Devils 2018-19 team discussion (news and notes) - Preseason

[Cheddabombs]

How can we not be worried or disappointed after this preseason? Not one single player grabbed a hold of a roster spot and refused to let go. Most of the lineup is pretty much up in the air. The only constant you can count on are Hall-Hischier-Palmieri.

Our prospects are so damn meh it's not even funny. McLeod is so underwhelming, Quenneville is a question mark, Bastian will never become anything and has shown zero.

Speers looks just like a player dime a dozen.

Is there really a single guy in our organization besides Ty Smith where you can say "Can't wait until he arrives and starts to tear up this league"?!

And add Zacha to the meh-group.

Right now no one is really stepping to the forefront and taking charge of roster spots. The depth we had last year is looking like a thing of the past right now.

The preseason laid the ground for the entire season last year and they went out and hit the ground running last season. This year they just look completely lost imo. No chemistry whatsoever.

What depth did we have last year that we don't this year? Gibbons? That's it up front. And you would be straight up lying if you said you thought Gibbons would produce like he did prior to the season starting last year.

We have the same lineup pretty much so I don't understand how the roster is up in the air. It's the same save for one or two spots.

I don't entirely disagree. I think some of our prospects' performances have been underwhelming namely McLeod. JQ hasn't looked that good to me either, though he does look better than years prior I'm still not sure if he'll make a difference. I thought Speers was good but he was sent down so early for some reason. Seney has been good too, he reminds me of Bratt.

 

[Better Call Sal]

Not to mention the obsession for us to have these prospects to step right in. We just had 3 step right in last year!

Our team is fairly young up front, but it's still not enough for some.

 

[NJDevs26]

Our lineup is pretty much up in the air? There's basically one forward spot up for grabs, everything else is going to be filled by guys currently on the roster. What were you expecting? No lineup stays the same over an entire 82 game season.

I've never seen so much stock put into the preseason the way this board has done this year.

I think what he meant by lineup being in the air is the pairings/lines, which is actually true although you could say Greene-Vat is a lock for the start of the season. I'm sure he wasn't literally saying the only sure starters are 9-13-21 though. We have sure starters but god only knows if Zacha can hold up a second line spot or if we have to (gak) use Travis there again. We don't know if Bratt will stick in the top six the whole year or if a Quenneville or someone else get there. We don't know if Smith makes the team, if he does presumably he'll have a role. We don't know if Mueller or Butcher is the one to stick in the top four, whether Severson/Santini can handle a top four role, etc.

But yes the preseason complaining is a tired meme. Sure the team said the preseason last year helped translate into the regular season, because it gave the young players confidence they could play in the league. That does not mean it has the same impact every year, and when you become more experienced you have to learn how to win without needing the over the top emotion of a young, up and comer.

It's been said before a few times and ignored every time, but Washington was 2-5 last preseason (and the Isles were 6-0-2, while the Oilers were 6-2 coming off a good year and went splat). It doesn't translate all the time, in fact it's the exception not the rule when it does.

 

[MartyOwns]

ya, teams will get wise to that.

the rangers were wise to it 5 minutes into our first preseason game

 

[Triumph]

It would've been nice if McLeod could've shown he can jump in right away. That shouldn't've been expected from his junior results and indeed it didn't happen. I'm curious to see how it will go in Binghamton.

It would've been great if Quenneville could've blown the doors off. Again, there was no reason to expect this to happen for him at age 22. I still think he will probably make the team - whether he stays on it, I'm not sure.

Joey Anderson, it would've been nice if he could've cemented a spot, but the Devils have Palmieri, Bratt, and Noesen as their top 3 RWs - not easy to crack that lineup right away.

So yeah, maybe this is a 40th percentile result for Devils' camp? I like the way Seney looks - he is going to play in the NHL. I don't think anyone except that guy who literally only posts about Seney would've said that this time last year with any sort of confidence. Studenic showed me a lot - he's not likely to be an impact player, but I think he can play for the Devils in a 3rd-4th line role in a few years. And obviously Smith looks incredible on the puck.

 

[bobilly45]

How can we not be worried or disappointed after this preseason? Not one single player grabbed a hold of a roster spot and refused to let go. Most of the lineup is pretty much up in the air. The only constant you can count on are Hall-Hischier-Palmieri.

Our prospects are so damn meh it's not even funny. McLeod is so underwhelming, Quenneville is a question mark, Bastian will never become anything and has shown zero.

Speers looks just like a player dime a dozen.

Is there really a single guy in our organization besides Ty Smith where you can say "Can't wait until he arrives and starts to tear up this league"?!

And add Zacha to the meh-group.

Right now no one is really stepping to the forefront and taking charge of roster spots. The depth we had last year is looking like a thing of the past right now.

The preseason laid the ground for the entire season last year and they went out and hit the ground running last season. This year they just look completely lost imo. No chemistry whatsoever.

Overworried much?

Max of what 2 spots are up for grabs and the devils are a really young team so not many will be called up outside of injuries. Its pre season, the top line looks good, kk looks good, lack looks better based on positioning, most of the regulars look OK at worse. But its preseason, playing with different people, trying different things out.
Not worried at all... nor am I worried about pre seaosn in any sport.... its meaningless

 

[OmNomNom]

I hope Smith doesn’t fall in love with that Booker T spinaroni pass on the PP

I can't dig it, sucka

 

[Devils Dominion]

How can we not be worried or disappointed after this preseason? Not one single player grabbed a hold of a roster spot and refused to let go. Most of the lineup is pretty much up in the air. The only constant you can count on are Hall-Hischier-Palmieri.

Our prospects are so damn meh it's not even funny. McLeod is so underwhelming, Quenneville is a question mark, Bastian will never become anything and has shown zero.

Speers looks just like a player dime a dozen.

Is there really a single guy in our organization besides Ty Smith where you can say "Can't wait until he arrives and starts to tear up this league"?!

And add Zacha to the meh-group.

Right now no one is really stepping to the forefront and taking charge of roster spots. The depth we had last year is looking like a thing of the past right now.

The preseason laid the ground for the entire season last year and they went out and hit the ground running last season. This year they just look completely lost imo. No chemistry whatsoever.

Well frickin said.

Totally agree

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

its hilarious to me that you guys think that it is common for ~20-21 year olds to just burst on the scene and steal roster spots. As if that is some common occurrence that happens every single year.

We were spoiled last year by our rookies. Like I've said plenty of times before, I don't think many of you guys fully grasp what a rebuild actually is and believe it or not, we're still in the middle of one here.

 

[JrFischer54]

How can we not be worried or disappointed after this preseason? Not one single player grabbed a hold of a roster spot and refused to let go. Most of the lineup is pretty much up in the air. The only constant you can count on are Hall-Hischier-Palmieri.

Our prospects are so damn meh it's not even funny. McLeod is so underwhelming, Quenneville is a question mark, Bastian will never become anything and has shown zero.

Speers looks just like a player dime a dozen.

Is there really a single guy in our organization besides Ty Smith where you can say "Can't wait until he arrives and starts to tear up this league"?!

And add Zacha to the meh-group.

Right now no one is really stepping to the forefront and taking charge of roster spots. The depth we had last year is looking like a thing of the past right now.

The preseason laid the ground for the entire season last year and they went out and hit the ground running last season. This year they just look completely lost imo. No chemistry whatsoever.

i dont know much about prospects and stuff like that but i was concerned going into the summer that the team didn't do enough to address everyone else in the division building up. time will tell but i think this team is a bubble 8th place team 50/50 on getting that 8th seed. if hall misses time? all bets are off

 

[Darkauron]

Ahhh there is the classic devilswede negativity and the sky is falling post. Knew we were due for one of those.

The team looks fine, and Nico, Hall, bratt, ect look even better than last year. Not to mention ty Smith being amazing

 

[Triumph]

I agree that I wish the Devils had more prospects for whom I was confident they would excel in the NHL. But you can really only realistically expect to have 1 or 2 of these players at a time, plus they tend to graduate to the NHL very quickly and then they're no longer prospects. Of this group that people are down on, at least one of those players will be an NHLer, I feel confident of that.

 

[Devils Dominion]

i dont know much about prospects and stuff like that but i was concerned going into the summer that the team didn't do enough to address everyone else in the division building up. time will tell but i think this team is a bubble 8th place team 50/50 on getting that 8th seed. if hall misses time? all bets are off

Ray was expecting /hoping that the prospects would take the bull by the horns and earn jobs after failing to land players he coveted such as JVR, JT, EK and Maroon

Well, no one stepped up this preseason and outright earned a job.

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Lol last year people said the preseason doesn't matter because Stafford had like 8 pts in 4 games

 

[Call Me Al]

ill be worried when the nhl roster fails to win games in the regular season but until then i accept this for what it is - a time to evaluate the fringe players and see where everyone slots in on the depth chart. the nhl roster is more or less cemented with players who were on the team last year and are either in their prime or on their way up with 2 exceptions - greene and zajac. get a grip people

 

[Call Me Al]

and the people complaining about prospects are ignoring that our best young players are already on the team. we don't need as many "prospects" when we have nico, bratt, zacha, wood and bratt already on the team. that's a core for the foreseeable future when you add smith to the mix. what difference does it make if they played in juniors, the ahl or nhl last year they will be going up with every other team's prospects for the next 8 years regardless

 

[NJDevs26]

Lol last year people said the preseason doesn't matter because Stafford had like 8 pts in 4 games

Well it mattered plenty to Stafford, it got him a prime lineup spot for the first part of the year

 

[Emperoreddy]

Expecting every prospect to do what Nico and Bratt did is setting yourself up for major disappointment.

They are top line talents. It’s just different.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Sure, but at LW?

Its a preseason practice. Don’t read too much into it. This is the time to try things.

Same with Severson, though I get a certain few take every bit news they can to just dump on him

 

[devilsblood]

the rangers were wise to it 5 minutes into our first preseason game

I missed it. Steal and breakaway?

 

[My3Sons]

It’s pretty clear the team has a first line and a bottom six. The defense is meh for the most part but the second line and the goaltending will probably define the season. I’m not sure that you can take much away from preseason given the mix and match lineups and until Cory comes back you can’t say what the true state of the goaltending will be.

 

[Billdo]

How can we not be worried or disappointed after this preseason? Not one single player grabbed a hold of a roster spot and refused to let go. Most of the lineup is pretty much up in the air. The only constant you can count on are Hall-Hischier-Palmieri.

Our prospects are so damn meh it's not even funny. McLeod is so underwhelming, Quenneville is a question mark, Bastian will never become anything and has shown zero.

Speers looks just like a player dime a dozen.

Is there really a single guy in our organization besides Ty Smith where you can say "Can't wait until he arrives and starts to tear up this league"?!

And add Zacha to the meh-group.

Right now no one is really stepping to the forefront and taking charge of roster spots. The depth we had last year is looking like a thing of the past right now.

The preseason laid the ground for the entire season last year and they went out and hit the ground running last season. This year they just look completely lost imo. No chemistry whatsoever.

How on earth is "most of the lineup up in the air"?

 

[Goptor]

Expecting every prospect to do what Nico and Bratt did is setting yourself up for major disappointment.

They are top line talents. It’s just different.

Prospects go off in pre-season all the time. Speers did it two years ago, Lappin went off three years ago. Bratt and Hischier last year.

There was an open spot for anyone that was able to step up going against a mix of other prospects, career AHLers and NHLers just going through the motions. What does it say about the players' effort and determination if they look outmatched against that?

 

[devilsblood]

It’s pretty clear the team has a first line and a bottom six. The defense is meh for the most part but the second line and the goaltending will probably define the season. I’m not sure that you can take much away from preseason given the mix and match lineups and until Cory comes back you can’t say what the true state of the goaltending will be.

Big IF here, but if Mueller proves himself a viable mid pairing guy who can take some of the load off of Greene that would be significant.

If Sev's can clean up his play that could be big as well.

My point being that defense def has that room for improvement, that the 2nd line and goalie does, which if these guys can come through would help us get back to the playoffs.

Now I have more faith in Zacha/Mojo on that 2nd line, as well as Schneids in net, but I think there is a chance Mueller takes a step forward.

 

[Missionhockey]

Greene is not our best LD. He really is terrible. Stats proved it the last two years. Hes garbage.

What an argument...

If it's not Greene, then who is it? The only other person it possibly even could be is Butcher and he's never played more than the third pairing.