Prospect Info: 2021 HFDevils Prospect Rankings #1

Who is the Devils' #1 Prospect?

  • Kevin Bahl

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Graeme Clarke

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Nolan Foote

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Shakir Mukhamadullin

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Nikita Othotyuk

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Jaromir Pytlik

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Chase Stillman

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    106
  • Poll closed .

Nubmer6

Sleep is a poor substitute for caffeine
Sponsor
Jul 14, 2013
13,713
17,781
The Village
Mercer add Thompson

Kind of nitpicking but could you cross out the players from the eligible list that are already in the poll. Strike through would work best, just use [“s”] [/“s”] around the player name and remove the quotations.

Will be easier to follow along who was included and who is still eligible to be added.

I actually realized about 15 minutes ago that in last year's poll I bolded them. I guess I should do the same here.

I used the strikeout for players already selected.
 

devilsblood

Registered User
Mar 10, 2010
29,455
11,711
Hughes. Going with the size skating and bloodlines.

Mercer looks like a great prospect, and I will rank him 2nd, but while Hughes was the youngest in his draft class, Mercer was pretty old relative to his class. He's more then 22 months older then Hughes. And his +1 season was pretty much on par with his draft year. It's not like he showed fantastic progression yoy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mdj12784

Hisch13r

Registered User
May 16, 2012
32,892
32,065
NJ
wait wait can we get some consistency in these this year? are we talking current, or what we anticipate the ceiling to be?

I always rank prospects based off of what I expect them to be and not where they currently are
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
65,688
27,889
I always rank prospects based off of what I expect them to be and not where they currently are

That is an interesting comment...Isn't what they currently are the biggest indicator of what they can become?

I mean I have never seen a rock turn into ice cream...I think you to have a little milk or cream if you think you're gonna get ice cream?

In the case of Hughes we all know he has some deficiencies. We also know he is very young. I think it is reasonable to say this is an extremely important development year for him. I think this development year will determine a lot, but saying he has "franchise player potential" today...I think is over the top expectations. I also think you want see how a player works through some of their known deficiencies before you really start thinking about setting a trajectory. A professional amateur scout doesn't get the luxury of time to decide...But I do.

Of course all just my opinion.
 
Last edited:

Hisch13r

Registered User
May 16, 2012
32,892
32,065
NJ
That is an interesting comment...Isn't what they currently are the biggest indicator of what they can become?

I mean I have never seen a rock turn into ice cream...I think you to have a little milk or cream if you think you're gonna get ice cream?

In the case of Hughes we all know he has some deficiencies. We also know he is very young. I think it is reasonable to say this is an extremely important development year for him. I think this development year will determine a lot, but saying he has "franchise player potential" today...I think is over the top expectations. I also think you want see how a player works through some of their know deficiencies before you really start thinking about setting a trajectory. A professional amateur scout doesn't get the luxury of time to decide...But I do.

Of course all just my opinion.

What I'm saying is that last year I wouldn't have called McLeod a better prospect than say Holtz. McLeod was currently a better player but Holtz was the better prospect
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
65,688
27,889
What I'm saying is that last year I wouldn't have called McLeod a better prospect than say Holtz. McLeod was currently a better player but Holtz was the better prospect

Last year a lot of people called Holtz a first line winger with 40 goal potential and since most have readjusted expectations based on a not so great D+1. So going with your analogy I think someone like Nolan Foote who performed very well in the AHL and during his short cup of coffee should be ranked on equal footing with someone like Holtz.

Potential is good but there has to be substance to go with it I think?
 
  • Like
Reactions: mdj12784

Hisch13r

Registered User
May 16, 2012
32,892
32,065
NJ
Last year a lot of people called Holtz a first line winger with 40 goal potential and since most have readjusted expectations based on a not so great D+1. So going with your analogy I think someone like Nolan Foote who performed very well in the AHL and during his short cup of coffee should be ranked on equal footing with someone like Holtz.

Potential is good but there has to be substance to go with it I think?

I don't see any reason Holtz still can't be that. He had a meh D+1 because Djurgarden was a mess, I believe he got Covid, he was injured. People are too down on him. I'd still put Holtz over Foote. If Foote really hits I think that's the caliber of player you probably get with Holtz if he just turns out fine rather than hitting his ceiling
 

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
65,688
27,889
I don't see any reason Holtz still can't be that. He had a meh D+1 because Djurgarden was a mess, I believe he got Covid, he was injured. People are too down on him. I'd still put Holtz over Foote. If Foote really hits I think that's the caliber of player you probably get with Holtz if he just turns out fine rather than hitting his ceiling
I guess I just see the "ceiling" as artificial in many cases and that the ceiling should be set more by early results than pedigree.
 

Hisch13r

Registered User
May 16, 2012
32,892
32,065
NJ
I guess I just see the "ceiling" as artificial in many cases and that the ceiling should be set more by early results than pedigree.

I guess I'm not looking ceilings as much as probabilities. To go back to the McLeod comparison, let's say Holtz had like a 50% chance to become a 2nd line scorer or better and a 50% chance to flame out while McLeod is already a 4th liner but I only think he has like a 10% chance to be a 3rd liner or better. I'm taking Holtz every single time even if McLeod's currently the better player
 

Devs3cups

HEWZ‎ ‎& NEHMEHTS
Sponsor
May 8, 2010
20,014
34,703
Although I love Mercer and Holtz and I'm sure they'll be solid future pieces for us, you gotta go with Hughes here based off his age and his potential. Elite skating, first pairing, #1 d-man potential is super exciting to have in this prospect pool.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mdj12784

Guadana

Registered User
Mar 7, 2012
6,656
17,505
St Petersburg
Mercer. Everywhere I watched him he was awesome and competent for his role. world tournament, qhjml, playoff games.
I watching WJSS games now and Hughes is raw. I dont see competent game in defense. And this is not NHL level game. This is not KHL level, SHL level or even VHL\Alssvenskan\AHL level of the game.
Hughes is a defenseman, and to become a defenseman in the NHL, he has a very long way to go. I can't put him above those who are also talented(Hughes is a great skater? great. Holtz has awesome shotgun, Foote is pretty good shooter and physical guy, Mercer is a great two-way player with great puckhandling ability), but at the same time do not have such a number of gaps in the game. I hope that over the years he will grow in the rating to the first number. I`m exiting how well he is in his pros, but I will wait before he will fix his cons. Now it's not even the top 3.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JK3 and My3Sons

GeNeXt

Registered User
Jul 5, 2012
1,368
709
Voted Holtz. Based on the potential of what he can be if he pans out. Maybe he is the next Palms, which was still a near top-10 RW in the league for years (near top-5 if you consider actual righties who play RW). Hopefully he becomes the most notable goal scorer the team has had since IK. Laine-lite would be ideal- without all of Laine's baggage. This year will be huge obviously in Holtz's future outlook. Last year he looked great at times in the SHL, he was better than his stat line at the WJC, and I'll give him a mulligan on his short AHL stint, as it was super late in the year for someone who'd been playing pro hockey for a few months longer than several N.A. players.

Mercer and Luke have an argument for #1, as represented by the poll, but a lot of teams have prospects that compare similarly. More so to Mercer as a versatile workhorse, and more teams have defense prospects who profile close to what Luke is than Holtz as a potential 40 goal scorer.
 

TheUnseenHand

HFBoards Sponsor
Sponsor
Feb 5, 2010
47,717
18,528
Im going Holtz. Really feel he has been undersold after a mediocre WJC and Mercer playing well at the end of the Q season. When I look at Holtz, I see a guy Who has a ton of tools and is physically ready to play in the NHL. Yes I think he has some work to do in Utica, but I think he's the closest to the NHL with the most potential of any prospect in the system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nubmer6

nugg

NJ Hammerhead Bats!
Apr 27, 2002
2,558
968
Central Jersey
That is an interesting comment...Isn't what they currently are the biggest indicator of what they can become?

I mean I have never seen a rock turn into ice cream...I think you to have a little milk or cream if you think you're gonna get ice cream?

In the case of Hughes we all know he has some deficiencies. We also know he is very young. I think it is reasonable to say this is an extremely important development year for him. I think this development year will determine a lot, but saying he has "franchise player potential" today...I think is over the top expectations. I also think you want see how a player works through some of their known deficiencies before you really start thinking about setting a trajectory. A professional amateur scout doesn't get the luxury of time to decide...But I do.

Of course all just my opinion.
Did anyone expect the mercurial rise of the Rango? I sure didn't.
 
  • Like
Reactions: devilsblood

JimEIV

Registered User
Feb 19, 2003
65,688
27,889
Did anyone expect the mercurial rise of the Rango? I sure didn't.
Absolutely. There are always going to be surprises both good and bad...
but if you're ranking prospects a guy like Sharangovich would probably not make my top 20 based on where he was before this season...he didn't have pedigree, he didn't have much AHL success, he was drafted as an overager in the 5th round, he doesn't seem to have any eye popping attributes...his shot is good but it is more recently developed by all accounts.

I'm not sure Sharangovich is a good example of any view/method of prospect evaluation...there is really nothing to point to to say this guy should've been ranked differently (higher or lower)?
 

AfroThunder396

[citation needed]
Jan 8, 2006
39,056
22,926
Miami, FL
It's interesting looking back guys who were not considered great prospects at the time but ended up being good players and trying to figure out why you were wrong.

I didn't have Wood ranked very highly. He was a 4th round pick who after being drafted went back to play two years of high school hockey at 18 and 19. He had one pretty good year at BC and then immediately went pro. It was really tough to evaluate him because there was really just that one season at BC to go on. And it's always tough to evaluate guys who are physically mature early and dominate lesser leagues.

Bratt was kind of in a similar position where he played one season at AIK and then immediately won an NHL roster spot. Some people had identified him as a pretty talented player, and had he played a full season in London like he was supposed to he probably would have climbed up the prospect rankings in a hurry. But we never got to see productive prospect Bratt climbing up the depth charts, we got to see a scrawny little kid playing in Sweden and then suddenly he's on the top line with Taylor Hall.

Sharangovich, there's definitely a trend that becomes visible in hindsight. He scored 0.25 P/G his first season in Albany, then 0.44 P/G his second season, to 0.74 P/G in the KHL. There's a strong progression trend showing that this player is improving. I thought he had a good chance to make the team and be a decent bottom-6 guy this season but I was certainly blown away by just how good he was. The turnaround time from just another prospect to legit NHL guy was shockingly fast but he had been showing us growth and talent for some time. But really - the prospect rankings were accurate at the time, maybe bump him up a couple of spots but no one in their right minds should have been ranking him top-5 or anything like that.

You could throw Henrique in there as well. Two good but not amazing seasons in junior after being drafted, one pretty good AHL campaign in 2011, and then all of a sudden Zajac gets injured and he's getting 50 points as a rookie. Reasons to be optimistic, but when the switch flipped it happened real quick.

So these guys went from average/mediocre prospects to NHL players very quickly. And I think it was mostly a question of opportunity. We didn't really get to see a ton of progression, they had one or two years of truly measurable growth and then, boom, NHL. This path to the NHL is very hard to predict because you never know when that "Aha!" moment moment will occur. These players breaking out all makes sense in hindsight but at the time it always seems like a surprise.
 

Ds88

Registered User
Jun 21, 2009
354
57
Went with Hughes but it was splitting hairs between him and Mercer.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->