Prospect Info: Ives Final 2020 Draft Rankings -- Top 100

[StevenToddIves]

At what point do the Devils start worrying about the size of their forwards and alter their draft needs? I always believed drafting BPA , but could size become an issue where our top 9 may be too soft ?
I know the “new NHL” is all about speed , puck possession , skill vs size and toughness , however , at some point you will run into an issue in playoffs.
When the whistles get tucked away and a much heavier game is played , it would be nice to have some players that can play a heavy game.
With Bratt Gusev Hughes and potentially Rossi Raymond other prospects projected to go in the 15-25 range that are skilled but small , do the Devils look at the size of their forward rosters and maybe alter their draft board ?
I know the Devils are lacking g in high end finishers on the wings , but we could potentially end up with Zacha and Nico being our “biggest” players and everyone else being sub-6 foot .
Maybe I’m making too much about it , but looking at all the prospects we could are , most are “tiny” compared to other nhl rosters or am I being too critical ?

There is no doubt that Holloway, Mercer and Reichel are on the radar at #18 and #20.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I’m worried too where we luck out and get Drysdale or Sanderson but all the forwards in the tier in the 10-20 range are gone and BAP is yet another D. We need a shoot first winger somehow with one of our 3 picks . That or trade one or two picks for a top 6 winger

They can't ALL be gone. Math. Holtz, Quinn, Jarvis are certainly gone between #8-#17. But also Askarov. And then we have to consider Schneider and Guhle. And then there is a list of talented Fs like Perreault, Amirov, Reichel, Holloway, Mercer, Gunler -- the Devils are certainly going to get a shot at two of those guys. I'm optimistic.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Hey guys - any pre-draft questions? I’ll be online for a few hours during the afternoon tomorrow before taking off to watch the draft with friends.

 

[Guadana]

Hey guys - any pre-draft questions? I’ll be online for a few hours during the afternoon tomorrow before taking off to watch the draft with friends.

I have a question - how dare you choose some kind of... friends instead of a boards?

 

[Cheddabombs]

Hey guys - any pre-draft questions? I’ll be online for a few hours during the afternoon tomorrow before taking off to watch the draft with friends.

I thought we were your friends??

 

[Guttersniped]

I`m in worry that everyone will take forwards until pick 18, and then we may be left without Perreault, and without Reichel, (and without Amirov, without Jarvis, and without Mercer). I like Greig, but he isn`t first or even second on my 18/20 list.

You should sit next to me and we can dread how badly things will go together.

Seriously, reading everyone gush over Perreault my first thought is “oh, he’ll definitely be gone by 18 then and will end up grabbing a random blah defenseman that Steve will mildly praise to hide his pain”.

Now the good part of thinking you can’t have nice things is that good luck, such as winning the draft lottery, seems weirdly amazing and I’m obviously dead wrong at times, for example I was convinced that Ty Smith wouldn’t be available at 17 too.

Has being wrong before made doubt that tomorrow is going to be torture as I watch teams snag all the guys that most interest me before we pick? No it has not.

 

[My3Sons]

Great list, man. I like your hockey sence pretty well.
I wouldn't be ashamed to eat dumplings or borsch with such a person.

Don’t you mean perogies?

 

[Forge]

Hey guys - any pre-draft questions? I’ll be online for a few hours during the afternoon tomorrow before taking off to watch the draft with friends.

If you had to guess, how many lobsters do you think there are?

 

[Blackjack]

If you had to guess, how many lobsters do you think there are?

More than 12.

 

[My3Sons]

So as we head into the draft I am doing something a bit different in terms of a ranking. As most of you are well aware I am a lazy out of touch octogenarian who just relies on you folks to research and report on the prospects while I just read your results. Maybe I’ll watch a highlight or two and read a bit of scouting service stuff along the way. So, based on what I’ve read here I’m posting what amounts to my perceptions of the group ratings for the first 20 players. A combination of hype and skills recognition and tempered with concerns about bad skating or injuries or compete. Not as scientific as a poll just more of an impression of what I’m seeing here from the regular and semi-regulars. Again these aren’t my rankings. I don’t really have any.

1. Lafreniere
2. By field
3. Stutzle
4. Rossi
5. Drysdale
6. Sanderson
7. Raymond
10. Holtz
11. Quinn
12. Askarov
13. Perfetti
14. Amirov
15. Lapierre
16. Mercer
17. Perreault
18. Holloway
19. Reichel
20. Jarvis
21. Gunler - bonus because I doubled up at 16 because I’m so senile I can’t get to 20 without forgetting where I am.

I’m in the camp that’s happy to draft three players absent a no brainer upgrade trade falling into Fitz’s lap. I don’t expect that and would be disappointed if he forced a trade.

As an aside Lundell has gotten little attention on our board and he’s so vanilla in terms of the chatter that I just forgot him. For my purposes I’d probably put him ahead of Perfetti who carries an undercurrent of criticism of his skating whether exaggerated or not. Push everyone down one slot accordingly and you’ve got 22 guys. The long and short of it is there are excellent players all the way down to 20. I know STI has beaten the drum not to reach for a defender and from the discussions it seems almost everyone agrees with him. Special props to Guadara for offering colorful opinions ina second language. That can’t be easy and are much appreciated.