Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Draft - Part III

[RSeen]

I like how we already know that Nico is topping out at 60 points even though he is a ~53 point player so far in his career (0.64 ppg) at age 21.

Literally the entire hockey world had Nico and Nolan 1 and 2. There really was not one reputable source that had any of the other guys up there so again, can we please not?

Lets take a look at the jump Barkov made in his 4 especially 5th season offensively. Mackinnon became a different player in his 5th season.

I don't think Nico will reach the peak of either (certainly not Nate), but I could see him becoming a lesser version of Barkov that can put up 70 points consistently in his prime.

 

[Forge]

The problem with this is that draft was a two man race. Hindsight allows you to look at it differently but at the time it was Nolan or Nico.

That's how it's remembered, though there was talk from Pronman that we were going to go Makar from everything he had heard. Even had us drafting him #1 overall with his last mock on the day of the draft.

 

[Spoiled Bratt]

From a purely mathematical perspective alone, both scenarios are not remotely close to “just as likely.”

The Devils have about a 23% chance to get a top 3 pick. They have a 60.4% chance of sliding back from #6.

Montreal has a 37% chance to win their play in series and Chicago has a 47% chance to win their play in series.

So the ideal scenario is actually incredibly unlikely.

What were our odds of winning the lottery for Larsson, Hischier and Hughes? I’m pretty sure they were way less then 23%.

I’m not saying it’ll happen, just saying stranger things have happened.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Then it will be the Jack conversation in two years...and then in 4 years how we should have picked Byfield over Lafreniere

If Jack busts I’m going to slip into a deep depression

 

[Billdo]

If Jack busts I’m going to slip into a deep depression

He already has man, haven't you read this board?

 

[AfroThunder396]

Man, we really screwed up taking Shanahan at #2 in 1987 when Joe Sakic was still on the board FIRE LOU!!!!!

 

[My3Sons]

I mean if it doesnt bother you that we could of had a pick between 2 future Norris caliber defensemen or a center who has nearly hit a ppg 2 seasons in a row and instead winded up with a player who will probably top out at 60 points (although he is excellent defensively). I love Nicos game and I am glad he is going to be the future of this team. It could have been alot worse if we had taken Patrick but some of you guys will defend the organizations blunders and than wonder why we have bee spinning tires for so long. I get that Nico wasnt a reach or anything but our scouting staff could have done better. It's a hard to swallow pill for some of you. That being said Hischier is going to be a star for us and likely our next captain. I'm still thrilled for him to be a Devil for a long time.

Those other three guys would be shells of themselves on this Devils team. Yeah, Petterson would score more, but he'd look a lot like Jack at times as well. He's determined, but weak and not physically engaged to my eyes when I watch him. Really talented and has a fantastic passing touch, but I don't see him as an amazing player when the refs put away the whistles. I can't see building a truly successful playoff team around Petterson and Hughes down the middle. I'm over 50 and I think I could beat Petterson up. Heiskanen is the same. If I watch about 10 games of Petterson every year I watch 30 to 40 of Heiskanen based on where I live. He's soft as Kerrygold butter. Smart, great skater, and excellent positioning, but soft. Really soft. Makar is probably the most likely true dominant player of the three, but do you really see him lighting it up on this team? How many great passes to Wood end up in the net as opposed to Wood losing the puck and putting himself in the net?

Yeah, Nico looked lost for parts of this season and yeah he needs to be better offensively, but I'd take a 70 point Nico over an 80 point Petterson based on the eye test. Right now Petterson looks much better and maybe he will stay that way, but both have many years ahead of them. Oh, and the shine will come off these guys when they sign their RFA deals at insane amounts or just don't give away UFA years.

 

[JrFischer54]

Sinking feeling the devils nab a top 3 a lot so so the wings and the 3rd team buffalo. Can’t see the sens staying at 2-3

 

[NJ DevLolz]

Only in the NHL do you have the chance to win the Cup and pick in the top three. What a league!

But hey, at least we can trade with the rest of the shit teams. Because you know, these clubs will be so eager to pigeonhole themselves into a trade and not field and assess offers from over 2/3 of the league. Thanks, NHL!

 

[Brodeur]

Man, we really screwed up taking Shanahan at #2 in 1987 when Joe Sakic was still on the board FIRE LOU!!!!!

Interesting story about how one Leafs scout made a last minute plea for them to take Sakic: That time the Maple Leafs let Joe Sakic slip by - Sportsnet.ca

 

[Emperoreddy]

If Jack busts I’m going to slip into a deep depression

You already decided he was a bust.

 

[njdevils1982]

Man, we really screwed up taking Shanahan at #2 in 1987 when Joe Sakic was still on the board FIRE LOU!!!!!

and shouldve drafted daddy matteau that year in round 2 instead of ricard persson

 

[glenwo2]

I mean if it doesnt bother you that we could of had a pick between 2 future Norris caliber defensemen or a center who has nearly hit a ppg 2 seasons in a row and instead winded up with a player who will probably top out at 60 points (although he is excellent defensively). I love Nicos game and I am glad he is going to be the future of this team. It could have been alot worse if we had taken Patrick but some of you guys will defend the organizations blunders and than wonder why we have bee spinning tires for so long. I get that Nico wasnt a reach or anything but our scouting staff could have done better. It's a hard to swallow pill for some of you. That being said Hischier is going to be a star for us and likely our next captain. I'm still thrilled for him to be a Devil for a long time.

Why are you so obsessed with Petersson , Makar or Heiskanen?

Like ZBC stated, at the time of the draft, THE ENTIRE NHL PUNDITS(that's everyone, btw) had Nico / Patrick in the top 2.

Those other 3 weren't even on the radar.

We can sit here and play a game of "Hindsight" but have you ever considered that perhaps None of those players would be as effective HERE as they are on their respective teams?

The old "Grass is always Greener" adage, if you will.

I'm sure if we drafted Makar, and Nico went on to beast it up on another team, you'd be complaining how the Devils missed out on Nico or something.

 

[theoptimist]

I see Nico only getting better. He also needs to get a tad stronger and add some muscle

He’s outgrown his boyhood frame. Just look at his draft year interviews and his post game interviews from this past season. We really just need a healthy Nico.

 

[tailfins]

Why are you so obsessed with Petersson , Makar or Heiskanen?

Like ZBC stated, at the time of the draft, THE ENTIRE NHL PUNDITS(that's everyone, btw) had Nico / Patrick in the top 2.

Those other 3 weren't even on the radar.

We can sit here and play a game of "Hindsight" but have you ever considered that perhaps None of those players would be as effective HERE as they are on their respective teams?

The old "Grass is always Greener" adage, if you will.

I'm sure if we drafted Makar, and Nico went on to beast it up on another team, you'd be complaining how the Devils missed out on Nico or something.

why are people so defensive about this?

the whole risk with a “build through the draft” strategy is hitting on draft picks. Is Nico a bad pick? No. Was Nico the best pick? Also no. Scouts and GMs are paid to make these decisions. We’re killing Lou for taking Matteau instead of forfeiting the pick. But everyone is fine that Shero missed on elite talent? Nico + Fialla isn’t getting you Petterson, Heiskanen, or Makar.

 

[NJDevs26]

People get defensive because you're saying it's set in stone that it's not the best pick and someone else is calling it a 'blunder' when Nico's 21. The book is far from written on all of the above players. Plus it's just silly that people are criticizing Nico for merely being a solid player to this point, when we don't even have enough of those guys right now. It's not like he's been a literal bust.

Your first point (pointing out the flaw of a draft-only rebuild) is valid, but there's a difference between criticizing a normal pick and criticizing one that was pretty well a hockey community consensus. It's not like there's ever a consensus at the top of the draft on who should go 15 or who should go 30. If you go with a consensus and it doesn't work out, what can you do? It's not like the #1OA is the best player out of every single draft, in fact I'd probably guesstimate #1OA is the best player in MAYBE half the drafts.

It's not like management hasn't been held to account...the previous GM was fired. The previous head coach who failed to develop most of the picks properly was fired. You're not guaranteed to hit on every single pick, even a #1OA but if you miss on too many of them you get fired. And fwiw it's a little different criticizing the decision to keep the Matteau pick with any specific draft-day choice. Keeping the pick was basically the equivalent of hitting on 20 in a game of 21.

 

[GeNeXt]

It was rumored that we wanted Makar with number 1, but this place would’ve been suicidal that first year after the draft if that happened. Without Nico, we likely do not make playoffs that year, and Makar’s freshmen year at UMass was subpar.

Nico is going to be fine. The kid played his best hockey post-Hall, but was then injured and went cold after. I blame all this side drama ongoing all season. I’m sure it’s not a great environment to be in when the GM, coach, captain, your winger, and other leaders on the team that you’ve only known are all gone in a few month span. This team needs stability now for the kids, and obviously someone who can manufacture wins.

 

[Azathoth]

I wonder if Makar or Heiskanen would still be considered future Norris candidates playing in the Hynes/Nas wundar-system.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

why are people so defensive about this?

the whole risk with a “build through the draft” strategy is hitting on draft picks. Is Nico a bad pick? No. Was Nico the best pick? Also no. Scouts and GMs are paid to make these decisions. We’re killing Lou for taking Matteau instead of forfeiting the pick. But everyone is fine that Shero missed on elite talent? Nico + Fialla isn’t getting you Petterson, Heiskanen, or Makar.

What does that have to do with the Devils? They traded many picks for roster players the last 5 years. All cup winners have key players that they drafted in the cap era.

 

[Cheddabombs]

why are people so defensive about this?

the whole risk with a “build through the draft” strategy is hitting on draft picks. Is Nico a bad pick? No. Was Nico the best pick? Also no. Scouts and GMs are paid to make these decisions. We’re killing Lou for taking Matteau instead of forfeiting the pick. But everyone is fine that Shero missed on elite talent? Nico + Fialla isn’t getting you Petterson, Heiskanen, or Makar.

These two are so incredibly dissimilar

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

People get defensive because you're saying it's set in stone that it's not the best pick and someone else is calling it a 'blunder' when Nico's 21. The book is far from written on all of the above players. Plus it's just silly that people are criticizing Nico for merely being a solid player to this point, when we don't even have enough of those guys right now. It's not like he's been a literal bust.

Your first point (pointing out the flaw of a draft-only rebuild) is valid, but there's a difference between criticizing a normal pick and criticizing one that was pretty well a hockey community consensus. It's not like there's ever a consensus at the top of the draft on who should go 15 or who should go 30. If you go with a consensus and it doesn't work out, what can you do? It's not like the #1OA is the best player out of every single draft, in fact I'd probably guesstimate #1OA is the best player in MAYBE half the drafts.

It's not like management hasn't been held to account...the previous GM was fired. The previous head coach who failed to develop most of the picks properly was fired. You're not guaranteed to hit on every single pick, even a #1OA but if you miss on too many of them you get fired. And fwiw it's a little different criticizing the decision to keep the Matteau pick with any specific draft-day choice. Keeping the pick was basically the equivalent of hitting on 20 in a game of 21.

What team ever tried a draft only rebuild?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

why are people so defensive about this?

the whole risk with a “build through the draft” strategy is hitting on draft picks. Is Nico a bad pick? No. Was Nico the best pick? Also no. Scouts and GMs are paid to make these decisions. We’re killing Lou for taking Matteau instead of forfeiting the pick. But everyone is fine that Shero missed on elite talent? Nico + Fialla isn’t getting you Petterson, Heiskanen, or Makar.

um

what?

 

[Devils731]

So how about that 2020 draft?

I’m comfortable the Devils pick is going to get a top talent no matter what but that Arizona pick could be right on the border of the 3rd tier of top players and the 4th tier of good players.

In terms of current tier info it seems like it makes a decent difference if Arizona’s pick is 8-10 or drops to 12-20.

Who are the players people think might get drafted in the top 8 that most mock drafts are going to miss?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

really would love to walk away with one of Drysdale or Sanderson....

2020 Draft prospect Jake Sanderson has everything you want in a defenseman - TheHockeyNews

“For a defenseman, the No. 1 skill you can have is the ability to close out plays defensively, to eliminate time and space from your opponents, to kill plays and then to get your team on offense,” said NTDP coach Seth Appert. “He’s the best in the world in this draft year at that and it’s probably by a country mile. He’s an elite-skating defenseman and he uses that skating to really eliminate time and space and close out plays and create turnovers.”

 

[Billdo]

really would love to walk away with one of Drysdale or Sanderson....

2020 Draft prospect Jake Sanderson has everything you want in a defenseman - TheHockeyNews

“For a defenseman, the No. 1 skill you can have is the ability to close out plays defensively, to eliminate time and space from your opponents, to kill plays and then to get your team on offense,” said NTDP coach Seth Appert. “He’s the best in the world in this draft year at that and it’s probably by a country mile. He’s an elite-skating defenseman and he uses that skating to really eliminate time and space and close out plays and create turnovers.”

I was on board with him but now not knowing the draft slots because of these play in games and stuff he might not be there for the AZ pick. He's the shut down defender this team has been missing for a long time.