I am honestly starting to think scouts are biased. Nothing against Hughes but Kaapo has stood out a lot more. He tied Barkov’s u18 record for goals and is 7th in the league for scoring. He also has multiple game winning goals including the U20 gold medal game. Hindsight, Nico was better but maybe one scout had him first. Patrick Sucks! Plus Hughes is not Kane. I can see him being more like young Scott Gomez (20ish goals and 50ish assists). Kane put up 60 something goals. Sadly the Devils’ chance to draft ether are slim. I won’t be mad with Byram but the Devils biggest issues are still offense. I guess it depends on how they feel about later rounds. (Which has been primarily used on defense and redrafts)
If you're comparing Hughes to Scott Gomez, you need to watch a lot more film on Hughes.
Hughes' hands and vision are comparable to Kane, and he is twice as fast, and he is a center. I have not seen a player able to make such plays at such high speeds since McDavid. The ability to skate at an ultra-elite speed alone makes a player a first round pick in today's NHL -- look at Liam Foudy last year, or Zack Senyshyn a few years ago. But what Hughes can do with the puck at full speed -- stickhandle with abandon, think three moves ahead as if he's slowing the game down when in fact he's speeding it up, make soft passes through the smallest of openings onto the tape of his teammates' sticks -- it's just unbelievably rare.
In addition to this, Hughes is a terrific shooter and scorer, plays at a high compete level, and is maybe the best at zone entries I've ever seen for a draft-eligible forward.
If there is one knock on Kakko, it's that his skating can be considered above-average at best. The wide gulf in their skating abilities is probably the top reason that Hughes is uncontested for the #1 overall pick.
So far as the Hischier/Patrick argument, in 2017 it was pretty much an even split at #1. Scouting bureaus which picked Nico #1 (you can look this up) included TSN's Bob McKenzie and Craig Button, McKeen's, Future Considerations, ESPN, Corey Pronman. These are some pretty huge names. This year, I have yet to see anyone list Kakko over Hughes. Not one reputable scouting service or draft writer. I have, however, seen Kakko listed at #3 behind Hughes and Podkolzin, which I strongly disagree with (Steve Kournianos). If you send me a link to a reputable writer (not a Finnish hockey fan on a message board) saying Kakko is the #1 pick this year, I'd love to read it.
Quite frankly, I love these debates among knowledgable and passionate Devils fans. If you want to ask who we would take if it came down to Cozens v Byram, many on these threads would write back with smart and savvy opinions, arguing either side. None would be wrong or right, that's the fun of it.
But these debates must be based on fact, otherwise they become hysterical, vitriolic and no fun to take part in. Fact: Hughes is the consensus #1 pick. Fact: Kakko is the consensus #2 pick. Fact: there is absolutely no scout or hockey writer or expert on earth who would think or write that Scott Gomez is a comparable for Jack Hughes.
There are some earlier posts on this very page in this very thread about Devils fans who really, really want Kakko. I mean, who wouldn't? I would be over the moon with joy if the Devils got the #2 pick. Kakko could have been our second line RW
this year. If you think he would be a greater asset to the Devils than Hughes, I would love to hear your reasoning. All I'm asking is that we base these arguments in facts, not vitriol.
