Devils Draft Review

[Devilswede]

Castron was really bummed over losing Jost right before our pick. You can clearly see it in pics and interviews, showed no excitement over picking McLeod.

In hindsight, I don't really get why Shero didn't offer something to Colorado to move up a spot. Avs are really not in need for a guy like Jost, not like we are. They picked the BPA, but he was more important to us.

 

[Bleedred]

Castron was really bummed over losing Jost right before our pick. You can clearly see it in pics and interviews, showed no excitement over picking McLeod.

In hindsight, I don't really get why Shero didn't offer something to Colorado to move up a spot. Avs are really not in need for a guy like Jost, not like we are. They picked the BPA, but he was more important to us.

Everyone here knows I'm not vehemently against tanking and I have no regrets about where we finished, but we can also blame Scott Wedgewood's hot streak for keeping us a spot or two back in the draft. I don't even know exactly how many points less Colorado finished with than us. Seems they were in the playoff hunt until the last week, although Minny made it in with 4 more points than us this season. The last wild card and spot in that division was weak.

I'm skeptical that Kinkaid shuts out the Caps through regulation and we may have even been blown out by Pitts and lost again to Columbus with those games with him in there. And it's not like he hasn't had a shutout or played a good game before, but he was struggling mightily and had no confidence when Wedgewood took over that short stretch.

 

[JimEIV]

My ego is already bloated. So so bloated. Oh wait, that's my liver. Never mind.

I'm really liking this guy. Where have you been all this time?

 

[Brooklyndevil]

Everyone here knows I'm not vehemently against tanking and I have no regrets about where we finished, but we can also blame Scott Wedgewood's hot streak for keeping us a spot or two back in the draft. I don't even know exactly how many points less Colorado finished with than us. Seems they were in the playoff hunt until the last week, although Minny made it in with 4 more points than us this season. The last wild card and spot in that division was weak.

I'm skeptical that Kinkaid shuts out the Caps through regulation and we may have even been blown out by Pitts and lost again to Columbus with those games with him in there. And it's not like he hasn't had a shutout or played a good game before, but he was struggling mightily and had no confidence when Wedgewood took over that short stretch.

I believe it was a point.

 

[Bologna 1]

Not thrilled at all with the first two picks. But after that, thought they did well besides the goalie with piss poor numbers. Didn't really like anyone who was there at 11/12 in all honesty when they took McLeod but there were better options. For me, I was hoping brown or trade down at 11. But at 12 my thought/hope was bellows or rubstov (yes, would have been a reach).

 

[Ripshot 43]

I'm pretty certain that it was you that asked in the first place, so I took time out of my busy schedule of experimental fiction and beer.

So what your saying is... Essentially everybody should be thanking me just as much as you?

You're welcome everybody. *takes a bow*

But really... Great read and insight from a Devils fan and writer. We've been missing that for quite some time.

 

[Ripshot 43]

I'm new to the Devils fanbase (via the Bennett trade) and i'm not quite sure what to say so....Hi i guess.


Sorry if this is really awkward, i just wanted to y'know drop in

Welcome welcome. What made you so attached to Bennett of all players on the Penguins squad?

 

[Zippy316]

Not thrilled at all with the first two picks. But after that, thought they did well besides the goalie with piss poor numbers. Didn't really like anyone who was there at 11/12 in all honesty when they took McLeod but there were better options. For me, I was hoping brown or trade down at 11. But at 12 my thought/hope was bellows or rubstov (yes, would have been a reach).

Makes sense.

I'm happy with this pick after what we were left with and the fact that we gained an additional third round pick to pick the guy we wanted anyways.

Right now, it looks like McLeod + Bennett for Brown to me. We traded #77 instead of #80 for Bennett, but I don't think we make that trade without the additional asset. We stand a pretty good chance of winning that trade right now.

 

[JimEIV]

Makes sense.

I'm happy with this pick after what we were left with and the fact that we gained an additional third round pick to pick the guy we wanted anyways.

Right now, it looks like McLeod + Bennett for Brown to me. We traded #77 instead of #80 for Bennett, but I don't think we make that trade without the additional asset. We stand a pretty good chance of winning that trade right now.

You have to factor in #77 also

It was Brown and Connor Hall(#77) for McLeod and Bennett.

 

[NJDevs26]

Castron was really bummed over losing Jost right before our pick. You can clearly see it in pics and interviews, showed no excitement over picking McLeod.

Here's the issue I have with this (aside from parsing body language)...I'm sure Shero was also bummed out on not trading up for Koecny/Barzal - whichever one he was trying to go up to grab last year. But if he did make that deal he wouldn't have been able to make the Palmieri deal. Sometimes plan B's turn out okay too. You aren't always gonna be able to go with plan A at the draft.

If Castron did feel there was such a dropoff after 10 I'm sure Shero knew he had to try to move up at about 8 or 9...but maybe the other teams drafting there also felt there was a dropoff and no deal was able to be made.

 

[NJDevils17]

Shero mentioned how asking prices on his targets were too high as well. It's not like he sat on his hands and just let things unfold. He made moves to take risks and improve the team. Maybe the Bennett trade doesn't work but I'd rather than him than Connor Hall or really any third rounder.

 

[ForeverJerseyGirl]

I'm new to the Devils fanbase (via the Bennett trade) and i'm not quite sure what to say so....Hi i guess.


Sorry if this is really awkward, i just wanted to y'know drop in

Welcome to the Devils fan base. Hopefully Bennett has a good year and makes us all cheer.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I will bet you right now a beer (of your choice but please not Heineken, I have standards) that, in five years, Pavel Zacha is a better player than extremely touted prospects William Nylander or Max Domi or Teuvo Teravainen.

Prospects have always gone under the radar with the Devils -- we're kind of a stealth organization in the media eye. But Zacha is a bona fide superstar prospect. Does NJ need more scoring forwards? Of course they do. So do 15-20 other teams. These guys don't grow on trees. But unfortunately the Devils drafted 11th, not 7th -- and that was the difference in getting a future scoring-leaders staple like Keller. No use railing about that.

What the Devils front office IS ACCOMPLISHING is this -- they are turning a slow, small and easy-to-play team into a faster, bigger and more physical club. In addition to that, they took a few late nice flyers on players with high scoring upside like Maltsev, Gignac and Bratt.

In the words of my beloved and departed great aunt -- turn that frown upside-down.

I think people forgot how much talent Zacha has and how much it started to show in his season this year. He definitely had a few hiccups around when he got hurt, but he hit fire to finish the season off and in the playoffs.

JQ and Speers also had solid offensive seasons as well.

Could always use more but as you said, so could basically every team, but we aren't without it.

Plus you are right we are on the way to becoming a big, fast, tough team to play against and that by itself will lead to more wins.

We are accumulating the pieces to make us a playoff regular again.

 

[NJRockinRoller]

We are accumulating the pieces to make us a playoff regular again.

Sorry, this makes no sense. If the Devils were the only team drafting this weekend I would agree with you, but everyone got better this weekend simply because everyone added players and subtracted nothing. If you scan "Draft Grades" by "experts" the Devils were in no way, shape or form considered to have one of the better drafts in the league. At BEST middle of the pack, at worst - worse than that. So, how can you argue that they are moving closer to the playoffs? What are they doing to gain ground on the current playoff teams and move faster than the other non-playoff teams in the "race to the eight"? I see nothing this weekend certainly. What are you seeing. Again, that they are doing BETTER than the others. Because you can't just look at them, what are they doing relative to who they are competing against?

 

[NJDevils17]

Sorry, this makes no sense. If the Devils were the only team drafting this weekend I would agree with you, but everyone got better this weekend simply because everyone added players and subtracted nothing. If you scan "Draft Grades" by "experts" the Devils were in no way, shape or form considered to have one of the better drafts in the league. At BEST middle of the pack, at worst - worse than that. So, how can you argue that they are moving closer to the playoffs? What are they doing to gain ground on the current playoff teams and move faster than the other non-playoff teams in the "race to the eight"? I see nothing this weekend certainly. What are you seeing. Again, that they are doing BETTER than the others. Because you can't just look at them, what are they doing relative to who they are competing against?

I've always found experts ranking the Devils anything to be full of it. They just don't pay enough attention to the organization. The 2011 redraft from NHL.com is a good example, Larsson was 22!! behind guys who are just inexcusable.

People complain when we pick guys who aren't boom/bust. People complain when we take risks(Zacha). I'm just not sure what sort of draft you guys want. At our positions who would you have rather drafted?

I thought we had a really good draft. If we had gotten Jost or Keller people would be losing their minds with our draft. Couldn't help the way the top 10 shook out.

 

[Crosby87Domi11]

Welcome welcome. What made you so attached to Bennett of all players on the Penguins squad?

I don't know honestly. I mean, I watched clips and stuff from when he was in Juniors and College and I liked the way he plays. I think he's fun to watch.


Hopefully his health issues are behind him and he can be a good fit in Jersey. I think he's still got a chance to have a respectable career if he can get over the injury problems.

 

[Crosby87Domi11]

Welcome to the Devils fan base. Hopefully Bennett has a good year and makes us all cheer.

I certainly hope so! It seems like Shero still firmly believes Bennett can make it in this league and be the top 6 wing he was drafted to be.

Nice to see someone has faith in him to be honest.



Also, you guys are so nice! I'm feeling so welcomed here, which is a huge difference from how another fanbase on here treated me.

 

[brule2000]

You have to factor in #77 also

It was Brown and Connor Hall(#77) for McLeod and Bennett.

If we're going to get picky, it's: Brown and Hall for McLeod, Bennett and Gignac.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'm really liking this guy. Where have you been all this time?

Wrote for about a jillion hockey websites. Then somebody reminded me a "job" is something you are supposed to be paid a livable wage for. I'm thinking of trying for a job with the new Las Vegas hockey team because I figured living in Las Vegas would be a good way for a guy like me to stay out of trouble. Also, hockey.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Not thrilled at all with the first two picks. But after that, thought they did well besides the goalie with piss poor numbers. Didn't really like anyone who was there at 11/12 in all honesty when they took McLeod but there were better options. For me, I was hoping brown or trade down at 11. But at 12 my thought/hope was bellows or rubstov (yes, would have been a reach).

Once the high-end scorers Devils wanted were gone (Keller, Nylander, Jost) the Devils first three picks became about turbo-boosting the organization's speed, size, strength, smarts & two-way play. The Devils accomplished this with McLeod and Bastian and Anderson.

The Devils then went for some high upside offensive kids in the later picks: Gignac, Maltsev, Bratt, Davies.

The Devils had a plan (Keller or Jost or Nylander) and that plan was thwarted by no fault of the Devils, just they picked one pick too late. Fortunately, Shero & co. had an outstanding back-up plan, and they executed that to perfection.

 

[brule2000]

Castron was really bummed over losing Jost right before our pick. You can clearly see it in pics and interviews, showed no excitement over picking McLeod.

In hindsight, I don't really get why Shero didn't offer something to Colorado to move up a spot. Avs are really not in need for a guy like Jost, not like we are. They picked the BPA, but he was more important to us.

Seems likely they'll have had Jost at about 6 and McLeod at 11. Seeing that last name in your top ten disappear just as you're about to pick leaves you feeling empty and I don't do it professionally.

 

[devilsblood]

This was thought to be a shallow draft.

Does that explain, in part, going Euro 3 times later in the draft?

How off the radar were these guys?

 

[devilsblood]

Also pretty surprised we didn't go lhd till rnd 5.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Speed is what we need.

 

[StevenToddIves]

So what your saying is... Essentially everybody should be thanking me just as much as you?

You're welcome everybody. *takes a bow*

But really... Great read and insight from a Devils fan and writer. We've been missing that for quite some time.

I can write on anything you guys want if you ask and I can find the time. Believe it or not, I'm kind of an idiot savant (more idiot than savant, but still) in that I could write a little draft recap like that for all 30 NHL teams. I probably would not want to do that due to the fact that all 247 Florida fans would probably lynch me for what I have to say about the Borgstrom pick.

Let's just say that all team's drafts should be heretofore judged on "The Borgstrom Scale", which is to say how many picks they had with just as much promise as the guy who somehow went #23 because of impressive analytic stats as an overager in Finnish Juniors.

For instance, the Devils had an admirable rating of 6 Borgstroms, in that McLeod/Bastian/Anderson are all clearly superior prospects and Maltsev/Gignac/Rykov are all about as good with the chance to pass him in the next season.

The Flyers had 3 Borgstroms in the second round alone: Laberge, Hart & Allison. The Sharks did not pick until 60 and still managed a 2 Borgstrom draft. The only team with no Borgstroms may have been the Rangers, who did not draft until the 94th round after trading 93 picks to Detroit for the contractual rights to Gordie Howe's stem cells.

What was I saying? Oh yeah, if you want me to write on something Devils or NHL related, just ask. I'm on Twitter at @StIves72. I warn you though, there's a lot of weird %#$@ on there about shark attacks and cryptozoology. Also, you probably shouldn't follow me if you're under 18. Or under 38, now that I think about it. It's just not safe.