@StevenToddIves
I don't know if someone has asked you this hypothetical yet but if we end up picking a forward at 7th and Jarvis OR Mercer are still on the board at 18th and Schneider OR Guhle is too who do we pick? based off what I am reading the Flames need to rebuild their defensemen prospect depth/farm so Schneider or Guhle would probably be their target at 19th. Do we pick a Defensemen in order to screw over Calgary or do we pick one of those two Wingers at 18th?
Fun Hypothetical and a fun way of asking you what Flames targets will be as their are sandwiched between our two picks
Sorry for the bad wording and spelling!
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@RememberTheName Ah, good to know. I would still rank Raymond over him but knowing that makes the Rossi vs Perfetti battle a little harder for me. I still think Rossi would win out for me.
Great question.
A choice between Jarvis and Mercer at #18 would be a dream come true for the Devils, but I don't see it as realistic.
The thing with Seth Jarvis is that he compares quite well to Lucas Raymond, who is on many top 5 lists. He's just incredibly dynamic. We're talking a dynamic skater, shooter, puck handler and passer with an elite hockey IQ. I'd say if he has a weakness it's that he certainly needs improvement defensively, though as he's a center in the WHL who is likely to move to RW in the pros, his responsibilities will lessen in that department.
Mercer is just a phenomenal two-way player who offers more size than Jarvis and far more in terms of two-way play and physicality. This is a kid who is off-the-charts in every intangible and could probably be a bottom six winger in the NHL right now. But Mercer is no yeoman -- his hands are dazzling, he's as good at dangling the puck in tight areas as any player in the 2020 draft. He can also snipe the puck and is an excellent passer, along with being a balanced, high-IQ player who knows when to do both. If Mercer has a caveat, it's his skating, which I would grade as "pretty good", without being able to call it a true strength or weakness.
The Devils certainly have needs for both of these players. They also have an organizational need for a 1st line-quality scoring RW, which would describe both of these fine young talents. To me, Jarvis would be the perfect pairing with Hischier -- his defensive shortcomings could be covered for by Nico's exceptional two-way game, while offensively his speed and creativity and scoring ability are simply electrifying. Mercer would be the perfect pairing with Hughes -- his two-way game and ability to forecheck and dig the puck out of dirty areas and go to the crease would certainly benefit all of the areas where Hughes' extreme talents would be wasted. Also, Mercer is a high skill player who could finish and keep up with Hughes' ridiculous passing.
I guess the answer is, either of these players would be a dream come true at #18, though I doubt the possibility either of them would last that long. If I were forced to choose between one of them, I would probably take Jarvis by a hair, just because his offensive upside is very similar to Lucas Raymond. I feel Mercer projects as a 35-35-70 two-way RW, I guess a Mark Stone type. This is tremendous, but Jarvis I think in his absolute talent ceiling, could be a 90-100 point player. It's a tough call, because like I keep saying I think the Devils need more strength on the wings. But as Mercer is not a "true power forward" like a Holloway (I'd describe Mercer as a "two-way scoring forward who can play well in the power game"), I think I'd give Jarvis an edge in a very close call.