Prospect Info: 2022 Draft Final STI Rankings -- Top 120

[Xirik]

First off, thanks for the kind words. Now, to answer your concerns...

I think a lot of people misunderstand what hockey IQ means. Playmaking has nothing to do with it -- passing is its own (and very important) tool. It's more about awareness, decision making, adjustments made to particular opponents and game situations, anticipation/reaction -- generally how a player thinks the game. Slafkovsky is borderline elite in these general respects -- he's no Datsyukian genius on skates, but he's clearly extremely smart and has an outstanding understanding of the game. He processes everything quickly, and he's still learning the nuances.

I also think a lot of people delude their own player assessments with an incessant need for reference points and comparisons -- and additionally in adhering to "player stereotypes".

For instance -- Slafkovsky is 6'4 and humongous and Cooley is 5'11 and fast as f**k, so Cooley has to be a slicker passer and faster thinker than Slafkovsky, right?

No. This is not a comic book where the muscle guy smashes things and the smaller hero does all the heavy thinking. I would rank Slafkovsky's combination of playmaking/puckhandling/IQ slightly ahead of Cooley, and that's saying a lot because Cooley excels in these respects, as well.

I think it's important to eschew some of these stereotypes when assessing new prospects. If anything, Slafkovsky is a finesse player -- and what makes him so unique is his rare ability to play a finesse game down low and in the interior. Conversely, a guy like Cutter Gauthier also does his best work down low, but he prefers to accomplish this by bashing in your head and then firing the puck on net at a million miles an hour.

thanks for the quick reply. You talking about "player stereotypes" gave me a lightbulb moment, It isn't something I ever really thought about but now that you mentioned it I can definitely see that some people are doing that. Its easier for people to justify their draft prospect opinions if they try fit the player into a cookie cutter mold. Now Lots of the time the stereotypes really do fit the players but sometimes you get prospects who really don't fit in one and forcing one onto a player does said player a disservice.

 

[goonybird]

HIV probably has the most unique skillset as a retrovirus that integrates into the genome of defenders. But its style of play hasn't really been viable now that teams now how to limit its chances

 

[StevenToddIves]

thanks for the quick reply. You talking about "player stereotypes" gave me a lightbulb moment, It isn't something I ever really thought about but now that you mentioned it I can definitely see that some people are doing that. Its easier for people to justify their draft prospect opinions if they try fit the player into a cookie cutter mold. Now Lots of the time the stereotypes really do fit the players but sometimes you get prospects who really don't fit in one and forcing one onto a player does said player a disservice.

Yup, exactly -- and it's also the reason three months ago Devils fans would compare Slafkovsky to Pavel Zacha. Two players who have zero in common style-wise or talent-wise, but they're both big and from what used to be Czechoslovakia, soooooo....

Hilariously enough, there is a near-perfect Zacha comparable in this draft in virtually every way. His name is Danny Zhilkin, and he's a likely 2nd round pick.

But seriously, people go overboard with superficial comparables. You might recall two years ago when a couple Devils fans compared Lucas Raymond (who some thought we would draft) to Mattias Tedenby. It was an absolutely absurd comparison, but people who did not like Raymond's stat-production ran with it because they were both undersized Swedish wingers.

It's important to assess at new prospects objectively, without stereotyping or superficially comparing. Otherwise, we wind up making the same mistakes over and over again and never learning from them.

 

[My3Sons]

Yup, exactly -- and it's also the reason three months ago Devils fans would compare Slafkovsky to Pavel Zacha. Two players who have zero in common style-wise or talent-wise, but they're both big and from what used to be Czechoslovakia, soooooo....

Hilariously enough, there is a near-perfect Zacha comparable in this draft in virtually every way. His name is Danny Zhilkin, and he's a likely 2nd round pick.

But seriously, people go overboard with superficial comparables. You might recall two years ago when a couple Devils fans compared Lucas Raymond (who some thought we would draft) to Mattias Tedenby. It was an absolutely absurd comparison, but people who did not like Raymond's stat-production ran with it because they were both undersized Swedish wingers.

It's important to assess at new prospects objectively, without stereotyping or superficially comparing. Otherwise, we wind up making the same mistakes over and over again and never learning from them.

I’d like to thank you and @Guadana for your word pack. You guys really make draft season much more interesting to the fan like me who doesn’t have the time to evaluate the hours of video. Thanks again guys . Much appreciated as always.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I’d like to thank you and @Guadana for your word pack. You guys really make draft season much more interesting to the fan like me who doesn’t have the time to evaluate the hours of video. Thanks again guys . Much appreciated as always.

Thanks, brother.

 

[My3Sons]

Thanks, brother.

And not to belittle contributions from a number of other thoughtful and prepared posters. Special shout-out to @Guttersniped for deep dives on stats and pushing the limits of the ToS on spicy word usage.

 

[Guttersniped]

And not to belittle contributions from a number of other thoughtful and prepared posters. Special shout-out to @Guttersniped for deep dives on stats and pushing the limits of the ToS on spicy word usage.

 

[goonybird]

And not to belittle contributions from a number of other thoughtful and prepared posters. Special shout-out to @Guttersniped for deep dives on stats and pushing the limits of the ToS on spicy word usage.

Thank you for not belittling my thoughtful and prepared contributions

 

[My3Sons]

Thank you for not belittling my thoughtful and prepared contributions

I watch a bit here and there. Some WJC U-20 some U-18 some WC some Olympics. Watched a bit of Slaf Cooley Chesley Nemec Jiricek but not enough to draw more than a basic conclusion. Between my pesky job and my pesky family not to mention those pesky dogs I can’t devote hours and hours to do the important video research needed to properly evaluate the prospects. Those of you who watch the players in depth and contribute to STI’s narratives are invaluable to the folks like me who woukd otherwise be in The dark. To the extent you’ve contributed thanks so much!

 

[Goptor]

Yup, exactly -- and it's also the reason three months ago Devils fans would compare Slafkovsky to Pavel Zacha. Two players who have zero in common style-wise or talent-wise, but they're both big and from what used to be Czechoslovakia, soooooo....

Hilariously enough, there is a near-perfect Zacha comparable in this draft in virtually every way. His name is Danny Zhilkin, and he's a likely 2nd round pick.

But seriously, people go overboard with superficial comparables. You might recall two years ago when a couple Devils fans compared Lucas Raymond (who some thought we would draft) to Mattias Tedenby. It was an absolutely absurd comparison, but people who did not like Raymond's stat-production ran with it because they were both undersized Swedish wingers.

It's important to assess at new prospects objectively, without stereotyping or superficially comparing. Otherwise, we wind up making the same mistakes over and over again and never learning from them.

Just for fun, here is your top 10 using our favorite Devils prospects as comparisons:

1: Shane Wright - Adrian Foster
2: Juraj Slafkovsky - Barry Tallackson
3: David Jiricek - Eric Gelinas
4: Simon Nemec - Jon Merrill
5: Logan Cooley - Jacob Josefson
6: Cutter Gauthier - Brandon Baddock
7: Frank Nazar - Mattias Tedenby
8: Matt Savoie - Petr Vrana
9: Marco Kasper - Stefan Matteau
10: Joakim Kemell - Reid Boucher

 

[Guadana]

Just for fun, here is your top 10 using our favorite Devils prospects as comparisons:

1: Shane Wright - Adrian Foster
2: Juraj Slafkovsky - Barry Tallackson
3: David Jiricek - Eric Gelinas
4: Simon Nemec - Jon Merrill
5: Logan Cooley - Jacob Josefson
6: Cutter Gauthier - Brandon Baddock
7: Frank Nazar - Mattias Tedenby
8: Matt Savoie - Petr Vrana
9: Marco Kasper - Stefan Matteau
10: Joakim Kemell - Reid Boucher

Wow. Really great job of finding some of the most badly worserer versions of draft 2022 players. What can I say? I hate Conte)

 

[Team Concept]

Just for fun, here is your top 10 using our favorite Devils prospects as comparisons:

1: Shane Wright - Adrian Foster
2: Juraj Slafkovsky - Barry Tallackson
3: David Jiricek - Eric Gelinas
4: Simon Nemec - Jon Merrill
5: Logan Cooley - Jacob Josefson
6: Cutter Gauthier - Brandon Baddock
7: Frank Nazar - Mattias Tedenby
8: Matt Savoie - Petr Vrana
9: Marco Kasper - Stefan Matteau
10: Joakim Kemell - Reid Boucher

Lou is a HOF and brilliant GM, but if he liked Foster so much why not wait a round or two later to make the selection. I remember when they made the pick there was a delay because they had trouble finding his name. We were coming off two Cup appearances and I guess he wanted everyone to know he was the smartest one in the building. Meanwhile if they wanted a forward they could have had there pick from Derek Roy, Mike Cammalleri, and Jason Pominville. All 3 of them had awesome seasons as 18 year olds. Stupid pick.

 

[tunnelvision]

Thanks again for your write-ups and sharing your final rankings @StevenToddIves !

I may have at least one question about your list. I see two smallish but high compete level wingers ranked relatively close to each other, Sykora (#32) and Seminoff (#41). What do you like about Sykora's game or potential more than Seminoff's? One thing I can say for sure is that he looks faster than Seminoff, do you think he has better offensive tools? Did an 8 month age gap affect their final positions?

Not that I disagree with the rankings, just curious to know how do you compare these two.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Thanks again for your write-ups and sharing your final rankings @StevenToddIves !

I may have at least one question about your list. I see two smallish but high compete level wingers ranked relatively close to each other, Sykora (#32) and Seminoff (#41). What do you like about Sykora's game or potential more than Seminoff's? One thing I can say for sure is that he looks faster than Seminoff, do you think he has better offensive tools? Did an 8 month age gap affect their final positions?

Not that I disagree with the rankings, just curious to know how do you compare these two.

You actually nailed it pretty well yourself. I'd also add that Sykora is a better defensive winger -- Seminoff is certainly good at every facet of the game, but Sykora is just so advanced defensively for a 17 year old. I'd also mark Sykora's goal-scoring acumen a bit higher, especially because of his young age.

The important thing here is something you certainly caught onto -- I am remarkably high on both of these kids. I value compete level a lot more than height and weight. They're both going to outshine general expectation in my book, simply because they both work so hard and will perennially pad their offensive totals with hustle goals and effort points.

Just as a side note, I'd add that the numerical rankings mean less as the rankings wear on. Of course, I'd be very shocked if my #10 prospect outshined my #1 prospect, but I'd be far less surprised if my #41 prospect outshined my #32 prospect, and I wouldn't raise an eyebrow if my #110 prospect turned out better than my #101 prospect.

 

[glenwo2]

@StevenToddIves , I saw this from Leddy : "simple, stay-at-home defender gets the job done and does it very well"

Siegs is the same way.

Hope we can find more Siegs in the latter rounds.

 

[devilsblood]

When do the STI Triple Final Rankings come out?

I kid.

 

[StevenToddIves]

@StevenToddIves , I saw this from Leddy : "simple, stay-at-home defender gets the job done and does it very well"

Siegs is the same way.

Hope we can find more Siegs in the latter rounds.

We did a great job looking for this type of player in the 2019 draft, which was an outstanding draft for New Jersey. Picks of Okhotyuk, Misyul, Vukojevic and McCarthy showed clear strategizing and vision.

To be honest, I'd like to get at least one high upside RD like Rinzel, Fisher or Healey and at least one shut-down type RD like Barabosha, Mastrodomenico or Warren. I'd love to pick up another 2nd round pick in the draft (maybe for Zacha?) which would greatly abet the Devils in such a strategy.

In the late rounds, I've written up multiple safer RD who would be good picks to improve depth at the position -- not just Leddy, but also Kulonummi and Anderson.

I'd call 2022 a strong draft for RD, although this is greatly inflated by two top-5 worthy future stars in Jiricek and Nemec and another guy who would make a good top 10 pick in Chesley. But the depth is relatively solid. Hypothetically, Barabosha, Mastrodomenico and Warren could last until Round 3 and Fisher and Healey even later.

 

[My3Sons]

We did a great job looking for this type of player in the 2019 draft, which was an outstanding draft for New Jersey. Picks of Okhotyuk, Misyul, Vukojevic and McCarthy showed clear strategizing and vision.

To be honest, I'd like to get at least one high upside RD like Rinzel, Fisher or Healey and at least one shut-down type RD like Barabosha, Mastrodomenico or Warren. I'd love to pick up another 2nd round pick in the draft (maybe for Zacha?) which would greatly abet the Devils in such a strategy.

In the late rounds, I've written up multiple safer RD who would be good picks to improve depth at the position -- not just Leddy, but also Kulonummi and Anderson.

I'd call 2022 a strong draft for RD, although this is greatly inflated by two top-5 worthy future stars in Jiricek and Nemec and another guy who would make a good top 10 pick in Chesley. But the depth is relatively solid. Hypothetically, Barabosha, Mastrodomenico and Warren could last until Round 3 and Fisher and Healey even later.

You will get another left handed overage wing without any plus tools and like it.

 

[nugg]

Just for fun, here is your top 10 using our favorite Devils prospects as comparisons:

1: Shane Wright - Adrian Foster
2: Juraj Slafkovsky - Barry Tallackson
3: David Jiricek - Eric Gelinas
4: Simon Nemec - Jon Merrill
5: Logan Cooley - Jacob Josefson
6: Cutter Gauthier - Brandon Baddock
7: Frank Nazar - Mattias Tedenby
8: Matt Savoie - Petr Vrana
9: Marco Kasper - Stefan Matteau
10: Joakim Kemell - Reid Boucher

No one as good as Connor Chatham though, eh?

 

[evnted]

finally had a chance to get through the full list, once again excellent work @StevenToddIves. had a couple players i wanted to ask/talk about:

-any input on buchelnikov? haven't seen you mention him here or in your writeups. just barely an overager (~10 days older than kyrou) who features some elite offensive tools and is not afraid to engage physically/defensively. size, strength, and quality of competition might be a concern here, but i do feel he deserves a decent nod

-i look forward to rushing to twitter with you to defend the team that inevitably picks chesley in the teens. rock solid defensively, one of the best goal scorers from the point the NTDP has ever seen, and i still hold out hope that the offensive level he's always displayed up until this particular season is explainable by having been coached to play a much more conservative role while paired with hutson

-i appreciate your downranking of lamoureux in comparison to where you had him in your spring rankings (as cruel as that may sound to the kid lol). i understand the appeal of what he could be, but i always felt the puck skills were severely lagging behind, which could really limit what he becomes

-would you mind expanding upon your kulonummi ranking? was it just a numbers game for him? i feel like there's pretty good value in someone who skates that smoothly while still making sure to take care of his own end. i remember your writeup being fairly complimentary even if it wasn't glowing. i guess he falls into that luneau-archetype of just being a good, steady defender without anything that majorly stands out, but i'm surprised there wasn't a place for him above 118

-thank you for having a guy like adam ingram that low (lol) i've gotten flak for my placement of him and even beyond your skating concerns i've found his reads, compete, and just general interest in the game to all be wildly inconsistent and troubling. a locked on senators video i was watching summed him up better than i could've: he plays offense not hockey

-spencer sova definitely had a bad season, and i can't contest him not being included here. but, what would you say your level of optimism on him is? i can't help but feel there's still something there. i don't know if i can pinpoint why it didn't click this year, but from the skating, to the reads, to the positioning, physicality, offensive potential, etc. there's nothing that's raising a flag for me that either isn't there or can't be fixed. maybe just intermittent engagement? conditioning problems? in fairness, i went back to your writeup and you did mention you thought he had a decent amount of NHL upside. i feel like a guy like hunter haight could be in the same boat here

-your reads on guys like cutter gauthier, jiri kulich, logan morrison, etc. were all there WELL in advance of most others getting on the hype train, so i wanna make sure i compliment your calls on a lot of them

thank you again, STI, i'll look forward to sharing my own top 100 in the coming weeks. would you be looking for them to be posted in here, or is that more for the other draft threads? don't wanna jack any of your luster lol

 

[Guttersniped]

finally had a chance to get through the full list, once again excellent work @StevenToddIves. had a couple players i wanted to ask/talk about:

-any input on buchelnikov? haven't seen you mention him here or in your writeups. just barely an overager (~10 days older than kyrou) who features some elite offensive tools and is not afraid to engage physically/defensively. size, strength, and quality of competition might be a concern here, but i do feel he deserves a decent nod

-i look forward to rushing to twitter with you to defend the team that inevitably picks chesley in the teens. rock solid defensively, one of the best goal scorers from the point the NTDP has ever seen, and i still hold out hope that the offensive level he's always displayed up until this particular season is explainable by having been coached to play a much more conservative role while paired with hutson

-i appreciate your downranking of lamoureux in comparison to where you had him in your spring rankings (as cruel as that may sound to the kid lol). i understand the appeal of what he could be, but i always felt the puck skills were severely lagging behind, which could really limit what he becomes

-would you mind expanding upon your kulonummi ranking? was it just a numbers game for him? i feel like there's pretty good value in someone who skates that smoothly while still making sure to take care of his own end. i remember your writeup being fairly complimentary even if it wasn't glowing. i guess he falls into that luneau-archetype of just being a good, steady defender without anything that majorly stands out, but i'm surprised there wasn't a place for him above 118

-thank you for having a guy like adam ingram that low (lol) i've gotten flak for my placement of him and even beyond your skating concerns i've found his reads, compete, and just general interest in the game to all be wildly inconsistent and troubling. a locked on senators video i was watching summed him up better than i could've: he plays offense not hockey

-spencer sova definitely had a bad season, and i can't contest him not being included here. but, what would you say your level of optimism on him is? i can't help but feel there's still something there. i don't know if i can pinpoint why it didn't click this year, but from the skating, to the reads, to the positioning, physicality, offensive potential, etc. there's nothing that's raising a flag for me that either isn't there or can't be fixed. maybe just intermittent engagement? conditioning problems? in fairness, i went back to your writeup and you did mention you thought he had a decent amount of NHL upside. i feel like a guy like hunter haight could be in the same boat here

-your reads on guys like cutter gauthier, jiri kulich, logan morrison, etc. were all there WELL in advance of most others getting on the hype train, so i wanna make sure i compliment your calls on a lot of them

thank you again, STI, i'll look forward to sharing my own top 100 in the coming weeks. would you be looking for them to be posted in here, or is that more for the other draft threads? don't wanna jack any of your luster lol

Defending Kasper Kulonummi?

 

[Eggtimer]

With our second round pick :
Rinzel
Warren
Chesley
or
?????
Im not sure who the best pick would be for us?

 

[My3Sons]

With our second round pick :
Rinzel
Warren
Chesley
or
?????
Im not sure who the best pick would be for us?

If @StevenToddIves has read the tea leaves correctly, which is likely, there will be first round talent Russian prospect available. If a player with first round talent falls to NJ's pick that is likely the guy to take. If not, a few of his first round grade prospects will fall most likely. Owen Beck seems like a good choice there. I'd be excited if Chesley fell that far but he seems to be a consensus mid-first type guy so he probably doesn't make it to NJ in the second round. As a rule, I'd prefer as many right defenders as they can grab this draft so I do like your thoughts on this.

 

[Eggtimer]

Chesley is all over the place on different lists. I habe seen him listed as a mid second round pick even???
I habe npot watched him play , only YouTube videos and read an occasional scouting report on him. What’s with the rankings for him? They are all over the place. Is,it that his offence is not as highly projected as others or ?

Button has Chesley at #45 …. Say whaaaaaaaaat

 

[StevenToddIves]

With our second round pick :
Rinzel
Warren
Chesley
or
?????
Im not sure who the best pick would be for us?

Chesley won't last until the 2nd round. I'd be surprised if he lasts until #20 overall. He's the best defensive D in the draft, he's physical, he's incredibly smart and he can blast the puck.

Rinzel is a serious wild card for the 2022 draft. He could go in the #20 overall range, or he could drop until the NJ #69 pick in the 3rd round. His mix of size and speed -- plus the fact he's a RD -- will entice teams hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, but he's also not a safe pick because no one knows how he will perform against higher competition or how his defensive game will look in two years. As a Devils guy, I'd be willing to swing for the fences at #37 on this guy, for sure.

Warren should be around at #37 overall. But he's also 6'5, skates very well and as physical as any defender in the draft. Where he goes in the draft is probably dependent on what teams are prioritizing on draft day, because he's unlikely to ever be a go-to guy in transition or a big point collector. I'd say there's a chance of his falling to the #69 pick in Round 3, but the smart money is on Warren being drafted somewhere in the mid-to-late 2nd round. As such, he'd also be a smart pick for the Devils at #37, but we have to ask if there won't be some players available at that spot with huge upside.

The RD question is a big reason why I have been strongly advocating the Devils trading for another 2nd round pick. It would be great to use #37 on a swing-for-the-moon high-upside F like Perevalov/Trikozov/Firkus or a surefire depth C like Beck/Morrison/Morrison and then have another pick in the round to fill the obvious organizational need at RD.