Prospect Info: Ives 2023 New Jersey Devils Draft Recap

[Guadana]

It's tough to draft when you only have one pick in the top 120 picks, so it's tough to evaluate the Devils 2023 draft.

My disappointment is that the one pick in the top 60 was used on a low-upside/decent-floor player in Hameenaho. It sure sounds like the scouting staff loved Hameenaho, but that's concerning too because if you have a 1st-round-type ranking for a forward with decidedly below-average skating, the priorities of the scouting staff for forwards sorely need to be reevaluated.

The Devils have turned the corner in the rebuild, and might even find themselves the Eastern Conference favorites among many pundits going into next season. But this does not mean the draft is no longer crucial.

Again, this draft was not *bad* by any means for what it was. The Devils went high-upside with two defensemen in Karpovich and Cheslock, and none of the forwards were *wasted* picks like the Devils made in years past with names like Baumgartner, Shlaine and Salminen.

I think Hameenaho isn’t low upside/decent floor. If he will not develop his skating, he isn’t nhler. Players with speed will sit him on his pelvis. With skating developme he will become midlle six player at least. Yeah complimentary player, but he is good passer and with his hands and much better skating he can drive the play through hands move and pass after, and than find the open space for being in the shot area on dangerous chance. He is two way player too, so I don’t know what we are actually waiting here, a lot of players who was drafted earlier, will never have a chance to play top line or even top six role because they are not smart enough.
So for me Lenny is more of high risk, but very good upside for late second rounder.

Anyway we had only one pick in 120 spots. Even one nhler from the draft will be success.

You draft based on deficiencies in your prospect pool, not your roster, particularly outside of the 1st round.

No one we drafted was getting here in the next 3 years and the deficiency at center is definitely going to be a problem in future, or even arguably now since we have almost no center depth in Utica. (And no good center depth there.)

And true centers are the most value trade chip, along with RHD. We’ve done a pretty shitty job of getting draft value out of our picks under Fitz. It’s annoying.

Agree. Utica stacked without center, depth chart looks okay in nhl but with injuries, questions /problems will going up, outside 13-86 we have only Mercer who can play competent second line leading center role, only in theory. I wasn’t exited about his game as center. Prospect pool is empty outside Bardakov, and he was injured three times this season, in two times I was scared how it was looking.


And I can’t believe that some contenders would not trade McLeod for a couple of late rounds picks. He is 26 points 4th liner with speed, good pk and awesome face off ability. What we are actually waiting from 4th line center? We could have a couple of late picks at least.

Im a big pro Fitz guy, but I can’t root and defend what was going on on this draft and with Mississauga brothers.

 

[My3Sons]

I think Hameenaho isn’t low upside/decent floor. If he will not develop his skating, he isn’t nhler. Players with speed will sit him on his pelvis. With skating developme he will become midlle six player at least. Yeah complimentary player, but he is good passer and with his hands and much better skating he can drive the play through hands move and pass after, and than find the open space for being in the shot area on dangerous chance. He is two way player too, so I don’t know what we are actually waiting here, a lot of players who was drafted earlier, will never have a chance to play top line or even top six role because they are not smart enough.
So for me Lenny is more of high risk, but very good upside for late second rounder.

Anyway we had only one pick in 120 spots. Even one nhler from the draft will be success.

Agree. Utica stacked without center, depth chart looks okay in nhl but with injuries, questions /problems will going up, outside 13-86 we have only Mercer who can play competent second line leading center role, only in theory. I wasn’t exited about his game as center. Prospect pool is empty outside Bardakov, and he was injured three times this season, in two times I was scared how it was looking.


And I can’t believe that some contenders would not trade McLeod for a couple of late rounds picks. He is 26 points 4th liner with speed, good pk and awesome face off ability. What we are actually waiting from 4th line center? We could have a couple of late picks at least.

Im a big pro Fitz guy, but I can’t root and defend what was going on on this draft and with Mississauga brothers.

Let’s talk some more about those lemons…

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

Agree with what has been said here....Especially Guttersniped with the centers and RHD you usually have to draft them...Seems NJ is at least thinking of the right side defense but totally ignoring the center position...Hopefully these players can improve their skating maybe have Hammenaho hang out with Jacks mom.

 

[Ripshot 43]

I've substituted an imaginary dog with two actual cats. They're (pretentiously) named Simone de Beauvoir and Zora Neale Hurston.

In regards to your cats names…

 

[forceten]

Novels. Three in the can and a fourth in the works.

Plus 15 screenplays, a stage play (which did surprisingly well off-Broadway back in '05-'06), a ton of sports writing on multiple websites, a bazillion works of short fiction/poetry, and issues 6-10 of Wonder Woman for DC comics back in 2006. I'm pretty prolific. I'm basically a more sociable Emily Dickinson.

Oh, so, basically you're Charles Stross (or Brandon Sanderson)?

 

[forceten]

Heidt looked like a great pick for us at 58. Smart players are great but Lenni sounds like Dagenais (a player whose hands/shot were off the charts but was almost a literal statue on the ice - we drafted him twice, my gosh, and he never panned out)

 

[My3Sons]

Oh, so, basically you're Charles Stross (or Brandon Sanderson)?

And here I was hoping he was Neil Gaiman

 

[forceten]

And here I was hoping he was Neil Gaiman

Not nearly prolific enough, although awesome. Stross had what, 8 books written when he finally got the book deal? And Sanderson had a bunch too

 

[StevenToddIves]

“3rd Round: LW Nick Lardis (CHI)”
*sob*

Lardis is a near-elite shooter and near-elite skater who had a huge development curve last year. He would've been an outstanding pick at #58. But props to Chicago, they probably just enjoyed the best draft in franchise history this week.

 

[StevenToddIves]

“And to speed it up, I'll give my biggest steal from every later round:
7th Round: RW Aiden Fink (NSH)”

View attachment 724533

Nashville got the steal of the 7th Round with our pick !?!?


Fitz:
View attachment 724534

Yep.

David Poile led Nashville to an excellent draft in his Predators' swan song.

Matthew Wood is a true power forward with a cannon for a shot. He needs to work on his skating, but those other high-end abilities are going to see him to an NHL top 6 role. I think he's a future 30+ goal guy who creates a ton of space for his line mates and crashes creases to his opponents' dismay.

LD Tanner Molendyk certainly has areas of his game to refine, but he's an elite skater with really good offensive tools. He might of been taken a bit high at #24 overall, but there's a lot of upside there.

Nashville really shone in the later rounds. 2nd rounder Felix Nilsson was one of my favorite picks of the draft. The Swedish center grades plus across the board -- in every single category I rate except for skating, and he's at least an average skater. He's going to be a terrific, two-way middle-6 center in the NHL, and as far as centers from Sweden go I had him ranked far higher than Anton Wahlberg, whom Buffalo took 4 picks earlier.

Nashville's next three picks of LW Kalan Lind, RW Jesse Kiiskinen and RD Dylan MacKinnon were all strong, but they might have really hit the jackpot with 4th round center/LW Joey Willis. He's one of those high-motor/high-IQ kids I absolutely love, because their intangibles raise the impact of all their physical tools. Willis is also one of the top handful of defensive forwards in the entire draft, and he adds some intriguing scoring pop to the mix. Getting a kid with this kind of floor and 3rd line ability after 100 picks is really a coup in my book.

As far as the 7th rounder NJ traded Nashville, winger Anton Fink is a very intriguing prospect. He's just an outstanding scorer with incredible offensive instincts and abilities, but he's one of those kids who falls simply because he's 5'9 and an average skater. This is precisely the kind of player it makes sense to draft in the 7th round, and that's why I loved the pick. I mean, the kid scored 100 points in 50-something games last year -- I know it was only the AJHL, but those are eye-popping numbers at any level.

We can always draft centers next year. We should have our 1st round pick and that would be ideal if their is a good center to be taken where we pick. Right now we have Nico , Hughes , Haula , McLeod , Boqvist and even Mercer if need be up the middle. Yeah centers and another goalie will be a need for next year's draft but thankfully the big club is the opposite of the prospect pool when it comes to centers. Not worried one bit about that position for the next 3 to 5 years.

It's always smart to draft centers. If a center and a wing are rated similarly, you take the center -- because centers can always be shifted to the wing, but not vise versa.

 

[StevenToddIves]

You draft based on deficiencies in your prospect pool, not your roster, particularly outside of the 1st round.

No one we drafted was getting here in the next 3 years and the deficiency at center is definitely going to be a problem in future, or even arguably now since we have almost no center depth in Utica. (And no good center depth there.)

And true centers are the most value trade chip, along with RHD. We’ve done a pretty shitty job of getting draft value out of our picks under Fitz. It’s annoying.

We did in the 2022 draft, but not so much 2020, 2021 and 2023. This draft again felt like we were giving 5 scouts "their guy" and lacked the cohesiveness and strategy of last year's draft. Fortunately, our MHL scout is a genius and we may have gotten a 1st round-caliber value with Karpovich.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Heidt looked like a great pick for us at 58. Smart players are great but Lenni sounds like Dagenais (a player whose hands/shot were off the charts but was almost a literal statue on the ice - we drafted him twice, my gosh, and he never panned out)

I'd agree with this if Hameenaho had any physical tools which were off the charts. Off course, we can't discount his intangibles, as Hameenaho possesses one of the best combinations of hockey IQ and compete level you'll see. But when @Guadana says Hameenaho is a long shot to make the NHL and explains why, it's a legitimate point.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Yep.

David Poile led Nashville to an excellent draft in his Predators' swan song.

Matthew Wood is a true power forward with a cannon for a shot. He needs to work on his skating, but those other high-end abilities are going to see him to an NHL top 6 role. I think he's a future 30+ goal guy who creates a ton of space for his line mates and crashes creases to his opponents' dismay.

LD Tanner Molendyk certainly has areas of his game to refine, but he's an elite skater with really good offensive tools. He might of been taken a bit high at #24 overall, but there's a lot of upside there.

Nashville really shone in the later rounds. 2nd rounder Felix Nilsson was one of my favorite picks of the draft. The Swedish center grades plus across the board -- in every single category I rate except for skating, and he's at least an average skater. He's going to be a terrific, two-way middle-6 center in the NHL, and as far as centers from Sweden go I had him ranked far higher than Anton Wahlberg, whom Buffalo took 4 picks earlier.

Nashville's next three picks of LW Kalan Lind, RW Jesse Kiiskinen and RD Dylan MacKinnon were all strong, but they might have really hit the jackpot with 4th round center/LW Joey Willis. He's one of those high-motor/high-IQ kids I absolutely love, because their intangibles raise the impact of all their physical tools. Willis is also one of the top handful of defensive forwards in the entire draft, and he adds some intriguing scoring pop to the mix. Getting a kid with this kind of floor and 3rd line ability after 100 picks is really a coup in my book.

As far as the 7th rounder NJ traded Nashville, winger Anton Fink is a very intriguing prospect. He's just an outstanding scorer with incredible offensive instincts and abilities, but he's one of those kids who falls simply because he's 5'9 and an average skater. This is precisely the kind of player it makes sense to draft in the 7th round, and that's why I loved the pick. I mean, the kid scored 100 points in 50-something games last year -- I know it was only the AJHL, but those are eye-popping numbers at any level.


It's always smart to draft centers. If a center and a wing are rated similarly, you take the center -- because centers can always be shifted to the wing, but not vise versa.

Elias dud it but yes it is extremely rare.

 

[forceten]

Steve, you have me in despair a little

 

[StevenToddIves]

Steve, you have me in despair a little

Not my intent. As I keep saying, the Devils are a burgeoning powerhouse with the best 1/2 center punch in the Eastern Conference, the best top 6 Fs in the Eastern Conference and an outstanding blueline -- all reasonably signed and poised to contend for the next half-decade, at least. Devils fans should all be ecstatic about the state of the team, and the current front office has been terrific to say the least.

The only negative of this off-season -- and this is to be expected, really -- is that the Devils prospect pool has dipped from where I ranked them prior to the draft at #2 overall (behind only Minnesota) to probably the #5-#7 range, as they have been passed definitely by Chicago and Columbus and arguably by Philadelphia, Anaheim and Buffalo. As soon as Luke Hughes graduates -- which is probably opening day next year -- they'll drop out of the top 10 completely.

But again, this is what happens when you graduate from a strong rebuild into strong contention, and it's to be expected.

But also again, this is why teams which hope to remain in contention must use their picks extremely wisely. Arizona can take a few chances when they have seemingly 1,000 picks every year, but Colorado and Tampa and Vegas need to really hit on their later picks if they hope to keep their Stanley Cup windows open a bit longer. Hopefully in the next year or two, if I write the previous sentence again, I'll have to include "New Jersey".

 

[Devs3cups]

We can always draft centers next year. We should have our 1st round pick and that would be ideal if their is a good center to be taken where we pick. Right now we have Nico , Hughes , Haula , McLeod , Boqvist and even Mercer if need be up the middle. Yeah centers and another goalie will be a need for next year's draft but thankfully the big club is the opposite of the prospect pool when it comes to centers. Not worried one bit about that position for the next 3 to 5 years.

Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought for sure we didn’t have our 2024 1st because of the Timo trade. Pretty sure that if our pick is top-10, we can transfer our 2025 1st to SJ instead, but if not, they have our 2024 1st.

 

[Nubmer6]

Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought for sure we didn’t have our 2024 1st because of the Timo trade. Pretty sure that if our pick is top-10, we can transfer our 2025 1st to SJ instead, but if not, they have our 2024 1st.

SJ owns our 2nd. If we make it to the conference finals, it changes to our 1st.

Not sure how that affects our trade ability (i.e. if we're allowed to trade our 1st conditionally).

 

[Clam Jensen]

Hameenaho is a guy whom front office hockey guys could love. This is to say, he just does everything right out there, and he's so quick to anticipate play. He really stands out for his smarts. But no, he's never going to score a lot at the highest level with his physical limitations.

I agree with the complaint about using early picks on bottom 6 wingers and avoiding the center position. I would've been fine with a high-upside wing at #58, but that didn't happen either as we passed on a few of those types, especially Heidt.


Almost never, unfortunately. But yes, a Seamus Casey for Marco Kasper trade makes sense.

As much as I love Seamus and think he’ll be another Sam Girard, the Kasper swap is something I never considered and makes a ton of sense. In this hypothetical, and with Yzerman seemingly losing direction as of late, maybe we get Kasper for Vilen…thoughts/concerns?

 

[forceten]

That 2024 pick condition rankles me. Like, either demand the first or take the 2nd. I think the 2nd was plenty considering Meier was not signed. I think we DO make the conference finals so I'm assuming it's a first.

 

[Guadana]

Almost never, unfortunately. But yes, a Seamus Casey for Marco Kasper trade makes sense for both sides.

Please!!!
But drw don't have strong center depth. And they drafted pellikka. So its unreal.

I don't like their draft. I was a big fan of Yzerman's work on drafts. Seider, Raymond, Edvinsson, Kasper - all good two way players, with good effort, and with offensive tools. He could drafted Benson/Dvorskiy and Barlow. It could end their rebuild. Got two way center with good work ethic. And power forward with great shot. And two way too! And what he did on the draft? Two offensive oriented players with questionable work ethic, week two way game and not better offensive tools. Bad day for wings fans. Second round doesn't look really better.

We did in the 2022 draft, but not so much 2020, 2021 and 2023. This draft again felt like we were giving 5 scouts "their guy" and lacked the cohesiveness and strategy of last year's draft. Fortunately, our MHL scout is a genius and we may have gotten a 1st round-caliber value with Karpovich.

Looks like 3 scouts.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

Doubtful Vilen could not get you Kapser as a base for a trade.

When is the last time trams traded prospect for prospect 1 year after being drafted ? I'm not talking underwhelming player for underwhelming or player stuck in the AHL for player stuck in the AHL. Seems like it doesn't happen too much even if the deal makes sense.

 

[StevenToddIves]

As much as I love Seamus and think he’ll be another Sam Girard, the Kasper swap is something I never considered and makes a ton of sense. In this hypothetical, and with Yzerman seemingly losing direction as of late, maybe we get Kasper for Vilen…thoughts/concerns?

I like Seamus Casey more than Sam Girard, because Casey is actually a capable defender in his own zone.

As for Detroit, it's hard to pinpoint what's happened to their draft acumen. They had a terrible -- and I mean terrible -- draft in 2023. Nate Danielson over Zach Benson and Dalibor Dvorsky? Look, I like Danielson, but he's a guy late in the 1st because, with specific improvements, he can be a good NHL middle 6 center. But not in the top 10 in a draft with this kind of talent available.

And sure, I think Sandin-Pelikka might be a better version of Ty Smith, but again we're talking about a Detroit team which seriously needs top-line-type forwards in a draft which was oozing with them. The names they left on the table to take an undersized defender with average skating included potential stars Sale, Moore, Barlow, Brindley, Ritchie, Perreault, etc.

Then, with three picks in a row 41-43 and high-upside forwards still available like Nilsson, Nelson, Fisker-Molgaard, Heidt, Lardis and Castagna? Detroit took an undersized goaltender and two defensive defensemen.

In the end, Detroit entered a draft overflowing with top-line forward talent and desperately needing top-line-type forwards with a top 10 pick, two top 20 picks, and 5 picks in the top 45. And they exited the draft with a handful of depth guys, none with huge ceilings and a few with questionable floors.

Detroit still has an overall strong prospect pool. Edvinsson and Kasper are both studs, and there's a lot of good depth prospects at every position. But this was the year to fortify their top-end talent, and the Wings came out pretty thin in that department.

 

[ninetyeight]

Yzerman earned a lot of leeway and respect with his Seider, Raymond, Edvinsson, Söderblom picks. Kasper remains to be seen, but he looks good so far. These '23 picks look off, but due to Yzerman' s track record, I'll reserve my judgement. But yeah this good reputation can disappear real quick if he starts missing these picks. It's one thing to draft concensus scout/media favorites and have them bust (Lafreniere, Nolan Patrick..), than go rogue off the board reach and fail.

Edit: And I do realize there's more people than just Yzerman involved in their drafting decisions.

 

[NjdevilfanJim]

That 2024 pick condition rankles me. Like, either demand the first or take the 2nd. I think the 2nd was plenty considering Meier was not signed. I think we DO make the conference finals so I'm assuming it's a first.

The Timo trade had to hurt you expect that but that extra pick along with Okhotyuik stung...

Can't just give out picks have to keep them and keep adding to the prospect pool....I make the Timo trade anyday but can't lose sight of the future

 

[Goptor]

The Timo trade had to hurt you expect that but that extra pick along with Okhotyuik stung...

Can't just give out picks have to keep them and keep adding to the prospect pool....I make the Timo trade anyday but can't lose sight of the future

I hated having to add the extra pick back then. Timo is a good player and I understand that good prospects need to go back. I like Muk but was fine with him going over.

Its just that the 2024 pick hangs on your head for a year and half. It ties up your trade options because other teams want top draft picks from the incoming draft. The Devils can't do any trade including 2024 2nd and 2024 1st beacuse its all tied up from the Timo trade.