Guadana
Registered User
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.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.
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.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.
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.