

[glenwo2]

I've completely accepted the fact that the Devils will never crack the top 5 in the Draft.

It should be BPA all the way (if they don't trade down) no matter where they pick.

 

[devilsblood]

I've completely accepted the fact that the Devils will never crack the top 5 in the Draft.

It should be BPA all the way (if they don't trade down) no matter where they pick.

BFA. If the clear BPA is a d-man, trade down.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

People should realize teams rarely win the cup. There should be aappreciation for hockey in the present moment instead of constantly wanting for the future.

Most devils fans are too spoiled to do this.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

People should realize teams rarely win the cup. There should be aappreciation for hockey in the present moment instead of constantly wanting for the future.

Most devils fans are too spoiled to do this.

'hockey in the present moment' is pretty ****ing awful in New Jersey and has been for the past few years.

excuse me if the "spoiled fans" don't want to accept mediocrity.

 

[R8Devs]

I don't expect cups. I just don't like getting bored while watching hockey. Wins are nice but it's not fun at all to watch how much this team struggles with entering the zone and generating offense.

I don't mind sucking either as long as moves are made to help the future. It would really suck if the Devils plan to fix the forwards is to sign a high priced ufa every year.

 

[MichaelJ]

People should realize teams rarely win the cup. There should be aappreciation for hockey in the present moment instead of constantly wanting for the future.

Most devils fans are too spoiled to do this.

Planning for the future and being patient instead of living for instant gratification is the opposite of acting spoiled.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

Planning for the future and being patient instead of living for instant gratification is the opposite of acting spoiled.

Planning for the future? You say that as if anyone on this forum has any influence on what actually happens in the future for the Devils.

No one wants to face a reality where we're mediocre to below average for an extended period - it has to be tank now, get the best draft pick and be good quicker. That is definitely about instant gratification. Even if we suck for a year or two, you can all salivate about the Eichel or Strome or Marner we get and what that means for the future. Harder to do that with Pavel Zacha.

'hockey in the present moment' is pretty ****ing awful in New Jersey and has been for the past few years.

excuse me if the "spoiled fans" don't want to accept mediocrity.

You actually are accepting it, because you keep watching the games and posting about the team every day. Given that you keep watching mediocre product and have no hope of changing anything yourself, how do you see yourself as not accepting it?

I just find the attitude around here to be pretty piss poor. No one seems to be grateful that we have a local hockey team to watch (we could have gone the way of Atlanta at least once before), or that we saw a streak of success in the early 90s to the late 00s that is rivaled by only one or two teams in professional sports.

No one likes losing, I just sense a tremendous lack of perspective by our fanbase (and many people on HF Boards in general).

 

[Burner Account]

I've kind of adjusted my stance on the whole winning games thing.

Yeah, you want a good draft pick because you want to bring in the BPA. But part of getting better as a team is winning games. Winning is cultural. So is losing. Nobody cares if you bring in talent and continue to lose (Oilers).

 

[Brodeur]

So I watched that Eerie vs Ottawa game from over the weekend.

Couple things stood out on McDavid. First and foremost imo is how he kicks it into an extra gear when he has the puck, then the control and vision while at that speed, very impressive. But when I watch him without the puck, it makes me ask, where is that same effort? Dare I say it looks like he loaf's a bit?

When I saw him in September, he was kept off the scoreboard in the opening period but he was an absolute hound on the puck defensively.

The Ottawa game was the final stop of a 3 games in 4 nights road trip. I could understand if Erie was fatigued and several guys coasted once they built a lead (they eventually won 7-2).