GDT: Game 6: Arizona Coyotes @ New Jersey Devils ~ 10/20/15 16:00 UTC-7:00

[Brodeur]

Good game gang. I'm glad you guys ended up Duclair, there's one poster on the Devils board who can't go 15 minutes without mentioning how we passed on him at the draft (as if we were the only ones).

Last season, Devils@Coyotes landed perfectly with Spring Training but this year it's in January. I was already planning on making a weekend trip in late February when the US U-18 team plays a pair of games against Arizona State. It should be a fun weekend if you're a draft geek.

 

[XX]

I think everyone is waiting with nervous anticipation for Domi and Duclair to develop their two way game enough that they become a regular pairing 5 on 5. This is the goal this season on their development. Helps set up next year when they get to break in the next two.

Their two way game is fine. Offense and skill is a form of defense all its own. Domi's advanced stats are terrible at the moment because his linemates are sucking him down. They also say Hanzal, Rieder, and Duclair have been the only consistently effective forwards, with Duclair clearly leading. I'd say that matches the eye test. Duclair is starting 66% of his shifts in the offensize zone to Domi's 40%. Rieder and Hanzal, by virtue of playing with Duclair, are both over 50% for o-zone starts. Domi may start a lot in his own zone but he is effective at moving the puck forward (4th best finish) and he is playing against good competition.

It's interesting to note the shot attempts when ahead or close vs behind. Tippett and his clamping down when the team hits a losing streak is suffocating the team we saw the first 3 games.

I hope Chayka (who is said to be involved in coaching) helps steer the team back on the right path.

 

[Summer Rose]

Good game gang. I'm glad you guys ended up Duclair, there's one poster on the Devils board who can't go 15 minutes without mentioning how we passed on him at the draft (as if we were the only ones).

Last season, Devils@Coyotes landed perfectly with Spring Training but this year it's in January. I was already planning on making a weekend trip in late February when the US U-18 team plays a pair of games against Arizona State. It should be a fun weekend if you're a draft geek.

I'm legitimately curious how someone who isn't a draft geek would even find this website, I'll just put it that way.

 

[Shepard]

I'm legitimately curious how someone who isn't a draft geek would even find this website, I'll just put it that way.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hoc...l2.7653j0j9&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

 

[Sinurgy]

Did you just watch the highlights? He was bad the first half until he got taken off the PP point after yet another SHG.

C'mon now of course I watched the game, I didn't make it clear but I'm talking about him shooting the puck. He had 4 shots last night after having only 5 in the last 4 games combined. My point was he finally started shooting and surprise surprise he finally scored. I'm of the opinion that Boed's needs to shoot a lot more!

 

[SniperHF]

Yeah that issue is separate from the PP point experiment. I think just about everyone agrees with that one.

 

[Sinurgy]

I think just about everyone agrees with both actually, I mean how many people honestly think Boeds has looked good playing the point on the PP?!

 

[moosemeister]

I think just about everyone agrees with both actually, I mean how many people honestly think Boeds has looked good playing the point on the PP?!

Tyson

 

[Sinurgy]

Tyson

Tyson gets paid to be a homer.

 

[Brodeur]

I'm legitimately curious how someone who isn't a draft geek would even find this website, I'll just put it that way.

Sometimes I'm surprised, albeit mostly through arguments/threads on the main boards. While many like following prospects as a whole, there's quite a few folks who are only interested in pumping the tires of their team's previously drafted prospects.

I usually like to take a couple trips to visit friends/watch amateur games. It's definitely a lot easier now with the AHL in San Diego and ASU starting a D-1 program.

It was fun last year, I visited my friend in Ann Arbor and was able to catch McDavid/Strome/Matthews/Tkachuk/Fischer in one fell swoop without putting a ton of miles on my rental car. Did a similar trip a few years back and caught Domi when he was with London.

Speaking of Domi, glad that he's doing well. Going into the 2013 Draft, I spent way too much time debating with other Devils fans about the pick. When the team traded the pick for Schneider, I felt unfulfilled since we never quite got an answer.

 

[hbk]

Sometimes I'm surprised, albeit mostly through arguments/threads on the main boards. While many like following prospects as a whole, there's quite a few folks who are only interested in pumping the tires of their team's previously drafted prospects.

I usually like to take a couple trips to visit friends/watch amateur games. It's definitely a lot easier now with the AHL in San Diego and ASU starting a D-1 program.

It was fun last year, I visited my friend in Ann Arbor and was able to catch McDavid/Strome/Matthews/Tkachuk/Fischer in one fell swoop without putting a ton of miles on my rental car. Did a similar trip a few years back and caught Domi when he was with London.

Speaking of Domi, glad that he's doing well. Going into the 2013 Draft, I spent way too much time debating with other Devils fans about the pick. When the team traded the pick for Schneider, I felt unfulfilled since we never quite got an answer.

I'm a draft geek who also plans vacations/trips around watching prospects.

I'm curious what your list looked like for 2013. This board debated hard but was firmly behind the Domi selection. I had Horvat one slot ahead but still had Domi in my top 8 if memory serves me correctly.

 

[Brodeur]

I'm a draft geek who also plans vacations/trips around watching prospects.

Good to know I'm not the only one!

I'm curious what your list looked like for 2013. This board debated hard but was firmly behind the Domi selection. I had Horvat one slot ahead but still had Domi in my top 8 if memory serves me correctly.

http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/schedule/show/game/63383

Here's a pic from the London game I saw in November 2012. Fun knowing how many future NHLers that game has already produced: London (Domi/Horvat/Zadorov/ /Maatta/Tierney/Griffith/Harrington), Plymouth (Rakell/Wilson with Hartman/Noesen/Carrick on the way).

I remember writing a recap of the game and mentioning how I was impressed by Horvat (who at the time wasn't as hyped yet and I didn't know of ahead of time).

---------------

At the time, the main debates on the Devils board was:

- Domi or Horvat, with a minority who wanted Hunter Shinkaruk to replace Parise

- Trade down and still get one of the three? The Devils prospect pool was barren and we didn't have 3rd/5th/7th round picks with the Draft in our own building.

Looking at my list, I had it at: 5. Nichushkin 6. Lindholm 7. Monahan 8. Domi 9. Horvat

I distinctly remember that the draft telecast went to commercial break right before the Devils pick. My buddy was watching it with me and I told him I'd begrudgingly take Nichushkin. Figured we were okay with the Russian Factor and Kovalchuk could be a mentor*

If Nichushkin had been off the board, I think I was in favor of trading down with you guys at #12 or Winnipeg at #13 being the likely targets. Thought Philadelphia was a safe bet to take a defenseman at #11 (I thought Zadorov at the time). I think I've seen articles mentioning that Winnipeg tried to trade up for Domi. My thought was to move down and gain an extra 2nd rounder to use on a goalie (Eric Comrie being my man crush at the time) since we had zilch in the pipeline and Brodeur/Hedberg didn't have much a ton of shelf life left.

As it turned out, we'd trade down with you guys in the 2nd round to gain an extra 3rd rounder. I didn't like the trade for Schneider at the time, which didn't really have anything to do with Schneider's ability. I just worried that he only had two years on his contract and could leave via free agency. And that one of those two years might be wasted in an awkward platoon with Brodeur (and it was).

It's funny looking back at it, but I think there was some negative sentiment with Domi among Devils fans just because of his dad (namely how he gave Scott Niedermayer a flying elbow during the 2001 playoffs). It was a little bizarre during Tuesday's telecast that the Devils had Tie Domi as a guest during the start of the third and he was laughing it up with Ken Daneyko (both had been on the Canadian Figure Skating reality show).

*I had heard through the grapevine that Nichushkin wouldn't have been considered and that the Devils management was aware of Kovalchuk's impending departure. Allegedly the Devils would have picked Horvat, but that was contradicted by something our head scout had said about 'the guy ended up not going in the top 10'. But that could have been purposefully vague.

 

[hbk]

Good to know I'm not the only one!

http://www.ontariohockeyleague.com/schedule/show/game/63383

Here's a pic from the London game I saw in November 2012. Fun knowing how many future NHLers that game has already produced: London (Domi/Horvat/Zadorov/ /Maatta/Tierney/Griffith/Harrington), Plymouth (Rakell/Wilson with Hartman/Noesen/Carrick on the way).

I remember writing a recap of the game and mentioning how I was impressed by Horvat (who at the time wasn't as hyped yet and I didn't know of ahead of time).

---------------

At the time, the main debates on the Devils board was:

- Domi or Horvat, with a minority who wanted Hunter Shinkaruk to replace Parise

- Trade down and still get one of the three? The Devils prospect pool was barren and we didn't have 3rd/5th/7th round picks with the Draft in our own building.

Looking at my list, I had it at: 5. Nichushkin 6. Lindholm 7. Monahan 8. Domi 9. Horvat

I distinctly remember that the draft telecast went to commercial break right before the Devils pick. My buddy was watching it with me and I told him I'd begrudgingly take Nichushkin. Figured we were okay with the Russian Factor and Kovalchuk could be a mentor*

If Nichushkin had been off the board, I think I was in favor of trading down with you guys at #12 or Winnipeg at #13 being the likely targets. Thought Philadelphia was a safe bet to take a defenseman at #11 (I thought Zadorov at the time). I think I've seen articles mentioning that Winnipeg tried to trade up for Domi. My thought was to move down and gain an extra 2nd rounder to use on a goalie (Eric Comrie being my man crush at the time) since we had zilch in the pipeline and Brodeur/Hedberg didn't have much a ton of shelf life left.

As it turned out, we'd trade down with you guys in the 2nd round to gain an extra 3rd rounder. I didn't like the trade for Schneider at the time, which didn't really have anything to do with Schneider's ability. I just worried that he only had two years on his contract and could leave via free agency. And that one of those two years might be wasted in an awkward platoon with Brodeur (and it was).

It's funny looking back at it, but I think there was some negative sentiment with Domi among Devils fans just because of his dad (namely how he gave Scott Niedermayer a flying elbow during the 2001 playoffs). It was a little bizarre during Tuesday's telecast that the Devils had Tie Domi as a guest during the start of the third and he was laughing it up with Ken Daneyko (both had been on the Canadian Figure Skating reality show).

*I had heard through the grapevine that Nichushkin wouldn't have been considered and that the Devils management was aware of Kovalchuk's impending departure. Allegedly the Devils would have picked Horvat, but that was contradicted by something our head scout had said about 'the guy ended up not going in the top 10'. But that could have been purposefully vague.

I believe there were several teams clamouring to move up to snag Domi. Jets and Sabres were the most heavily rumoured. There was someone on XM earlier this week who claimed that a scout from their team had Domi in Top 7 that year. I saw his magic first hand at the Memorial Cup (which is a must do for anyone who wants to travel and watch prospects). His between the legs pass to Horvat brought me out of my seat.

We as an organization have really shied away from taking Russians. Letunov who we traded for last year has been the lone Russian prospect of significance. Our perspective when Russian currency was higher has been that we couldn't afford to get caught in a bidding war with the KHL on talent. Ironic as two decades prior we almost drafted exclusively from Russia because they were cheaper and easier to sign.

The one guy who I thought would go higher was Shinkaruk. Speed to burn but he had a hunched over skating style that I thought would scare a few teams off.

I'm hoping you adopt the Coyotes as your second favorite team. Really enjoyed reading your post.

 

[Brodeur]

I definitely remember that between the legs pass. Pretty sure I posted it on Facebook with the headline "potentially a Devil shortly?"

Memorial Cup might be out of my price range. I've done that Ann Arbor trip a couple times though. It's a shame that Plymouth relocated to Flint. It was awesome having the NCAA, OHL, and USHL all within a fifteen mile radius of one another.

When I went in 2012, I saw a Michigan/Michigan State game. During the third period, a dozen teenagers showed up wearing matching Finland jackets. Unbeknownst to me, there was a four team under-18 tournament going on nearby between USA/Sweden/Finland/Switzerland.

Kinda kicked myself for not realizing that was happening. Sweden had William Nylander, Adrian Kempe, and Coyotes' pick Anton Karlsson amongst others. The Swiss were led by Kevin Fiala. The Finns had Kasperi Kapanen and Julius Honka. Surprisingly the US had a tame roster in comparison to recent years. Future Devil pick Steve Santini was in that group with San Diego native Thatcher Demko in net.

It'll be the US' turn to host again in 2016, so I might give a though to trying to do that. Although my Ann Arbor trips were facilitated by my high school friend who was going to Michigan for grad school and she'll be finishing up this semester. Definitely nice to have a free place to stay.

Speaking of Letunov, when I watched the US U18 team last year they happened to be playing against Youngstown. I think he's the one taking the opening faceoff against Auston Matthews. Letunov had a goal in the third, but Team USA won 4-2. Letunov seemed taller than his listed 6'3, but maybe it was because he was so gangly. Definitely stood out in the game though.

Saw a few months back that he had to transfer to UConn. I can only imagine it's been mentioned on this board, but UConn is coming out to play a tournament with ASU/Yale/Michigan Tech in January.

Leading up to the 2013 Draft, I started hearing a few more negative things about Shinkaruk. I like listening to The Pipeline Show podcast based in Edmonton and both hosts weren't fans of his. They used Tyler Ennis as a comparable and both liked Ennis more at the same point than Shinkaruk. Not that Ennis is chopped liver, but that made me think there was a tier drop from Domi/Horvat to Shinkaruk.

 

[hbk]

I definitely remember that between the legs pass. Pretty sure I posted it on Facebook with the headline "potentially a Devil shortly?"

Memorial Cup might be out of my price range. I've done that Ann Arbor trip a couple times though. It's a shame that Plymouth relocated to Flint. It was awesome having the NCAA, OHL, and USHL all within a fifteen mile radius of one another.

When I went in 2012, I saw a Michigan/Michigan State game. During the third period, a dozen teenagers showed up wearing matching Finland jackets. Unbeknownst to me, there was a four team under-18 tournament going on nearby between USA/Sweden/Finland/Switzerland.

Kinda kicked myself for not realizing that was happening. Sweden had William Nylander, Adrian Kempe, and Coyotes' pick Anton Karlsson amongst others. The Swiss were led by Kevin Fiala. The Finns had Kasperi Kapanen and Julius Honka. Surprisingly the US had a tame roster in comparison to recent years. Future Devil pick Steve Santini was in that group with San Diego native Thatcher Demko in net.

It'll be the US' turn to host again in 2016, so I might give a though to trying to do that. Although my Ann Arbor trips were facilitated by my high school friend who was going to Michigan for grad school and she'll be finishing up this semester. Definitely nice to have a free place to stay.

Speaking of Letunov, when I watched the US U18 team last year they happened to be playing against Youngstown. I think he's the one taking the opening faceoff against Auston Matthews. Letunov had a goal in the third, but Team USA won 4-2. Letunov seemed taller than his listed 6'3, but maybe it was because he was so gangly. Definitely stood out in the game though.

Saw a few months back that he had to transfer to UConn. I can only imagine it's been mentioned on this board, but UConn is coming out to play a tournament with ASU/Yale/Michigan Tech in January.

Leading up to the 2013 Draft, I started hearing a few more negative things about Shinkaruk. I like listening to The Pipeline Show podcast based in Edmonton and both hosts weren't fans of his. They used Tyler Ennis as a comparable and both liked Ennis more at the same point than Shinkaruk. Not that Ennis is chopped liver, but that made me think there was a tier drop from Domi/Horvat to Shinkaruk.

Can we adopt you?