StevenToddIves
Registered User
Round 1 (1st overall) C Jack Hughes, US-NTDP what else is there to do but to celebrate? Hughes' ability to not only see the ice/pass/puckhandle/enter the zone at an elite, almost generational level but to do all of these things at a billion miles per hour is a trait which only comes along once or twice a generation. Quite simply, he changes the entire pace and scope of the game every time he hits the ice, and he changes the Devils future path similarly for the better. Buy your jersey before they sell out, he's the second-line center next season and the benefits will be reaped immediately. Grade A+
Round 2 (61st overall) LD Nikita Okhotyuk, Ottawa-OHL after a litany of trades which seemingly turned the Devils three second-round picks into PK Subban and about 46,000 later-round picks, Ray Shero and Paul Castron immediately set out to address the Devils organizational black hole of physical, defensive-minded defensemen. The young Belarussian is very physical and strong at 6'1-195, but also plays with great discipline and intelligence. He rarely takes minors quite simply because he's rarely beaten, playing an advanced and mature positional game with excellent gap control. Unlike many D of his ilk, Okhotyuk skates very well, and it is difficult for even the speediest of forwards to beat him outside. He may have been a bit of a reach in the second, due to the fact that he has negligible offensive upside and needs to work on being a bit mistake prone with the puck when under heavy forechecking pressure. In all honesty, my pick here would have been a high-upside forward like Dorofeyev, Legare or Grewe. Yet, while this pick was not a home run, it was nice to see the Devils braintrust realize the need to get heavier on the back-end, and to be able to achieve such without getting a slow-footed, brutish grenade handler. Grade: B
Round 3 (70th overall) LD Daniil Misyul, Yaroslavl, MHL with their third pick, the Devils moved from Belarus to Russia but took another young, big (6'3-180) LD. This time, they knocked it out of the park. Not only is Misyul a superior skater, puck handler, passer and shooter than most defensive-minded D, but he also hits like a freight train and fears absolutely nothing on the ice. His projectable frame should be around 200-210 lbs by the time he hits the NHL in two to three years, and if his offensive abilities develop he has the potential to be a physical, shut-down guy with 40+ point upside -- or, the prototypical #2 NHL defenseman. If there are any warts on his game, it's that Misyul is overly aggressive at times and can take bad penalties. His shot can also use some work, but will certainly gain some power with a few years of development and time in the weight room. Ultimately, he's a huge value as a potential 2/3 D in the third round. Grade: A+
Round 3 (80th overall) RW Graeme Clarke, Ottawa-OHL the Devils drafted their first pair of teammates in the 2019 draft, and it would not be their last. Clarke is a rare player in that he only has two plus tools -- shot and hands -- and the rest of his game grades out as average across the board. But those two skills? Oh, wow. Before the draft, a friend of mine asked me who had the best shot in the draft after the obvious top 3 of Caufield, Kaliyev and Kakko. I said Clarke. He said, who? Well, here's who -- if Graeme Clarke can even become a decent enough all-around player to earn a bottom 6 RW role in the NHL, he can become almost a power play/shootout specialist. This is a guy who can be an immense weapon from the circles on the man up in almost an Ovechkin/Tarasenko sense. But again -- temper your expectations, because the rest of his game needs a lot of work in order for Clarke to get there. Grade: B+
Round 3 (82nd overall) LD Michael Vukojevic, Kitchener-OHL I was honestly surprised by this pick in that the Devils had already taken two defensive-minded, physical LD in their previous three picks. Again, in all honesty, I would have used this pick to take a high upside forward like Cajkovic or Spiridonov or Teply or Donovan. But let's look at what we have in Vukojevic -- one of the best shut-down D in the OHL. He's 6'3-205 and will get bigger, and he's already incredibly strong and tough as nails. He's got plus-plus strength, which is to say that he's not just beating up on smaller forwards in the OHL, in a few years he will be enough of a beast to beat up on all-star forwards in the NHL. That's something crucial, especially in the post-season, but Vukojevic will need to improve on some areas of his game in order to make the NHL, likely as a third-pairing D. Like many players of his ilk, his skating can certainly use improvement. His offensive skills are negligible at best, but it must be stated that he is extremely smart and calm with the puck, rarely making a mental error or untimely turnover. He's just that big, safe guy you pair with an offensive-minded RD; a guy who clears creases and wins puck battles and stands up for his teammates and is loved by his goaltenders and coaches. Grade: B
Round 4 (96 overall) RW Tyce Thompson, Providence College, NCAA this pick puzzled me. Thompson is tall but reed-thin, skates pretty well for his physique, and has a pretty good shot. His production was decent for an NCAA freshman without jumping off the page. My caveat is that Thompson is an overager who was not on anyone's draft radar -- he would have been a wiser pick in the 7th round than the 4th. There were still a ton of upside forwards available here, not just the aforementioned Reply/Spiridonov/Donovan but also character guys I loved like Janicke and Washkurak. Let's hope I'm wrong on this and Thompson is a diamond in the very rough. Grade: D-
Round 4 (118 overall) RD Case McCarthy, US-NTDP sometimes you get exactly what you need. The Devils entered the 2019 draft with the two biggest organizational needs being physical, shut-down D and, especially, RD with mid-pairing or better potential. With McCarthy, they not only got both, but they got them at an incredible value with the 118th pick. In the U18 tourney, McCarthy was probably the best D on Team USA this side of Cam York -- his skating was better than advertised, his puck skills were better than advertised, his physicality and shut-down acumen were precisely as brilliant as advertised. He probably did not lose a one-on-one battle all tournament long, routinely dominating battles all tourney long with highly rated forwards from Peyton Krebs to Patrick Puistola to Vasili Podkolzin. He's destined to be a beast on the PK, and the guy the coach wants out there to protect a one-goal lead late. Despite having pedestrian offensive upside, it must be noted that McCarthy skates extremely well and can flash the occasional tape-to-tape stretch pass. Where he shines, however, is in the defensive zone -- quite simply, his mix of physicality, strength, positional excellence and high intelligence makes life miserable for any opposing forward whenever he's on the ice. His lauded leadership qualities and high compete level make McCarthy can't-miss as an NHL third-pairing guy, but he has the upside as a guy who can ride shotgun 20+ minutes per game with your #1D. Grade: A+
Round 2 (61st overall) LD Nikita Okhotyuk, Ottawa-OHL after a litany of trades which seemingly turned the Devils three second-round picks into PK Subban and about 46,000 later-round picks, Ray Shero and Paul Castron immediately set out to address the Devils organizational black hole of physical, defensive-minded defensemen. The young Belarussian is very physical and strong at 6'1-195, but also plays with great discipline and intelligence. He rarely takes minors quite simply because he's rarely beaten, playing an advanced and mature positional game with excellent gap control. Unlike many D of his ilk, Okhotyuk skates very well, and it is difficult for even the speediest of forwards to beat him outside. He may have been a bit of a reach in the second, due to the fact that he has negligible offensive upside and needs to work on being a bit mistake prone with the puck when under heavy forechecking pressure. In all honesty, my pick here would have been a high-upside forward like Dorofeyev, Legare or Grewe. Yet, while this pick was not a home run, it was nice to see the Devils braintrust realize the need to get heavier on the back-end, and to be able to achieve such without getting a slow-footed, brutish grenade handler. Grade: B
Round 3 (70th overall) LD Daniil Misyul, Yaroslavl, MHL with their third pick, the Devils moved from Belarus to Russia but took another young, big (6'3-180) LD. This time, they knocked it out of the park. Not only is Misyul a superior skater, puck handler, passer and shooter than most defensive-minded D, but he also hits like a freight train and fears absolutely nothing on the ice. His projectable frame should be around 200-210 lbs by the time he hits the NHL in two to three years, and if his offensive abilities develop he has the potential to be a physical, shut-down guy with 40+ point upside -- or, the prototypical #2 NHL defenseman. If there are any warts on his game, it's that Misyul is overly aggressive at times and can take bad penalties. His shot can also use some work, but will certainly gain some power with a few years of development and time in the weight room. Ultimately, he's a huge value as a potential 2/3 D in the third round. Grade: A+
Round 3 (80th overall) RW Graeme Clarke, Ottawa-OHL the Devils drafted their first pair of teammates in the 2019 draft, and it would not be their last. Clarke is a rare player in that he only has two plus tools -- shot and hands -- and the rest of his game grades out as average across the board. But those two skills? Oh, wow. Before the draft, a friend of mine asked me who had the best shot in the draft after the obvious top 3 of Caufield, Kaliyev and Kakko. I said Clarke. He said, who? Well, here's who -- if Graeme Clarke can even become a decent enough all-around player to earn a bottom 6 RW role in the NHL, he can become almost a power play/shootout specialist. This is a guy who can be an immense weapon from the circles on the man up in almost an Ovechkin/Tarasenko sense. But again -- temper your expectations, because the rest of his game needs a lot of work in order for Clarke to get there. Grade: B+
Round 3 (82nd overall) LD Michael Vukojevic, Kitchener-OHL I was honestly surprised by this pick in that the Devils had already taken two defensive-minded, physical LD in their previous three picks. Again, in all honesty, I would have used this pick to take a high upside forward like Cajkovic or Spiridonov or Teply or Donovan. But let's look at what we have in Vukojevic -- one of the best shut-down D in the OHL. He's 6'3-205 and will get bigger, and he's already incredibly strong and tough as nails. He's got plus-plus strength, which is to say that he's not just beating up on smaller forwards in the OHL, in a few years he will be enough of a beast to beat up on all-star forwards in the NHL. That's something crucial, especially in the post-season, but Vukojevic will need to improve on some areas of his game in order to make the NHL, likely as a third-pairing D. Like many players of his ilk, his skating can certainly use improvement. His offensive skills are negligible at best, but it must be stated that he is extremely smart and calm with the puck, rarely making a mental error or untimely turnover. He's just that big, safe guy you pair with an offensive-minded RD; a guy who clears creases and wins puck battles and stands up for his teammates and is loved by his goaltenders and coaches. Grade: B
Round 4 (96 overall) RW Tyce Thompson, Providence College, NCAA this pick puzzled me. Thompson is tall but reed-thin, skates pretty well for his physique, and has a pretty good shot. His production was decent for an NCAA freshman without jumping off the page. My caveat is that Thompson is an overager who was not on anyone's draft radar -- he would have been a wiser pick in the 7th round than the 4th. There were still a ton of upside forwards available here, not just the aforementioned Reply/Spiridonov/Donovan but also character guys I loved like Janicke and Washkurak. Let's hope I'm wrong on this and Thompson is a diamond in the very rough. Grade: D-
Round 4 (118 overall) RD Case McCarthy, US-NTDP sometimes you get exactly what you need. The Devils entered the 2019 draft with the two biggest organizational needs being physical, shut-down D and, especially, RD with mid-pairing or better potential. With McCarthy, they not only got both, but they got them at an incredible value with the 118th pick. In the U18 tourney, McCarthy was probably the best D on Team USA this side of Cam York -- his skating was better than advertised, his puck skills were better than advertised, his physicality and shut-down acumen were precisely as brilliant as advertised. He probably did not lose a one-on-one battle all tournament long, routinely dominating battles all tourney long with highly rated forwards from Peyton Krebs to Patrick Puistola to Vasili Podkolzin. He's destined to be a beast on the PK, and the guy the coach wants out there to protect a one-goal lead late. Despite having pedestrian offensive upside, it must be noted that McCarthy skates extremely well and can flash the occasional tape-to-tape stretch pass. Where he shines, however, is in the defensive zone -- quite simply, his mix of physicality, strength, positional excellence and high intelligence makes life miserable for any opposing forward whenever he's on the ice. His lauded leadership qualities and high compete level make McCarthy can't-miss as an NHL third-pairing guy, but he has the upside as a guy who can ride shotgun 20+ minutes per game with your #1D. Grade: A+
