AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
Just this past weekend, the new management team for the New Jersey Devils took in their first draft as a start to a new era in HFNHL. Fan excitement is at an all-time high with the volume of picks accumulated at the draft for the first 3 rounds.
After a few deals that were made on draft day, which sent some of our 2019 assets away (this was a targeted plan, still holding 1st and 3rd round picks next year), we stocked up on a total of 10 picks for the 2018 draft's first 3 rounds. We still have day 2 picks to come that should lead to a few more potential prospects down the line. What we as a management team felt was needed was a deep dive in to create a bigger prospect pool that has been lacking. We feel we have accomplished that and more.
NOTE: we just added another asset to our organization by sending our 2018th 7th round pick to Vancouver for prospect Freddy Olofsson - RW- Nebraska-Omaha - big 6'2 195 lb winger adds another body to our stable that will be hitting our farm team after this final season of NCAA hockey for him. A lot of upside here.
The Devils will be graduating prospects to the big club: Aberg, Meier, and Pulock - all expected to play solid roles on this team adding to an already strong young core of Buchnevich, Konecny, Teravainen, Mayfield, etc.. But this group coming up to the big club has left our prospect cupboard bare with only Kaprizov, Liljegren, and Ian Mitchell as our only top prospects left - bottom line - we needed more!!
We have analyzed our picks, weighed them in for where we got them at, and overall we are extremely excited with what we accomplished this past weekend.
Here is the list of our day 1 2018 picks:
Round 1
#22nd overall - Jake Wise - C - For our scouting department, this pick was an absolute no brainer. What we have with Wise is a player that has been overlooked and underappreciated in many circles. He can play the game anyway you want it, he is responsible without the puck and at the dot. But, what is incredible is the fact that since he came back from his injury in December, he averaged 1.5ppg something only a handful of draft eligible players have been able to do in their draft years with the USNDP/USHL. Why wasn't this noticed more? Likely for a few reasons, one namely Jack Hughes stealing most of the thunder on the team, also is the fact that Wise plays a pass first style very similar to Nick Schmaltz, so it is not the most sexy way to play the game. But when you look deeper and realize he did this while playing most of the year with names like Gruden, Weiss, and towards the end Caulfield and not Farabee and Wahlstrom, speaks volumes of how he finds ways to produce. Our scouting department is absolutely convinced we landed a top 10-15 pick at #22, and after his next few seasons at BU, this silky smooth center will continue to prove those who believed in him right.
#25th overall - Bode Wilde - D - As an organization, we have focused on skill and high IQ for this draft as key factors we wanted in our players. Bode posses a tremendous amount of God given skill, but his hockey sense and IQ is sorely lacking. In a sense, this is a risky pick, but at #25 this was the spot to take a chance on a player who "if" can put things together, could be one of the home runs in this draft. He has such great speed, vision, and physicality to his game, but Bode lacks the ability to make the right plays time and time again right now. He needs to think the game faster, he has to make smarter decisions, and now with news he is likely headed to the OHL over college, we are holding our breath that he can work on those flaws and not simply mask them in junior. There is a lot of reward here with Wilde, but we are also well aware of the risk which is why this was the only pick that our scouting department debated heavily on - between him O'Brien and M Samuelsson.
Round 2:
#37th overall - Jay O'Brien - C - Our scouts were unanimous on this player being a potential star and where we landed him could look like larceny in a few years. We were going to take O'Brien at 25th overall, but felt we could find a way to trade up and nab this kid, which we did at #37. What he has done all year long is impress all scouts and coaches alike. USNDP coach Seth Appert called him a dream player to coach as his work ethic and skill level is off the charts. His Thayer Academy coach and ex-NHL star Tony Amonte believes this kid is as good if not better than Amonte and Roenick where at this age. He is one of the best skaters for his position, has one of the best set of mitts at his position as well...so why is he here at 37? Simply put, he plays prep hockey and that always worries some in evaluating a player in lesser competition. What we love is his work ethic and hockey sense which we believe will lead him to the NHL alone in a number of capacities. But when you look at the total package and see the skill level as well, we feel he will have a Chris Kreider impact at the next level and be looked at as an absolute draft day steal.
#50th overall - Blake McLaughlin - LW - We actually were a bit shocked that Blake was still here. Our USHL scouts were very impressed with Blake this year and his overall play with the Chicago Steel. A skilled left winger, that can snipe with the best of them as well as an above average playmaker. He is headed to the University of Minnesota next year and likely will need a few years until turning pro, but once again we went with skill and IQ here, as this player is sneaky smart on the ice with positioning and ways to setup his teammates from very tough angles. He needs to get stronger and tougher, which he likely will playing college hockey, but his overall game is perfectly setup for today's HFNHL, and we are excited to add this kind of talent to the stable of highly skilled forwards. Very bright future ahead for Blake.
#59th overall - Ruslan Iskhakov - C/LW - Our scouts have been floored by this dynamo all year. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of skill level, he comes in at a 12! One of the most dynamic players in the draft that we had to pounce on to make sure we were able to snag. Ruslan has some of the quickest and craftiest hands in this draft, reminds a lot of Artemi Panarin on the ice. He is on the small side at 5'8, but he has plenty of time to fill out and get stronger. News that he might be heading over to play NCAA hockey at UConn has us salivating as we believed he would be in the KHL for the next two years, but if this news is true, we have landed such a skilled center that wants to come and play North American hockey. This kid has everything you could want in a skilled forward, just is on the small side..we feel we hit another absolute home run here and looking back at this pick in a few years will prove our scouting department can spot the most skilled players period.
3rd round:
#70th overall - Kyle Topping - C - Just like Iskhakov, our scouts have been absolutely impressed with Topping and his ability and skill level with the puck. A bit undersized for a center as well, but still a solid 185lbs, this kid has impressed us the past 18 months. We simply have no idea how he hasn't been getting ranked higher, we almost feel like he has been forgotten in Kelowna. He had a great playoff, though short, but the late 99' is a player we view very similar to Brayden Point. A tireless skilled player with such a strong work ethic and IQ that continues to position himself in the right places. The game continues to evolve and players like this have more of a shot than ever to succeed, and like Point our staff feels he will have a meteoric rise up the ranks...though not as solid of a goal scorer as Point, we see a number of similarities here that we fell in love with.
#77th overall - Sean Durzi - D - Finally ending the run on forwards since Bode Wilde was picked in the first round. Durzi was a player we were convinced would not be here at 77th overall, but there he was! Our OHL scout was jumping up and down by the time our pick came in and we had to verify he wasn't picked with league Commish Brock prior to our selection lol! We really do love the overager here as a player that seems to be hitting his stride right now. He fought through some injuries the past 18 months but what he has shown is a solid understanding of when/when not to pinch, we love the way his shots get through to the net and when he decides to not force those shots through. He is not the greatest skater or has the hardest shot, but he simply does enough things above average to make him a player that has exciting potential as possibly being a player we see in 1-2 years in our farm system!
#83rd overall - Kody Clark - RW - The son of Leafs legend Wendell Clark, Kody is a player that we feel is just growing into his frame and understanding the type of player he will be. We absolutely feel that Kody can make it to the HFNHL as he plays a smart and physical style of hockey that was just displayed in the Finals. Clark has a very underrated shot and one that we think only gets better with age. He is not afraid to throw the body like his father, and his understanding of what it takes to make it to the pro game is simply just understood. We loved his interviewing and attitude and feel that this was one of the safer picks we made at this draft as he simply is a player that can be your prototypical 3rd line bum slayer for a decade in the HFNHL. We are excited to see how he evolves next year and takes that next step.
#84th overall - Curtis Hall - C - Curtis had one of the best first half's you could ask for with any draft eligible player coming out of the USHL. Then things slowed down for Curtis in the second half, but what he displays game in and game out is hard to pass on. His work ethic is second to none, this kid is determined to make it to the next step, he is always scrutinizing his game and looking for ways to improve. Since he was 17, he has been the top two-way pivot for Youngstown, and has been on both pk and pp units as well. At 6'3 and almost 200lbs, this kid is only going to get stronger and better at his position. His second half decline has been a bit of a mystery, some nagging injuries have been discussed, but he just seemed snake bitten, and despite his 13 goals, this is a player that has the ability to score goals. We look forward to seeing him play at Yale next year, that is no easy feat in itself to go to Yale. Also made team USA's summer eval camp roster for the WJC, a very good sign as well.
#93rd overall - Blade Jenkins - LW- - Closing out our Day 1 picks, and the last pick in the third round, we happily selected out of Saginaw, Blade Jenkins. A hard working tough two way forward that we really liked last year at the USNDP. Blade needed to work on a few things this year as he took a back seat to others at the USNDP, namely his skating and shot were lacking. He has improved on all those areas become a solid two-way player that at almost 6'2 195 lbs will only get stronger and better acclimated to the league next year. He has to continue to work on his first step and explosiveness, but if he can continue to make positive gains like he did this year, he can be more than just a project, he could be a poor man's Dustin Brown in our scouts eyes. This is exactly the type of player we coveted in the end of the third round, a player with a good work ethic, nose for the net and size and ability to improve.
After a few deals that were made on draft day, which sent some of our 2019 assets away (this was a targeted plan, still holding 1st and 3rd round picks next year), we stocked up on a total of 10 picks for the 2018 draft's first 3 rounds. We still have day 2 picks to come that should lead to a few more potential prospects down the line. What we as a management team felt was needed was a deep dive in to create a bigger prospect pool that has been lacking. We feel we have accomplished that and more.
NOTE: we just added another asset to our organization by sending our 2018th 7th round pick to Vancouver for prospect Freddy Olofsson - RW- Nebraska-Omaha - big 6'2 195 lb winger adds another body to our stable that will be hitting our farm team after this final season of NCAA hockey for him. A lot of upside here.
The Devils will be graduating prospects to the big club: Aberg, Meier, and Pulock - all expected to play solid roles on this team adding to an already strong young core of Buchnevich, Konecny, Teravainen, Mayfield, etc.. But this group coming up to the big club has left our prospect cupboard bare with only Kaprizov, Liljegren, and Ian Mitchell as our only top prospects left - bottom line - we needed more!!
We have analyzed our picks, weighed them in for where we got them at, and overall we are extremely excited with what we accomplished this past weekend.
Here is the list of our day 1 2018 picks:
Round 1
#22nd overall - Jake Wise - C - For our scouting department, this pick was an absolute no brainer. What we have with Wise is a player that has been overlooked and underappreciated in many circles. He can play the game anyway you want it, he is responsible without the puck and at the dot. But, what is incredible is the fact that since he came back from his injury in December, he averaged 1.5ppg something only a handful of draft eligible players have been able to do in their draft years with the USNDP/USHL. Why wasn't this noticed more? Likely for a few reasons, one namely Jack Hughes stealing most of the thunder on the team, also is the fact that Wise plays a pass first style very similar to Nick Schmaltz, so it is not the most sexy way to play the game. But when you look deeper and realize he did this while playing most of the year with names like Gruden, Weiss, and towards the end Caulfield and not Farabee and Wahlstrom, speaks volumes of how he finds ways to produce. Our scouting department is absolutely convinced we landed a top 10-15 pick at #22, and after his next few seasons at BU, this silky smooth center will continue to prove those who believed in him right.
#25th overall - Bode Wilde - D - As an organization, we have focused on skill and high IQ for this draft as key factors we wanted in our players. Bode posses a tremendous amount of God given skill, but his hockey sense and IQ is sorely lacking. In a sense, this is a risky pick, but at #25 this was the spot to take a chance on a player who "if" can put things together, could be one of the home runs in this draft. He has such great speed, vision, and physicality to his game, but Bode lacks the ability to make the right plays time and time again right now. He needs to think the game faster, he has to make smarter decisions, and now with news he is likely headed to the OHL over college, we are holding our breath that he can work on those flaws and not simply mask them in junior. There is a lot of reward here with Wilde, but we are also well aware of the risk which is why this was the only pick that our scouting department debated heavily on - between him O'Brien and M Samuelsson.
Round 2:
#37th overall - Jay O'Brien - C - Our scouts were unanimous on this player being a potential star and where we landed him could look like larceny in a few years. We were going to take O'Brien at 25th overall, but felt we could find a way to trade up and nab this kid, which we did at #37. What he has done all year long is impress all scouts and coaches alike. USNDP coach Seth Appert called him a dream player to coach as his work ethic and skill level is off the charts. His Thayer Academy coach and ex-NHL star Tony Amonte believes this kid is as good if not better than Amonte and Roenick where at this age. He is one of the best skaters for his position, has one of the best set of mitts at his position as well...so why is he here at 37? Simply put, he plays prep hockey and that always worries some in evaluating a player in lesser competition. What we love is his work ethic and hockey sense which we believe will lead him to the NHL alone in a number of capacities. But when you look at the total package and see the skill level as well, we feel he will have a Chris Kreider impact at the next level and be looked at as an absolute draft day steal.
#50th overall - Blake McLaughlin - LW - We actually were a bit shocked that Blake was still here. Our USHL scouts were very impressed with Blake this year and his overall play with the Chicago Steel. A skilled left winger, that can snipe with the best of them as well as an above average playmaker. He is headed to the University of Minnesota next year and likely will need a few years until turning pro, but once again we went with skill and IQ here, as this player is sneaky smart on the ice with positioning and ways to setup his teammates from very tough angles. He needs to get stronger and tougher, which he likely will playing college hockey, but his overall game is perfectly setup for today's HFNHL, and we are excited to add this kind of talent to the stable of highly skilled forwards. Very bright future ahead for Blake.
#59th overall - Ruslan Iskhakov - C/LW - Our scouts have been floored by this dynamo all year. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of skill level, he comes in at a 12! One of the most dynamic players in the draft that we had to pounce on to make sure we were able to snag. Ruslan has some of the quickest and craftiest hands in this draft, reminds a lot of Artemi Panarin on the ice. He is on the small side at 5'8, but he has plenty of time to fill out and get stronger. News that he might be heading over to play NCAA hockey at UConn has us salivating as we believed he would be in the KHL for the next two years, but if this news is true, we have landed such a skilled center that wants to come and play North American hockey. This kid has everything you could want in a skilled forward, just is on the small side..we feel we hit another absolute home run here and looking back at this pick in a few years will prove our scouting department can spot the most skilled players period.
3rd round:
#70th overall - Kyle Topping - C - Just like Iskhakov, our scouts have been absolutely impressed with Topping and his ability and skill level with the puck. A bit undersized for a center as well, but still a solid 185lbs, this kid has impressed us the past 18 months. We simply have no idea how he hasn't been getting ranked higher, we almost feel like he has been forgotten in Kelowna. He had a great playoff, though short, but the late 99' is a player we view very similar to Brayden Point. A tireless skilled player with such a strong work ethic and IQ that continues to position himself in the right places. The game continues to evolve and players like this have more of a shot than ever to succeed, and like Point our staff feels he will have a meteoric rise up the ranks...though not as solid of a goal scorer as Point, we see a number of similarities here that we fell in love with.
#77th overall - Sean Durzi - D - Finally ending the run on forwards since Bode Wilde was picked in the first round. Durzi was a player we were convinced would not be here at 77th overall, but there he was! Our OHL scout was jumping up and down by the time our pick came in and we had to verify he wasn't picked with league Commish Brock prior to our selection lol! We really do love the overager here as a player that seems to be hitting his stride right now. He fought through some injuries the past 18 months but what he has shown is a solid understanding of when/when not to pinch, we love the way his shots get through to the net and when he decides to not force those shots through. He is not the greatest skater or has the hardest shot, but he simply does enough things above average to make him a player that has exciting potential as possibly being a player we see in 1-2 years in our farm system!
#83rd overall - Kody Clark - RW - The son of Leafs legend Wendell Clark, Kody is a player that we feel is just growing into his frame and understanding the type of player he will be. We absolutely feel that Kody can make it to the HFNHL as he plays a smart and physical style of hockey that was just displayed in the Finals. Clark has a very underrated shot and one that we think only gets better with age. He is not afraid to throw the body like his father, and his understanding of what it takes to make it to the pro game is simply just understood. We loved his interviewing and attitude and feel that this was one of the safer picks we made at this draft as he simply is a player that can be your prototypical 3rd line bum slayer for a decade in the HFNHL. We are excited to see how he evolves next year and takes that next step.
#84th overall - Curtis Hall - C - Curtis had one of the best first half's you could ask for with any draft eligible player coming out of the USHL. Then things slowed down for Curtis in the second half, but what he displays game in and game out is hard to pass on. His work ethic is second to none, this kid is determined to make it to the next step, he is always scrutinizing his game and looking for ways to improve. Since he was 17, he has been the top two-way pivot for Youngstown, and has been on both pk and pp units as well. At 6'3 and almost 200lbs, this kid is only going to get stronger and better at his position. His second half decline has been a bit of a mystery, some nagging injuries have been discussed, but he just seemed snake bitten, and despite his 13 goals, this is a player that has the ability to score goals. We look forward to seeing him play at Yale next year, that is no easy feat in itself to go to Yale. Also made team USA's summer eval camp roster for the WJC, a very good sign as well.
#93rd overall - Blade Jenkins - LW- - Closing out our Day 1 picks, and the last pick in the third round, we happily selected out of Saginaw, Blade Jenkins. A hard working tough two way forward that we really liked last year at the USNDP. Blade needed to work on a few things this year as he took a back seat to others at the USNDP, namely his skating and shot were lacking. He has improved on all those areas become a solid two-way player that at almost 6'2 195 lbs will only get stronger and better acclimated to the league next year. He has to continue to work on his first step and explosiveness, but if he can continue to make positive gains like he did this year, he can be more than just a project, he could be a poor man's Dustin Brown in our scouts eyes. This is exactly the type of player we coveted in the end of the third round, a player with a good work ethic, nose for the net and size and ability to improve.
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