Defense in 5 years

[JimEIV]

Out of our existing young D who will be the Devils best Dman in 5 years...

Larsson
Merrill
Gelinas
Severson
Santini
Or other existing prospect.

Click to read more...

 

[Baggy Spandex]

Adam Larsson

:edit: I should say, Adam Larsson has the potential to be a very, very good defenseman if he finds the confidence.

If he doesn't, I'd say Merrill if he gets a little bit more size to him.

 

[Classic Devil]

Very hard to say. My hunch is Santini, and that's a tough pick over Severson.

Larsson's completely enigmatic, I can't peg him at all.

Edit: oh wait, in 5 years? Then probably not Santini (only 24) yet, or Severson (only 25). In 5 years I guess Merrill.

 

[RSeen]

Larsson.

 

[Eric Sachs]

Salvador

 

[HischierSeDgewOrk]

man what a tough question. all except gelinas i think have a chance to be top pairing but my guess would be this..in order.

5. Gelinas
4. Santini
3. Severson
2. Merrill
1. Larsson

I really get excited every time I look at our dmen depth.
To round out the bottom d pairing we have helgeson, Scarlett and Jacobs

That could easily be the best d corps in the league if all goes as planned

I really think Gelinas is over-estimating his value right now and i have a feeling he is butting heads with Lou. This might turn into a Brendan Morrison type standoff and I see Lou shipping him off with a roster player (forward) plus pick/prospect for something decent.

 

[JimEIV]

Santini is tough to figure out for me...from what Ive seen he skates very well and he is a very good defender...but there has been so little offense so far it's hard to see him reaching the level of a Merrill, Larrson or Severson.

 

[ScottyK]

Going to go out on a limb with nothing really to back it up, just to be different.

Josh Jacobs....poor kid is so ugly he can pass as a relative of Tyler Kennedy.

 

[Classic Devil]

Santini is tough to figure out for me...from what Ive seen he skates very well and he is a very good defender...but there has been so little offense so far it's hard to see him reaching the level of a Merrill, Larrson or Severson.

I'm not expecting much offense from Santini. But I still think there's a chance he's our #1 defenseman.

 

[Classic Devil]

Going to go out on a limb with nothing really to back it up, just to be different.

Josh Jacobs....poor kid is so ugly he can pass as a relative of Tyler Kennedy.

I just don't know enough about Jacobs to project him.

 

[Devilsfan992]

I'll be honest, I haven't seen Severson play so I have to pass judgment on him.

Out of the other four, it'll be a tie between Merrill and Santini for me.

 

[DevilsJunkie]

Saying it goes Santini first, followed closely followed by Merrill, followed closely by Larsson. Santini is going to be the shutdown defenseman who is on the ice late in the game to protect a one-goal lead. I see his potential as excelling in that role.

 

[R8Devs]

larsson or merrill


Santini probably has to show some more offensive prowess to be really considered to be a top pairing D. I see him filling a Niklas Hjalmarsson role for the Devils and if he does that, it would be awesome because Hjalmarsson is like the best kind of defensive d-man there is.

 

[NJDevils17]

I still think Larsson has the potential to be a #1 defenseman. It's a question of if he can garner the confidence to put it all together though. I've watched a few Kelowna games and Severson is a very good player but from what I've seen from Santini (and read about) I think he has more NHL potential because he is a VERY good skater and I think because of that his offensive game will develop slowly but surely(not too much of course, but to a respectable level). My list would go

1. Larsson - franchise defenseman potential, I think he can put it together, he's too smart not to.
2. Santini - top pairing low-end #1, high end #2
3. Severson - #2/3 guy, can play top or mid pairing minutes.
4. Merrill - same as Sevs
5. Gelinas - wildcard, I see a Zidlicky-esque defenseman as his peak.

I'm lower on Gelinas, frankly I don't think he can pull his defense up to a level where he isn't a liability. I would hope he's like Zidlicky, good offense, okay defense but I just don't see it happening to be honest. I think Severson and Merrill are interchangeable because I think both will be good 2/3 guys. Merrill isn't flashy but gets the job done. He's a high end #2 guy.

 

[schoenfeld]

santini, larsson is in the KHL by then

 

[billingtons ghost]

I hope they all pan out. But I am going to go off the wall and say someone like Helgeson or Scarlett is going to just up their game and come out of nowhere to be our 'best' defenseman - not flashiest, but steadiest.

Or Lou pulls out some completely random gem signing ala Rafalski.

 

[elindholm]

Santini is tough to figure out for me...from what Ive seen he skates very well and he is a very good defender...but there has been so little offense so far it's hard to see him reaching the level of a Merrill, Larrson or Severson.

I have no problem with his lack of offense. #3 was never counted on offense. Some of the most revered "stay at home" types (which Santini will probably be) were never counted on.
Nothing to be concerned with imo. He'll probably be the go to guy on PK or good shut down guy. (which Devs haven't been able to do in while.

Last year Devs were 27th in scoring. Guess who was 26th in scoring? You guessed it. Stanley cup champs L.A. Why, because so hard to score against.

 

[JRZ DVLS]

I really think the Merril will end up being the #1. He is capable in all situations it seems and already rellishes the duties/opportunities he has been given. As all have said Larsson needs to gain confidence. We have seen small bits of how good he can be, but not much. Hes still young though.

I have a feeling Gelinas will not be with this team in the future. not sure why, but my guess s that one or two may be packaged or will just not re-sign.

the others we havent even seen play.

Ideally, i would hope that we can have a d-styling of the 2000's where there was an offensive guy and a stay at home to cover his tracks. So we may see a Hegelson up there

 

[elindholm]

I really think the Merril will end up being the #1. He is capable in all situations it seems and already rellishes the duties/opportunities he has been given. As all have said Larsson needs to gain confidence. We have seen small bits of how good he can be, but not much. Hes still young though.

I have a feeling Gelinas will not be with this team in the future. not sure why, but my guess s that one or two may be packaged or will just not re-sign.

the others we havent even seen play.

Ideally, i would hope that we can have a d-styling of the 2000's where there was an offensive guy and a stay at home to cover his tracks. So we may see a Hegelson up there

I thought the same way about Gelly being packaged for a fw. We shouldn't interpret him still being unsigned as anything significant or a "standoff". I now think he'll be an integral part of the teams future. booming shot, physical, decent wheels, and although he has defensive shortcomings, (so many offensive minded d men do)
I think this is a bridge contract vs. a longterm. You know they'll come to terms.
* also, you know the Habs are drooling over this guy

 

[Billdo]

1. Merrill
2. Larsson
3. Severson
4. Santini
5. Helgeson/Jacobs

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I hope Larsson can put it all together this year. I feel that Merrill will be the strongest of the bunch this year though given what he showed last year. If we hang on to Gelinas I think he can learn to be adequate defensively. If he can just be league average defensively and put up 10+ goals and 40+ points he will be a very valuable player. He's getting super underrated here. He was an absolute rookie sensation and took the league by storm when he first came in, but now he's a bum because he ran into a rough patch? Huh? Haven't seen enough of the other guys but I'm very excited about Severson based on what I've read.

 

[JimEIV]

If we hang on to Gelinas I think he can learn to be adequate defensively. If he can just be league average defensively and put up 10+ goals and 40+ points he will be a very valuable player. He's getting super underrated here. He was an absolute rookie sensation and took the league by storm when he first came in, but now he's a bum because he ran into a rough patch? Huh? .

I think there is a lot of truth to this especially the bolded part...that being said, some of the rough patch was extremely troubling.

It was as though he was very far from being NHL capable some nights...some of that is to be expected for sure but the real concern is how far is he from being an adequate defender and can he ever be one? That is a fair question to ask after watching him this season I think.

 

[Oneiro]

I expect Merrill to be playing 28 minutes a night by the end of 2016. I think the only scenario where that doesn't happen is the best scenario, where we have basically 3-4 guys who are capable of pulling over 20 minutes a game.

I don't think it's absurd to say that, even a 100 games in, Larsson's situation is still a mystery due to extenuating circumstances not entirely of his own doing. While I believe that every player is ultimately a master of his own destiny, the last four years have been weird enough for me to move some blame away from Larsson.

He won't be a number one, probably, but I think Reece Scarlett does not get talked about enough. He needs to get bigger, but I would not be surprised if the organization has him much higher on the chart than the fans.

It will be nice having a defense where everyone can move the puck or make a great first pass.

 

[Missionhockey]

I think there is a lot of truth to this especially the bolded part...that being said, some of the rough patch was extremely troubling.

It was as though he was very far from being NHL capable some nights...some of that is to be expected for sure but the real concern is how far is he from being an adequate defender and can he ever be one? That is a fair question to ask after watching him this season I think.

Yeah, after two years in the minors, I was hoping Gelinas would be a lot more polished than he was. It's not like they didn't take their time with him.

 

[Oneiro]

When I watch minor hockey, college hockey, junior hockey or pretty much any hockey that isn't the NHL, I am struck by only one thing: none of those leagues even remotely resemble the NHL.

I am never surprised when someone comes up and struggles with playing solid defense in the NHL, no matter how long they've been down in the minors.