StevenToddIves
Registered User
Okay, maybe it did not go how we expected it to. But it never does, right? I'd say the lion's share of Devils fans I conversed with wanted a defenseman -- particularly Jamie Drysdale or Jake Sanderson with the #7 pick. I think I spent a solid one-third of my pre-draft writing trying to explain that both of those young blue-chippers would be gone by the #7 pick. But that does not mean that the Devils are not a whole lot better off today than they were last week.
The Devils had a clear-cut need for a top-line caliber scoring RW for Hughes and Hischier. The Devils got two of them. For that reason alone, the 2020 draft must be considered a success. The Devils leave the 2020 draft with perhaps the deepest prospect pool in the entire NHL. Prospects who are almost afterthoughts outside the Devils top 20 -- players like Pasic and Studenic and Moynihan -- are top 10 prospects for over half the teams in the league. The Devils now boast incredible depth at LD and both wings, and this is not even mentioning the fact that the Devils enjoy an incredible and young top 2 center combo of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. So, the future is bright.
#7 -- RW Alexander Holtz, Djurgarden SHL
Holtz is the clear-cut best goal-scorer in the draft. Though he's not a true line driver like some forwards the Devils passed on in Rossi, Perfetti and Jarvis -- he's the ultimate finisher, and the perfect shotgun for playmaking centers like Hughes and Hischier. This kid is going to score a ton of goals in a Devils jersey. He has the rare shot which can beat a set goalie with no screen from virtually anywhere in the offensive zone. And -- contrary to what some of his critics have written -- Holtz is not a one trick pony. He also possesses exceptional hands, skates well, passes well and plays a competitive and smart two-way game. There's no risk and no liability -- Holtz is simply an elite goal-scoring prospect who is also a good hockey player. Was he the best possible pick at #7? Time will tell, but I am willing to bet the bank that he will be one heck of an offensive force at the NHL level.
#18 -- RW/C Dawson Mercer, Chicoutimi QMJHL
My favorite pick of the draft, and a guy I hoped would last until this pick. In my final mock draft (9 hits out of 31, beating everyone at ESPN, the Athletic, TSN and probably the world... if I do say so myself), I had the Devils taking Mercer here and was thrilled when it came to fruition. Mercer oozes character, heart, brains and hustle -- you name the intangible, he's got it in spades. These maximize an impressive skill set -- Mercer has elite hands and near-elite playmaking skills. He's also a terrific scorer, making him a true dual-threat winger. Mercer's versatility is increased by the fact he's an all-situations guy -- someone who can excel on the PK or PP, someone who can excel on a checking line (as he did for Canada at the WJC) or as your go-to scorer (as he did for Chicoutimi). This is, quite simply, the kind of kid who wear wear a letter on his jersey someday, and the kind of player you win with. An A+ pick for the Devils.
#20 -- LD Shakir Mukhamadullin, Salavat Ufa KHL
A pick which will be discussed for a very long time. The 2020 draft class was overflowing with talented wingers and very thin at D. If the Devils had gotten Drysdale or Sanderson at #7, would they have taken a chance on the extremely talented but mercurial Mukhamadullin at #20? I would have to say no, especially considering the depth of forward talent available at #20. But the Devils may well have had their hearts set on getting at least one defenseman from their three first round picks, and there is no denying Mukhamadullin's upside. With Shakir, we have a 6'3 kid who skates well, is good with the puck and willing to play physical. His primary weapon is his shot -- an absolute cannon from the point -- which is only challenged by Jeremie Poirier as the best shot among any 2020 defense draftee. At the outset of the 2019-20 season, I had Mukhamadullin ranked just outside of my top 10, due to his terrific tool-set. But unfortunately, his KHL playing time as an 18 year old was scarce at best and his confidence seemed to wane as a result. I was forced to drop him down my draft board has his play declined over the course of his draft-eligible season. It's possible that a hot start this season shot him back up the draft boards, which led the Devils to take him at #20 overall. Ultimately, I would have preferred if GM Tom Fitzgerald traded down with Washington, picking up more assets and still getting Mukhamadullin. But it's just speculation as to what the trade market was in the first round of the draft. In the end, the Devils have a very talented LD with a lot of questions still to answer playing a more regular role for Salavat Ufa of the KHL.
#84 G Nico Daws, Guelph OHL
There was great speculation that the Devils would draft a goaltender early, and this came to fruition with Daws in the third round. A big and athletic kid at 6'4, the comparison I read for Daws leading up to the draft was -- most often -- New Jersey's own MacKenzie Blackwood. Although he had the benefit of being an over-ager, Daws put up some incredible stats in an otherwise porous defensive OHL this past year. He was routinely ranked as the top North American netminder in the 2020 class, so Devils fans should be quite optimistic about this pick.
#99 C Jaromir Pytlik, Sault Ste. Marie OHL
This was a pick I was quite pumped about. One of the Devils needs going into the 2020 draft was for power forwards, and Pytlik is a huge kid at 6'3-210 who is impossible to knock off his skates. Though his offensive ceiling is likely as a very good third-liner, the young Czech skates well for his size and has a bomb of a shot. But the real reason you're drafting him is for his combination of high intelligence, great compete level and advanced anticipation and two-way play. He's a future shut-down force with size and power up the middle, the perfect bottom-6 foil to your superstar combo of Hughes and Hischier. My final ranking for Pytlik was #75, and he's a very high-floor player with a greater chance for a future regular role than many forwards who were drafted far higher. Just a terrific pick for your 4th round.
#120 LD Ethan Edwards, Spruce Grove AJHL
#130 C Artem Shlaine, Shattuck St-Mary's USHS
#161 C Benjamin Baumgartner, Davos SWISS
I'm lumping these players together because I have to be honest and say none of the picks thrilled me. With late round picks, I think the shrewd decision is to go one of two ways -- with a high-floor intangibles-type player, or with a high-ceiling player with dynamic tools, but who have fallen for certain weaknesses you hope can be alleviated. The perfect example of the "high floor" type would be last year's picks of defensive defensemen Michael Vukojevic and Case McCarthy, followed by a 7th round steal of do-it-all Swedish winger Nikola Pasic. The perfect example of "high ceiling" would obviously be Jesper Bratt.
None of these players really fit into either category. There is not a high floor among the three of them, there is not a singular dynamic tool between the three of them. Edwards is an undersized puck-rusher who is pretty good in his own zone but lacks high-end skating or skills. Shlaine is a project center with a projectable frame and pretty good playmaking who needs to hone his overall game and improve his skating to have a shot at the NHL. Baumgartner is an over-aged, undersized center who is very productive in space but lacks any electrifying elements to his game which would likely project him to an NHL top 6.
I'm not going to dwell too much because, again, the Devils had three first round picks, and that is what the 2020 Devils draft will be remembered for. Was it ideal? Maybe not, but the Devils are a lot better off now than they were last week. The future is bright and the prospect pool is deep and talented.
The Devils had a clear-cut need for a top-line caliber scoring RW for Hughes and Hischier. The Devils got two of them. For that reason alone, the 2020 draft must be considered a success. The Devils leave the 2020 draft with perhaps the deepest prospect pool in the entire NHL. Prospects who are almost afterthoughts outside the Devils top 20 -- players like Pasic and Studenic and Moynihan -- are top 10 prospects for over half the teams in the league. The Devils now boast incredible depth at LD and both wings, and this is not even mentioning the fact that the Devils enjoy an incredible and young top 2 center combo of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. So, the future is bright.
#7 -- RW Alexander Holtz, Djurgarden SHL
Holtz is the clear-cut best goal-scorer in the draft. Though he's not a true line driver like some forwards the Devils passed on in Rossi, Perfetti and Jarvis -- he's the ultimate finisher, and the perfect shotgun for playmaking centers like Hughes and Hischier. This kid is going to score a ton of goals in a Devils jersey. He has the rare shot which can beat a set goalie with no screen from virtually anywhere in the offensive zone. And -- contrary to what some of his critics have written -- Holtz is not a one trick pony. He also possesses exceptional hands, skates well, passes well and plays a competitive and smart two-way game. There's no risk and no liability -- Holtz is simply an elite goal-scoring prospect who is also a good hockey player. Was he the best possible pick at #7? Time will tell, but I am willing to bet the bank that he will be one heck of an offensive force at the NHL level.
#18 -- RW/C Dawson Mercer, Chicoutimi QMJHL
My favorite pick of the draft, and a guy I hoped would last until this pick. In my final mock draft (9 hits out of 31, beating everyone at ESPN, the Athletic, TSN and probably the world... if I do say so myself), I had the Devils taking Mercer here and was thrilled when it came to fruition. Mercer oozes character, heart, brains and hustle -- you name the intangible, he's got it in spades. These maximize an impressive skill set -- Mercer has elite hands and near-elite playmaking skills. He's also a terrific scorer, making him a true dual-threat winger. Mercer's versatility is increased by the fact he's an all-situations guy -- someone who can excel on the PK or PP, someone who can excel on a checking line (as he did for Canada at the WJC) or as your go-to scorer (as he did for Chicoutimi). This is, quite simply, the kind of kid who wear wear a letter on his jersey someday, and the kind of player you win with. An A+ pick for the Devils.
#20 -- LD Shakir Mukhamadullin, Salavat Ufa KHL
A pick which will be discussed for a very long time. The 2020 draft class was overflowing with talented wingers and very thin at D. If the Devils had gotten Drysdale or Sanderson at #7, would they have taken a chance on the extremely talented but mercurial Mukhamadullin at #20? I would have to say no, especially considering the depth of forward talent available at #20. But the Devils may well have had their hearts set on getting at least one defenseman from their three first round picks, and there is no denying Mukhamadullin's upside. With Shakir, we have a 6'3 kid who skates well, is good with the puck and willing to play physical. His primary weapon is his shot -- an absolute cannon from the point -- which is only challenged by Jeremie Poirier as the best shot among any 2020 defense draftee. At the outset of the 2019-20 season, I had Mukhamadullin ranked just outside of my top 10, due to his terrific tool-set. But unfortunately, his KHL playing time as an 18 year old was scarce at best and his confidence seemed to wane as a result. I was forced to drop him down my draft board has his play declined over the course of his draft-eligible season. It's possible that a hot start this season shot him back up the draft boards, which led the Devils to take him at #20 overall. Ultimately, I would have preferred if GM Tom Fitzgerald traded down with Washington, picking up more assets and still getting Mukhamadullin. But it's just speculation as to what the trade market was in the first round of the draft. In the end, the Devils have a very talented LD with a lot of questions still to answer playing a more regular role for Salavat Ufa of the KHL.
#84 G Nico Daws, Guelph OHL
There was great speculation that the Devils would draft a goaltender early, and this came to fruition with Daws in the third round. A big and athletic kid at 6'4, the comparison I read for Daws leading up to the draft was -- most often -- New Jersey's own MacKenzie Blackwood. Although he had the benefit of being an over-ager, Daws put up some incredible stats in an otherwise porous defensive OHL this past year. He was routinely ranked as the top North American netminder in the 2020 class, so Devils fans should be quite optimistic about this pick.
#99 C Jaromir Pytlik, Sault Ste. Marie OHL
This was a pick I was quite pumped about. One of the Devils needs going into the 2020 draft was for power forwards, and Pytlik is a huge kid at 6'3-210 who is impossible to knock off his skates. Though his offensive ceiling is likely as a very good third-liner, the young Czech skates well for his size and has a bomb of a shot. But the real reason you're drafting him is for his combination of high intelligence, great compete level and advanced anticipation and two-way play. He's a future shut-down force with size and power up the middle, the perfect bottom-6 foil to your superstar combo of Hughes and Hischier. My final ranking for Pytlik was #75, and he's a very high-floor player with a greater chance for a future regular role than many forwards who were drafted far higher. Just a terrific pick for your 4th round.
#120 LD Ethan Edwards, Spruce Grove AJHL
#130 C Artem Shlaine, Shattuck St-Mary's USHS
#161 C Benjamin Baumgartner, Davos SWISS
I'm lumping these players together because I have to be honest and say none of the picks thrilled me. With late round picks, I think the shrewd decision is to go one of two ways -- with a high-floor intangibles-type player, or with a high-ceiling player with dynamic tools, but who have fallen for certain weaknesses you hope can be alleviated. The perfect example of the "high floor" type would be last year's picks of defensive defensemen Michael Vukojevic and Case McCarthy, followed by a 7th round steal of do-it-all Swedish winger Nikola Pasic. The perfect example of "high ceiling" would obviously be Jesper Bratt.
None of these players really fit into either category. There is not a high floor among the three of them, there is not a singular dynamic tool between the three of them. Edwards is an undersized puck-rusher who is pretty good in his own zone but lacks high-end skating or skills. Shlaine is a project center with a projectable frame and pretty good playmaking who needs to hone his overall game and improve his skating to have a shot at the NHL. Baumgartner is an over-aged, undersized center who is very productive in space but lacks any electrifying elements to his game which would likely project him to an NHL top 6.
I'm not going to dwell too much because, again, the Devils had three first round picks, and that is what the 2020 Devils draft will be remembered for. Was it ideal? Maybe not, but the Devils are a lot better off now than they were last week. The future is bright and the prospect pool is deep and talented.
Last edited:
