Really interesting mock Steve. Always appreciate the amount of effort you put into these. This is definitely one of those, "what can you do?" scenarios where the few higher-end defensive prospects are picked right before our spot. Still, leaving the first day with Rossi, Jarvis, and Holloway would be a big win in my book. You work with the cards you're dealt and if there are no higher-end defensive prospects at our spots, so be it, we pick our guys, be happy and try to keep building. It's just tough because we'll likely need to invest significant draft capital into building our defensive corps. It makes our timeline a bit tougher, but injecting that amount of talent into our system will definitely be to our benefit. I like the gamble on Holloway at that spot. If he can put it all together, he'd be an ideal linemate for Hughes.
I don't mean to sound negative here either. How many times have we said here something along the lines of "jeez, if only we could have a whole team of Nico Hischiers..."? Well, Rossi absolutely fits that mold. (His coach even compared his play to Nico's.) He's a ferocious attacker and an incredible two-way game. The area I'd like to see him improve is adding a little more explosiveness to his skating, but he's built like a fire hydrant and is immediately ready for NHL play.
As for d-men at 20, I do really like O'Rourke and Barron (O'Rourke moreso) so those would be interesting options as well..
On a quick side note, I love the projection of Lundell to Minnesota. He always struck me as a player that would be a great fit there.
I agree with everything you say here, pretty much. I certainly considered O'Rourke and Barron with the Devils #20 pick. I think O'Rourke has the best compete level of any D in the 2020 draft and he's smart as hell. He's terrific in his own end and has good, NHL 2PP-type offensive ability as well. Barron has top 15-type talent but really had a rough draft-eligible season which could drop him to the bottom of the first round. With the Devils dearth at RD, he might be a nice gamble to take at #20.
Ultimately, I went with Holloway because that's also a player who would be completely unique in the Devils organization. Though Foote is also a power LW by definition, he does not play the Brady Tkachuk-type, frenetic and physical game which Holloway can give you. I think Holloway would be such a boon to Jack Hughes, and that's why I went with him at #20.
I've said before that -- if Drysdale or Sanderson are available at #7 -- that's who the Devils should and will pick, regardless of what forwards are available. But the fact is that players like Drysdale are often drafted before they are projected (we can call it the Cale Makar Rule) and players like Sanderson are very very very often drafted before they are projected (we can call it the Seider/Heiskanen/Soderstrom etc Rule). In a defense-thin 2020 class, I think the top defensemen will all be off the board earlier than expected, and we may see teams reach in the late first-round/very early second for names like Villeneuve, Grans, Moore, Jurmo, Wallinder and Kleven.
Personally, I'd be thrilled if the Devils could get Drysdale/Sanderson at #7 and Guhle/Schneider at #18. But I'm not sure those guys will last. If not? I'd prefer not to reach for a D, and I do think there will be some nice value picks at D in the middle rounds.
One guy I will be talking about a lot is Brock Faber -- whom I consider to be (by far) the most underrated D in the class of 2020. He's a very solid 6'0-195 and a very good (though not exceptional) skater. Faber is extremely strong and can play the physical game, though we're not talking about a kid who looks for the huge hit. He's smart, smart, smart and very advanced in his defensive game. Though the US-NTDP used him exclusively in a shut-down capacity, he's shown some nice flashes of offensive upside -- he's a crisp passer and features a nice, hard point shot. I think if there's a Jake Slavin in the 2020 draft, it's Faber. At the very least, I think he can be an Ethan Bear-type -- and Bear is one heck of a player. He would have been the best defenseman on the Devils this past season.
There are a few other D I like for the middle rounds, who I think have mid-pairing potential. At LD, I like Daemon Hunt, Donovan Sebrango, Eemil Viro and Mitch Miller. At RD I clearly covet Faber, but I'm also high on Ruben Rafkin, Michael Benning, Michael Krutil, Jake Boltmann and Kaspar Puutio.
Of course, I've been pumping the tires for RD Mason Langenbrunner to be the Devils 7th round pick.
In the end, I've never been a fan of reaching for a player due to positional need. If the Devils draft in the 3rd round ("if") and they're deciding between a big, intriguing D like Jurmo and a potential high-end F like Tristen Robins, I would take Robins in a heartbeat. It wouldn't even be a thought.
As always, I love hearing your opinions
@thethinglonger -- and I can't wait to read your draft rankings.
