Rate the Devils

[Nicomo Cosca]

I think Nico will become a better defensive center in the future, but for now he's average. Bratt is a little better defensively, but he's not great. Hence a 3 and a 4 respectively.

This is honestly kind of shocking to me. Nico is FAR better than Bratt defensively. Bratt has literally been scratched at times because of his play. And it certainly wasn’t his offense...

Nico is right there with Zajac as the best defensive forwards on the team.

 

[Guttersniped]

Bratt’s defense has improved considerably this season and he was one of the team’s better defensive forwards by the end of the season (very faint praise, I know). Nico’s defense, like his overall play, slipped a bit after the improvements of last season. I’m going to blame that on injuries and the dumpster fire season in general plus Hughes on his wing was a terrible idea that was very terrible every game. He was better defensively last season, he can shake it off and get even better.

Wood, who was shaky defensively before, and Zacha, who was bad defensively before, didn’t slip, they plunged into grotesquely bad and 1) Ruff has he work cut out these two, they literally stopped playing defense at some point and got bent over regularly 2) why is Nasreddine keeping his job exactly? Even Zacha’s much vaulted PK skillz were diminished, he was better on the PP than the PK because nothing made sense last season.

 

[My3Sons]

Bratt’s defense has improved considerably this season and he was one of the team’s better defensive forwards by the end of the season (very faint praise, I know). Nico’s defense, like his overall play, slipped a bit after the improvements of last season. I’m going to blame that on injuries and the dumpster fire season in general plus Hughes on his wing was a terrible idea that was very terrible every game. He was better defensively last season, he can shake it off and get even better.

Wood, who was shaky defensively before, and Zacha, who was bad defensively before, didn’t slip, they plunged into grotesquely bad and 1) Ruff has he work cut out these two, they literally stopped playing defense at some point and got bent over regularly 2) why is Nasreddine keeping his job exactly? Even Zacha’s much vaulted PK skillz were diminished, he was better on the PP than the PK because nothing made sense last season.

There was that short period of time after Nas had “the talk” with Nico where he played like he’s capable of. His offense and defense both looked good. Then he got hurt and it was downhill after he returned. Hopefully we see the confident player this upcoming season whenever it might happen.

 

[Nicomo Cosca]

There was that short period of time after Nas had “the talk” with Nico where he played like he’s capable of. His offense and defense both looked good. Then he got hurt and it was downhill after he returned. Hopefully we see the confident player this upcoming season whenever it might happen.

He was playing at almost a PPG pace from late Dec through pretty much all of January. It was right after Hall was traded. He was driving to the net more than I’ve ever seen from him, and looked like he had found another level to his game. Then ofc he got hurt...

 

[Blackjack]

This is honestly kind of shocking to me. Nico is FAR better than Bratt defensively. Bratt has literally been scratched at times because of his play. And it certainly wasn’t his offense...

Nico is right there with Zajac as the best defensive forwards on the team.

I guess I should be clear about something. If we're talking about traditional marks of good defensive play: separating the puck carrier from the puck, winning battles in the corner, closing out the slot, etc. I agree that Nico is better.

The new thinking is that you should measure shot suppression. I.e. what impact do you have on the number of shots that the other team generates. On this measure, Bratt is easily better than Hischier, because when he does get the puck in the defensive zone, he is fantastic at generating a zone exit.

I'm not saying you're wrong if you go by the first metric, just might explain the difference in opinion that we have.

 

[AfroThunder396]

There was that short period of time after Nas had “the talk” with Nico where he played like he’s capable of. His offense and defense both looked good. Then he got hurt and it was downhill after he returned. Hopefully we see the confident player this upcoming season whenever it might happen.

My sweet little boy is NOT old enough to learn where babies come from

 

[My3Sons]

My sweet little boy is NOT old enough to learn where babies come from

Maybe not, but apparently he's old enough to be told that the team is his responsibility. Can you imagine how that seemed to a 20 year old watching the team unravel last season?