Prospect Info: 2020 NHL Draft

[PizzaAndPucks]

I hope we get Drysdale if we pick #3 or lower. Also hoping to entertain moving Arizonas pick whether it be trading down to recoup a 2nd round pick to use on a goalie or for a player on a cap strapped team. Then again I have no problem using Arizonas pick and just taking BPA. We have options that's for sure. Better to have this extra 1st round pick to play with than having our 2nd and 3rd rounders.

 

[Nubmer6]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

 

[devilsblood]

i don’t know about ‘most’...i won’t blow up anybody’s spot here, but i’ve had arguments as recently as december with people who wouldn’t select a goalie in the first round, even if we had multiple picks, for one asinine reason or another.

in regards to your second question- if drysdale is off the board we should be going BPA. rossi, stutzle or whoever else is there

I meant with Zona's pick, say we get a fwd with our pick. Does that change what we want to do with Zona's pick?

 

[Nubmer6]

I meant with Zona's pick, say we get a fwd with our pick. Does that change what we want to do with Zona's pick?

To me it does, even though I keep saying BPA, I also believe in tiers, and if we get a forward with our 1st pick, I'd presume there are multiple F and D in the same tier with our 2nd pick, so I'd pick a D in that tier.

 

[MartyOwns]

I meant with Zona's pick, say we get a fwd with our pick. Does that change what we want to do with Zona's pick?

oh. if we take a forward with our pick and askarov is off the board, i'd like to pick up sanderson...but really, it should be BPA

 

[devilsblood]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

1)Your "maybe" with the Zona pick is what I'm talking about, you'd be OK with it.

But do consider that though Shero went scatter shot in hoping to find a goalie, the only one with any promise right now is the one he drafted the highest.

Also note that Samsanov was a 1st rounder, as was Vasilevsky, Jarry was the 44th pick his draft year, Blackwood the 42nd. It's not like high chosen goalies are running at 10%.

So while you can find goalies later on, that's where it gets completely unpredictable. The higher chosen ones pan out at a decent rate it seems.

2)I do agree that given recent drafts and with acquiring Bahl we are not as devoid of defensive prospects as we were prior to last draft, but comparing it to the fwd prospects doesn't paint an accurate picture of our situation given we have 3 fwds under the age of 22 currently playing in the NHL. If we considered those guys prospects they would be miles ahead of our d-men. Thus I would like add that high end d-man. Not necessarily quantity this year, but with our higher picks I still think I lean d-man over fwd(that does change if we go d-man with our 1st pick).

Edit: Amongst our prospects, our top 2 D men are both lefties, so imo Drysdale being a righty is a bonus.

 

[devilsblood]

oh. if we take a forward with our pick and askarov is off the board, i'd like to pick up sanderson...but really, it should be BPA

I'm with Nubmer6 in regards to this. Clear cut, of course BPA, but otherwise organizational need should be considered.

 

[My3Sons]

The team has enough holes at every level that any BPA who pans out will help. In a perfect world the defender and the goalie would pan out and be difference makers on the next year or two. Hard to see what the team will need in two years with such massive changes to the front office and coaching staff. I just hope that whoever is picked at each pick is the BPA whatever it may be.

 

[Smitty426]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

Would you take Cale Makar? Drysdale has been compared by many to be that guy of a D man. Trade for Zadorov, Smith will be here next yr. On the right it's some combo of subban/Vats/sevs
It's already better. Take a Fwd with the AZ pick which I think will be a 7-10 lottery pick the way they have been playing. Starting to look better

 

[StevenToddIves]

To answer some of the positional concerns on here.

1)Should the Devils take Askarov with the Arizona pick if he is available?
I'd say absolutely. This kid is not just "highly rated" -- he's rated on a Carey Price sort of tier. If the Devils scouts feel he has franchise netminder-type upside, there's no reason not to take a goaltender in the first round, especially considering the Devils should already have a top 7 pick in the fold with their own pick. When you're already adding a blue-chip, all-star type of prospect like Stutzle or Drysdale or Raymond or Rossi, you can afford to swing for the fences when you're up to the plate again.

2)Should the Devils prioritize D with Arizona's first round pick?
I would say no. I'm extremely high on Jamie Drysdale, but I think he's the only surefire top pairing D in the draft. So, let's say that the Devils draft a F like Stutzle or Raymond with their own pick and then they pick 15th (or thereabouts) with Arizona's pick. Most of the defensemen available will be very good mid-pairing guys (Schneider, Sanderson, Guhle, Barron) or possible top-pairing guys with some risk (Mukhamadullin, Wallinder) or all-offense guys with significant risk (Poirier, Andrae, Cormier). The Devils have a boat-load of D in the system already with mid-pairing or bottom-pairing potential, both as offensive minded D (Walsh) and shut-down-type D (Bahl, Misyul, Vukojevic, Okhotyuk, McCarthy, Bernard). If the scouts believe that a F available has top-line upside -- like a Quinn or Mysak or Zary or Bourque (etc.) -- then they should go for that guy. Unlike the 2019 draft -- which saw the Devils prospect pipeline desperate for D prospects, especially guys who could defend in shut-down capacity -- the Devils are no longer desperate in any singular respect. They simply need to draft the best possible players this year to increase the overall talent in the system.

3)If the Devils draft at #3-#5 overall, do they have to take Drysdale if he's available?
Again, I'm going to say no. The main reason for this is Tim Stutzle -- the kid just has superstar upside. If he and Drysdale were both available, I'd be fine with a Stutzle pick. His combination of speed/skill/compete level is just off-the-charts. But we also have to realize that the Devils have seen quite a lot of Marco Rossi in Ottawa, and there's a good chance they've fallen in love with him. Quite frankly, there's a lot to love about Rossi -- he's a magician with the puck and his combination of elite playmaking and excellent finishing skills makes him absolutely an offensive machine. Sure, they're both centers and the Devils already have two incredibly talented youngsters in the fold at the position with Hischier and Hughes -- but centers can always be moved to wing. Stutzle has spent some time playing LW in the DEL, he's no stranger to the position and excels at it (along with excelling at pretty much everything he does). I'd be thrilled with any of these kids, and I haven't even used this space to discuss the immense potential of a Lucas Raymond or Alexander Holtz.

4)Should the Devils draft with position in mind early since they have no 2nd or 3rd round pick?
I'm going to go with a resounding no. We need to keep in mind also that the Devils have some intriguing trade chips at the deadline in which they will likely recoup these picks -- contenders are going to covet clear trade bait like Vatanen and Simmonds, and there is also a legitimate chance of turning a Will Butcher, Damon Severson or Miles Wood into some picks in the late first through third rounds.

 

[Nubmer6]

Would you take Cale Makar? Drysdale has been compared by many to be that guy of a D man. Trade for Zadorov, Smith will be here next yr. On the right it's some combo of subban/Vats/sevs
It's already better. Take a Fwd with the AZ pick which I think will be a 7-10 lottery pick the way they have been playing. Starting to look better

Depends. Would you pass up, say... Draistatl for Makar?

I'd lean towards "yes" just because top line defenders are so hard to get outside the draft, but at the same time a shooting power winger probably fills a bigger hole than another RHD. It's a tough call.

 

[beekay414]

I want Drysdale simply because of the need for a true #1 dman, whether it's right of left, but I don't want another situation where we draft for need rather than BPA and end up with a Pavel Zacha over a Provorov or Werenski.

The way I see it is, draft BPA straight up and build talent. If that's Drysdale, great. If not, go with a forward. Even if it's at both 1sts. I can't say that I wouldn't be absolutely thrilled to come out of this draft with Stutzle and Quinn, for example, just as I couldn't say that I wouldn't be absolutely thrilled if we came out of it with Drysdale and Askarov.

Just get high impact talent. That's all I care about.

 

[aboriginal]

if we do take askarov, i hope its as late as possible. and if we get any more lower end firsts after the deadline dust settles, then ok. im def not on board with him if hes taken top 10 depending on low the balls fall. im not gung ho on taking goalies high. just too risky.

 

[TBF1972]

I do wonder if we did take Askarov, how long would he stay in Russia?

Have to remember that he probably wouldn't come over for what, 3 years+ or so?

He's not a plug and play player on the Devils, and yes it's just one tournament, but he did not look good at the WJC.

If he reaches his potential, yeah he'd definitely be a huge piece, but can't be counted on anytime soon to be on the big club.

Which should be absolutely fine and I would consider an added bonus. There is hardly any goalie NHL ready within less than 3 years from their draft year and having him developing in Russia, allows the Devils to develop other goalie prospects within their organisation. Once he is close and wants to make the move to NA, you can make room for him in Bing or the Devils. If the Devils could draft Drysdale and Askarov as BPA, it would be the rare occasion, where BPA and positional needs fit perfectly together. As said before I see RHD and goalie the spot NJ's prospect pipeline is lacking the most.

 

[Davegarri]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

Who cares if we need left or right d more, we have literally no dmen right now. f*** severson and subban and Vatenen is most likely gone anyway.

While the left side is currently worse, what if in 2 years Smith and Bahl both become studs, but Vatanen leaves, Subban and severson still both suck. Now we're stuck with no good RHD in the pipeline because you didn't want to draft one

Draft best player available, always. Handedness should not factor in that decision at all

 

[Smitty426]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

I think we have to trade for a top-ish LHD currently in the league. I think Nikita Zadorov could be had from Colo. They are brimming over with D, He probably is the odd guy out with expansion coming. It seems he could be had for less than thought (based on Avs fans suggestion on the web). We have plenty of smallish defender we need a big nasty one. The other names I come up with are Nurse (wants 7-8M per) Sergachev (probably not going to move him, but crowded in TB). Saw a post where a Wood for Zadorov deal was suggested. Might need an add from us but I woudl do that, and I like Miles.

 

[MartyOwns]

Draft best player available, always. Handedness should not factor in that decision at all

agreed. i think sometimes (typically outside of the first round) you can draft for need, whereas first round picks should always be BPA. but even if you're drafting for need, that should be a positional need, not based on handedness

 

[MartyOwns]

I think we have to trade for a top-ish LHD currently in the league. I think Nikita Zadorov could be had from Colo. They are brimming over with D, He probably is the odd guy out with expansion coming. It seems he could be had for less than thought (based on Avs fans suggestion on the web). We have plenty of smallish defender we need a big nasty one. The other names I come up with are Nurse (wants 7-8M per) Sergachev (probably not going to move him, but crowded in TB). Saw a post where a Wood for Zadorov deal was suggested. Might need an add from us but I woudl do that, and I like Miles.

wood is going nowhere on this team, i'm 100% for trading him. and yeah, i would add a fourth rounder or so to get zadorov

 

[TBF1972]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

The current roster need has very little to do with whom we should draft. How many D recruits have played their D+1 season in the NHL lately? I am aware of Dahlin and no one else. Drysdale or whoever is picked with the NJ pick in the first round will most likely not be on the NHL roster anyway. The prospect pool has much more quantity and quality of LHD than RHD.
LHD: White (4th 15), Sissons (undrafted), Zaitsev (7th 17), Hellickson (7th 17), Groleau (undrafted), Smith (1st 18), Bahl (2nd 18), Bernard (4th 18), Okhotyuk (2nd 19), Misyul (3rd 19), Vukojevic (3rd 19), done
RHD: Jacobs (2nd 14), Walsh (3rd 17), McCarthy (4th 19), done

Edit: Added Sissons and Groleau. I wouldn't consider the other Bing Ds prospects anymore.

 

[devilsblood]

I want Drysdale simply because of the need for a true #1 dman, whether it's right of left, but I don't want another situation where we draft for need rather than BPA and end up with a Pavel Zacha over a Provorov or Werenski.

If we had gone Barzal or Rantanen there no one would be upset that we took a fwd.

Who is the BPA of Barzal, Rantanen, Provorov and Werenski? It wasn't clear then and it's still not clear now. Heck Chabot might have an edge on the 2 d-men at this point.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

i don’t know about ‘most’...i won’t blow up anybody’s spot here, but i’ve had arguments as recently as december with people who wouldn’t select a goalie in the first round, even if we had multiple picks, for one asinine reason or another.

in regards to your second question- if drysdale is off the board we should be going BPA. rossi, stutzle or whoever else is there

He meant if Drysdale is off the board and we pick a fwd with our pick (because a fwd WILL be bpa if drysdale is gone), then pick a D with Arizona's pick instead of Askarov...and I'd say yes. Pick a D instead.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

I'm not sold on Askarov. MAYBE with Zona's pick, but I feel goalies are very unpredictable, even highly ranked ones. I kind of prefer Shero's strategy of quantity over quality and hoping one develops.

I'm not even 100% sold on Drysdale since he's a RHD, and we REALLY, REALLY need LHD.

As I said before, an article in the Athletic earlier last month stated that we're actually more lacking in forwards than D in our system, and I tend to agree. We have a few guys that are potential top 4 (Smith, Walsh, Bahl, Misyul, Vokojevic, McCarthy, etc). At the same time, we really don't have much in the way of top 6 forwards. Boqvist and maybe Tyce Thompson and Graeme Clark?

I wouldn't mind picking up Drysdale + Jack Quinn, or, if we miss out on Drysdale, Holtz + Schneider or any of the good D projected in that range.

Sorry, but you can't say we don't have much in terms of top 6 fowards and then immediately say we have a lot in terms of top 4 D....None of them are guaranteed, except possibly Smith.

We have a lot of quantity in both, lacking in high end in both.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

3)If the Devils draft at #3-#5 overall, do they have to take Drysdale if he's available?
Again, I'm going to say no. The main reason for this is Tim Stutzle -- the kid just has superstar upside. If he and Drysdale were both available, I'd be fine with a Stutzle pick. His combination of speed/skill/compete level is just off-the-charts. But we also have to realize that the Devils have seen quite a lot of Marco Rossi in Ottawa, and there's a good chance they've fallen in love with him. Quite frankly, there's a lot to love about Rossi -- he's a magician with the puck and his combination of elite playmaking and excellent finishing skills makes him absolutely an offensive machine. Sure, they're both centers and the Devils already have two incredibly talented youngsters in the fold at the position with Hischier and Hughes -- but centers can always be moved to wing. Stutzle has spent some time playing LW in the DEL, he's no stranger to the position and excels at it (along with excelling at pretty much everything he does). I'd be thrilled with any of these kids, and I haven't even used this space to discuss the immense potential of a Lucas Raymond or Alexander Holtz.

Hehe, I agree with everything else you said except this one. If Drysdale is available you take him...D-men of his caliber don't usually get traded or signed in FA, you have to draft them. We desperately need a top D. Besides, I honestly do not see a situation where Stuzle AND Drysdale is available lol. Still time to go but I do believe we will see one of them take the #2 spot (more likely it will be Stutzle). Ofc, this is just a gut feeling that may die out later, we'll see.

 

[Nubmer6]

Sorry, but you can't say we don't have much in terms of top 6 fowards and then immediately say we have a lot in terms of top 4 D....None of them are guaranteed, except possibly Smith.

We have a lot of quantity in both, lacking in high end in both.

Well nothing's guaranteed, but we have more shots at top 4 d than top 6 F.

 

[StevenToddIves]

The current roster need has very little to do with whom we should draft. How many D recruits have played their D+1 season in the NHL lately? I am aware of Dahlin and no one else. Drysdale or whoever is picked with the NJ pick in the first round will most likely not be on the NHL roster anyway. The prospect pool has much more quantity and quality of LHD than RHD.
LHD: White (4th 15), Sissons (undrafted), Zaitsev (7th 17), Hellickson (7th 17), Groleau (undrafted), Smith (1st 18), Bahl (2nd 18), Bernard (4th 18), Okhotyuk (2nd 19), Misyul (3rd 19), Vukojevic (3rd 19), done
RHD: Jacobs (2nd 14), Walsh (3rd 17), McCarthy (4th 19), done

Edit: Added Sissons and Groleau. I wouldn't consider the other Bing Ds prospects anymore.

Absolutely! I agree with you that the Devils are far from needy at LD. Smith has top-pairing upside, and at the very least will be a terrific, 40+ point, two-way second-pairing guy. If two of the group of Zaitsev/Hellickson/Bahl/Okhotyuk/Misyul/Vukojevic don't develop into productive, 2nd/3rd pairing guys it would be downright shocking -- this is an extremely unlikely scenario. So there's absolutely no need for the Devils to draft for "positional need" at LD.

On the right side, I agree with you that the Devils are far thinner. To me, Walsh has the upside of a 40+ point, offense first, mid-pairing RD. His downside is basically a better skating Will Butcher, which is to say a third-pairing guy who is good with breakouts and in the offensive zone but a bit of a defensive liability whose minutes need to be situationally sheltered. McCarthy has been repeatedly undersold by prospect analysts in my mind. He's very high floor as a third-pairing, defensive defenseman with physicality, and his upside is as a shut-down, Brett Pesce-like force on the backline with more toughness. I absolutely loved McCarthy's selection in the 4th round of last year's draft.