Prospect Info: Way Too Early Devils-Centric Mock Draft For February

[HughJazz3dg]

I have Lundell instead of Mysak, but otherwise the same guys in my top10 (slightly different order though). Mysak at #8 is pretty surprising, care to elaborate more on that?

Mysak is a Bunz McToot type really, and that’s something any organization can use.

 

[StevenToddIves]

With the Winnipeg win and Arizona loss last night, the Devils first-round pick acquired from the Coyotes leaps up from the late teens to #13 overall. There's still a solid shot at two top 10 picks for NJ, which would be huge this year. As is stands, my mock would now look something like this

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 ANH Stutzle
5 NJ Drysdale
6 OTT Holtz
7 CHI Rossi
8 BUF Perfetti
9 MIN Lundell
10 MTL Mysak
11 NSH Holloway
12 NYR Gunler
13 NJ Quinn

 

[StevenToddIves]

I have Lundell instead of Mysak, but otherwise the same guys in my top10 (slightly different order though). Mysak at #8 is pretty surprising, care to elaborate more on that?

Simply put, upside.

Lundell is going to be a terrific, do-it-all #2 center. Any team would love to have him, I think he's going to be a Bo Horvat type -- putting up 50-60 points, giving great two-way play, winning draws, physical when necessary.

Mysak is far more dynamic. He is a brilliant goal scorer with tremendous hands, vision and just beautiful skating. While Lundell is closer now to what he will become and is a very low-risk pick, Mysak has the potential to become a electrifying top-line scorer.

Keep in mind -- I don't have a huge separation. While I have moved Mysak up to #8 in my overall rankings, Lundell is certainly in the same tier -- I'd say the #11-#13 range. They're both guys I would love to get with the Coyotes pick, though the Devils own pick is likely going to be too early to go for either of them.

 

[ninetyeight]

Yeah somehow the highly regarded prospects never fall for us, but instead it's us with our out of the blue picks that make them fall for others

 

[StevenToddIves]

Yeah somehow the highly regarded prospects never fall for us, but instead it's us with our out of the blue picks that make them fall for others

Fitzgerald has done a very good job in his short reign as Devils GM, and I look forward to seeing what he does at the draft. Turn that frown upside-down!

 

[None Shall Pass]

Yeah somehow the highly regarded prospects never fall for us, but instead it's us with our out of the blue picks that make them fall for others

It happened with Larsson. The best day ever on this board.

 

[ninetyeight]

It happened with Larsson. The best day ever on this board.

Kinda like the Flames fans felt when Bennett fell for them

But the final value of Larsson is still in the air with the Arizona pick this year!

 

[Guttersniped]

Yeah somehow the highly regarded prospects never fall for us, but instead it's us with our out of the blue picks that make them fall for others

Everyone, including the Devils, was very pleasantly surprised that Smith was still available at 17.

I still believe that the Mcleod pick was due to the team’s severe need at forward, Shero couldn’t have been that into him because he traded down.

 

[ninetyeight]

Everyone, including the Devils, was very pleasantly surprised that Smith was still available at 17.

I still believe that the Mcleod pick was due to the team’s severe need at forward, Shero couldn’t have been that into him because he traded down.

Yeah that's true Smith could potentially turn out to be a steal for us, but that remains to be seen. I was mostly joking though, you can't really blame anyone for not knowing the future. The Zacha pick is perhaps the one that haunts us the most, granted Zacha was ranked pretty high in general, but the #1 ranked european skater in Rantanen was still available and we ignored it.

 

[StevenToddIves]

The good news is that the Coyotes pick keeps surging up. Conversely, the Devils own first-round pick keeps dropping. Here's a mini-mock for today, following the Devils upset win over the Caps:

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 ANH Stutzle
5 OTT Drysdale
6 NJ Rossi
7 CHI Holtz
8 MTL Perfetti
9 BUF Lundell
10 MIN Sanderson
11 NSH Mysak
12 NJ Quinn

In this particular situation, I have the Devils pretty much drafting every player who has ever played for the Ottawa 67's, but I swear it's an accident.

 

[nugg]

The good news is that the Coyotes pick keeps surging up. Conversely, the Devils own first-round pick keeps dropping. Here's a mini-mock for today, following the Devils upset win over the Caps:

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 ANH Stutzle
5 OTT Drysdale
6 NJ Rossi
7 CHI Holtz
8 MTL Perfetti
9 BUF Lundell
10 MIN Sanderson
11 NSH Mysak
12 NJ Quinn

In this particular situation, I have the Devils pretty much drafting every player who has ever played for the Ottawa 67's, but I swear it's an accident.

This would give us rights to 6 players from this season's team.
Nikita Okhotyuk
Mitchell Hoelscher
Kevin Bahl
Graeme Clarke
being the others. Pretty cool.

 

[StevenToddIves]

This would give us rights to 6 players from this season's team.
Nikita Okhotyuk
Mitchell Hoelscher
Kevin Bahl
Graeme Clarke
being the others. Pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm not sure anything like that has happened before. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear it.

Fact is, Marco Rossi is an absolute monster. He has franchise-type upside in my mind -- tenacious, two-way force up the middle with a magical offensive skill-set. And no one has rocketed up draft boards this year more than Jack Quinn -- I think he grew three inches and his shot has just improved into an absolute weapon off the RW.

 

[MichaelJ]

Yeah, I'm not sure anything like that has happened before. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear it.

Fact is, Marco Rossi is an absolute monster. He has franchise-type upside in my mind -- tenacious, two-way force up the middle with a magical offensive skill-set. And no one has rocketed up draft boards this year more than Jack Quinn -- I think he grew three inches and his shot has just improved into an absolute weapon off the RW.

Quinn. I want Quinn with the AZ pick.

 

[beekay414]

Yeah, I'm not sure anything like that has happened before. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear it.

Fact is, Marco Rossi is an absolute monster. He has franchise-type upside in my mind -- tenacious, two-way force up the middle with a magical offensive skill-set. And no one has rocketed up draft boards this year more than Jack Quinn -- I think he grew three inches and his shot has just improved into an absolute weapon off the RW.

This is a question I've asked elsewhere but, what could we have expected out of Graeme Clarke this season, on THAT team, without the shoulder issue? He was a PPG player until he went down.

 

[StevenToddIves]

This is a question I've asked elsewhere but, what could we have expected out of Graeme Clarke this season, on THAT team, without the shoulder issue? He was a PPG player until he went down.

Clarke would have likely been a 40+ goal player and made this dominant Ottawa team even better. Clarke is an intriguing prospect in that he has a pair of tools which are completely elite in his stick handling and shot (especially that release), but the rest of his game needs major improvements for him to even be considered a serious prospect. A major shoulder injury in his draft+1 season certainly does not help. Clarke's 200-foot game needs work, as does his skating. He plays with a good degree of smarts and compete level, but he has difficulty with quicker opposition. If he can improve his skating, even to slightly above average, he has terrific upside as a goal-scoring, 2nd line RW. Again, I can't stress enough how good his hands and his shot are -- just phenomenal.

 

[beekay414]

Clarke would have likely been a 40+ goal player and made this dominant Ottawa team even better. Clarke is an intriguing prospect in that he has a pair of tools which are completely elite in his stick handling and shot (especially that release), but the rest of his game needs major improvements for him to even be considered a serious prospect. A major shoulder injury in his draft+1 season certainly does not help. Clarke's 200-foot game needs work, as does his skating. He plays with a good degree of smarts and compete level, but he has difficulty with quicker opposition. If he can improve his skating, even to slightly above average, he has terrific upside as a goal-scoring, 2nd line RW. Again, I can't stress enough how good his hands and his shot are -- just phenomenal.

Thanks for the feedback! That RW duo of Quinn and Clarke would've been amazing to watch. Which do you think fits best with Rossi?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Thanks for the feedback! That RW duo of Quinn and Clarke would've been amazing to watch. Which do you think fits best with Rossi?

Quinn, because he's a superior prospect. But what a lot of people do not realize is that Jack Quinn has barely played on the same line with Marco Rossi this season. Rossi centers the first line and is always paired with Austen Keating, while Quinn isa fixture on the Ottawa 67's second line, centered by Devils prospect Mitchell Hoelscher.

Again, Graeme Clarke has some off-the-charts elite tools, notably his stick handling and shot. But until the rest of his game rounds out, he's no sure thing as an NHL prospect. I certainly like him a lot, the Devils picking him was a big swing for the fences and his upside as a top 6 scorer makes him a great flyer at #80 overall where the Devils nabbed him.

Still, Jack Quinn has shot up draft boards like no one else in an extremely strong 2020 class. He has no weakness in his game, his scoring ability is elite, and he grew three inches this year. You're talking about the possibility of (three to four years down the road) a 6'1-195, smooth-skating, deadly sniper with a 200-foot complete game; a first-line stud at RW.

 

[glenwo2]

I would be happy with any player in the first round at this point.

It seems that in the next draft, having a first round pick(let alone 3 possible first rounders) is a virtual lottery ticket to some damn good high-quality A+ prospects.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Here's a new mini-mock, with the Devils in a place to get 3 picks in the top 20 (!):

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 OTT Holtz
5 ANH Stutzle
6 NJ Drysdale
7 CHI Rossi
8 BUF Perfetti
9 MTL Lundell
10 MIN Sanderson
11 NJ Quinn
12 WPG Holloway
13 NSH Schneider
14 FLA Mysak
15 NYR Gunler
16 CGY Mercer
17 NYR Zary
18 EDM Amirov
19 CAR Guhle
20 NJ Mukhamadullin

 

[Ripshot 43]

Here's a new mini-mock, with the Devils in a place to get 3 picks in the top 20 (!):

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 OTT Holtz
5 ANH Stutzle
6 NJ Drysdale
7 CHI Rossi
8 BUF Perfetti
9 MTL Lundell
10 MIN Sanderson
11 NJ Quinn
12 WPG Holloway
13 NSH Schneider
14 FLA Mysak
15 NYR Gunler
16 CGY Mercer
17 NYR Zary
18 EDM Amirov
19 CAR Guhle
20 NJ Mukhamadullin

 

[My3Sons]

Here's a new mini-mock, with the Devils in a place to get 3 picks in the top 20 (!):

1 DET Lafreniere
2 LA Byfield
3 OTT Raymond
4 OTT Holtz
5 ANH Stutzle
6 NJ Drysdale
7 CHI Rossi
8 BUF Perfetti
9 MTL Lundell
10 MIN Sanderson
11 NJ Quinn
12 WPG Holloway
13 NSH Schneider
14 FLA Mysak
15 NYR Gunler
16 CGY Mercer
17 NYR Zary
18 EDM Amirov
19 CAR Guhle
20 NJ Mukhamadullin

Youve made Mysak sound like the real deal. What about Quinn suggests he’s a preferable pick at that spot to Mysak?

 

[Nubmer6]

Youve made Mysak sound like the real deal. What about Quinn suggests he’s a preferable pick at that spot to Mysak?

I presume because it's a mock, not a ranking, that he's taking into account that the Devils have seen a whole lot of Quinn and has a thing for 67's.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Youve made Mysak sound like the real deal. What about Quinn suggests he’s a preferable pick at that spot to Mysak?

Quinn is a high-end sniper at RW who has more familiarity with the Devils scouts due to the fact that he's playing among several Devils prospects in Ottawa. The Devils just picked up a kid in Nolan Foote who can be that at LW. A pick of Quinn would give them a first-line potential prospect at either wing, whereas Mysak is going to be a LW or C in the NHL. That being said, believe me I'd be thrilled with either player -- they both offer huge potential in the #10- #20 range.

 

[Nubmer6]

Quinn is a high-end sniper at RW who has more familiarity with the Devils scouts due to the fact that he's playing among several Devils prospects in Ottawa.

Several prospects in Ottawa??? They're like our ENTIRE farm system!!!

 

[Emperoreddy]

Quinn is a high-end sniper at RW who has more familiarity with the Devils scouts due to the fact that he's playing among several Devils prospects in Ottawa. The Devils just picked up a kid in Nolan Foote who can be that at LW. A pick of Quinn would give them a first-line potential prospect at either wing, whereas Mysak is going to be a LW or C in the NHL. That being said, believe me I'd be thrilled with either player -- they both offer huge potential in the #10- #20 range.

I know he isn’t playing with Rossi. Who is playing alongside Quinn? Hoelscher?

how have you liked his season BTW?