Myles Bell signed

[MichaelJ]

Oh same here, I'm excited for our forward prospects as well. I think what makes me more excited about them is actually our defense. By the looks of it we have at least 4 young defensemen that could be at least NHL players, at most top pairing - top 4. There are even a few that might surprise and make a name for themselves, which also opens the door for a possible trade to beef up the forward core.

We have so much wealth on defense I'm accepting of the fact that we don't have the greatest forward prospect pool, although I do think it is decent.



That's what makes excited about him. He is very much still learning the game from a forward perspective. The offensive instincts have been there for seemingly his whole career. The question is how much can he learn still, and how well will he apply that in game. He's doesn't have the makings of a 3rd line grinder, his offensive instincts are too good for that. I think if he reaches his potential he'd be a top 6 forward. It's a big if, but I'd like to be optimistic that he can do it.

I don't know that Bell playing on the third line is a terrible thing, nor does it mean he's only a "grinder". We currently have Henrique and Ryder playing on the third line. Both are top6 talents and neither is a grinder. I think having a 3rd line RW like Bell developed by the system would be great. An offensively gifted player, built like a tank, and plays a physical game. He could be the most talented player on a 3rd line.

 

[JimEIV]

Let's see him score at a good rate in Albany... if that happens, I will be very excited.

 

[BenedictGomez]

If you take a defenseman and convert him to forward, there's about a 97.5% chance the Devils are going to acquire him somehow.

 

[Chessarmy]

Well, he probably won't have any issues playing well on both sides of the puck - I'm interested to see how this turns out.

 

[Offseason Champs]

I've been on the Bell hype train since he started putting up those disgusting numbers after converting to forward. Hope he pans out.

 

[tailfins]

Bell loaned to Evansville in the ECHL:

http://www.thealbanydevils.com/bell-loaned-to-evansville

Not sure what that means for him, but generally doesn't seem like a great sign.

 

[Moe Syzlak]

Guys who play in the east coast league don't usually translate to NHLers. Not sure what's up with this but I still think Bell could be a good player. Regardless if he was overage last year in junior or not, he still put up 40 goals. That's got to be worth something?

 

[NJDevs26]

Hopefully it just means they want him to get some conditioning in first before playing in the AHL, since he missed all of camp.