Prospect Info: 2022 Draft Prospects, Part II

[StevenToddIves]

During the game tonight, I was working on my draft board at RD. I wanted to get this out, because it's such a desperate need for the Devils both at the professional and prospect levels. I came up with 17 RD which I *would* select at the 2022 draft. Here's the order, with tiers:

TIER ONE (Top 7 overall)
1 Jiricek
2 Nemec

TIER TWO (Top 15)
3 Chesley

TIER THREE (1st/2nd round)
4 Luneau
5 Rinzel
6 Lamoureux
7 Warren

TIER FOUR (3rd/4th rounds)
8 Casey
9 Salomonsson
10 Nelson
11 Havelid
12 Salin
13 Kulonummi

TIER FIVE (late rounds)
14 Leddy
15 Jansson
16 Kyrou
17 Siepmann

I think the Devils are odds-on likely to be players for Jiricek or Nemec. However, if they miss out on those two, it presents a conundrum where the Devils simply *must* get one of those guys in Tier Three. It would also be smart to make a play late for one or two of the guys in Tier Four/Five, especially Kulonummi and Leddy who are value picks likely to be available late.

 

[Guttersniped]

During the game tonight, I was working on my draft board at RD. I wanted to get this out, because it's such a desperate need for the Devils both at the professional and prospect levels. I came up with 17 RD which I *would* select at the 2022 draft. Here's the order, with tiers:

TIER ONE (Top 7 overall)
1 Jiricek
2 Nemec

TIER TWO (Top 15)
3 Chesley

TIER THREE (1st/2nd round)
4 Luneau
5 Rinzel
6 Lamoureux
7 Warren

TIER FOUR (3rd/4th rounds)
8 Casey
9 Salomonsson
10 Nelson
11 Havelid
12 Salin
13 Kulonummi

TIER FIVE (late rounds)
14 Leddy
15 Jansson
16 Kyrou
17 Siepmann

I think the Devils are odds-on likely to be players for Jiricek or Nemec. However, if they miss out on those two, it presents a conundrum where the Devils simply *must* get one of those guys in Tier Three. It would also be smart to make a play late for one or two of the guys in Tier Four/Five, especially Kulonummi and Leddy who are value picks likely to be available late.

I’m very intrigued by Warren, go get him Fitz. Shock the world and draft RD.

I’m looking forward to the U18 Swedes, I think Salomonsson is a guy who could end up sneaking up the rankings with a strong showing there.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I’m very intrigued by Warren, go get him Fitz. Shock the world and draft RD.

I’m looking forward to U18 Swedes, I think Salomonsson is a guy who could end up sneaking up the rankings with a strong showing there.

I'm a huge fan of Noah Warren. He's exactly what the Devils need -- a 6'5, physical defense-first RD who skates well and is very competent with the puck. McKenzie has Warren ranked #59, and his consensus ranking is probably in the early to mid-3rd round. He's a player I circle with the Devils 3rd round pick and just cross my fingers he's still there. If the Devils miss out on RD in the first 2 rounds, I'd actually trade up to get Warren -- it's just that important to get a RD like that in the system. He'd immediately pass rival McCarthy for #1 NJ RD prospect ahead of Walsh, who would fall to #3.

I'm working on my spring rankings, and right now I have Warren a bit ahead of the consensus at #44 overall. For a refresher, here's my write-up of him from February:

RD Noah Warren, Gatineau QMJHL
Noah Warren is a prospect who makes my job here pretty easy, because he's a very simple player who is extremely effective in his strengths and does not attempt to be anything else. The Quebec native is 6'5-215 and routinely the strongest and most physical player on the ice. He skates well, and uses the combination of his wing-span, strength, high compete and high defensive awareness to make life literally hell for any opposing forwards daring to challenge him in the defensive zone. I've seen softer opposing forwards literally avoid the corners or crease whenever Warren is on the ice, I've seen them pull up and flutter weak, zero-percentage shots on net from bad positions to avoid challenging him. Warren is the big dog on the block, and he has no shortage of teeth to his game.

It's important to note that Warren is not just a power defender, he's also a smart one. He does not take dumb penalties, and he does not leave position to seek the big hit he is capable of. He is positionally strong and fundamentally sound. But he's also not a weapon in transition. If, once he attains possession, Warren does not see an immediate pass option, he does not like to handle the puck -- he'll prefer to just bang it up the boards and out of danger. Warren's biggest problem would lie in puckhandling, as he does not have good hands and he's strictly north/south in his mindset. He's usually the last man to enter the offensive zone, and he rarely activates from the point. Where Warren does offer some offensive capability is in his shot, which is a freaking bomb from the point. He'll accumulate points in whatever level he plays in simply by unleashing his cannon and scoring off rebounds, deflections, or just cleanly blowing pucks past goaltenders. That being said, the shot is the limit to Warren's offensive capability.

Noah Warren shows intriguing potential as a physical, shut-down, stay-at home defender for a future NHL bottom-4. His consensus ranking is usually found in the neighborhood of the late 3rd/early 4th round range, and the highest ranking I've seen for him is #45 overall (Craig Button). I certainly would not draft him as high as the 2nd, but later in the draft he certainly represents a value as a player of specific potential NHL value. From the Devils point of view, if they don't come away with Jiricek or Nemec at the top of the draft, they are simply going to have to find some RDs later on.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I’m very intrigued by Warren, go get him Fitz. Shock the world and draft RD.

I’m looking forward to the U18 Swedes, I think Salomonsson is a guy who could end up sneaking up the rankings with a strong showing there.

While we're on the RD thing, I kind of want to "sour grapes" a bit about the Devils poor drafting late in the last two drafts again. The Devils are in a tough spot, where Subban is gone after this year and Severson quite possibly gone after next year. Reilly Walsh is the most NHL ready of the RD prospects, but he's far from any level of NHL competency in his own zone. While he's improved and is a pretty good offensive guy capable of 40+ points, he's going to have serious problems containing NHL forwards, and this is the opposite of what the Devils need. Meanwhile, Case McCarthy is the top RD prospect, but he's two to three years from the NHL.

So, the Devils are pretty desperate here, which is inexcusable considering how many times they've passed on solid RD in the past two drafts. In 2020, they passed on Villeneuve, Cotton, Puutio, Bauer and Persson for Edwards -- who has improved at LD but is probably 7th on the NJ prospect depth chart -- and Shlaine/Baumgartner, who are already probably no longer prospects.

In 2021, they passed on Munzenberger, Ufko and Bar for a bunch of lottery tickets like Salminen and yet another freaking LD in Vilen.

You can't just ignore such a valuable position year after year at the draft. There has to be some strategy. If Vilen is #85 on your rankings and Ufko is #91 -- screw it, take Ufko anyway. We have no RD.

Now the Devils are paying for these poor picks, because they may have to pass up on actually good picks to fill a gaping hole at RD. What do we do if it's the 2nd round, and we missed out on Jiricek/Nemec? Even if a high-end, potential top line F falls there, you almost have to consider passing them up for a Rinzel or Lamoureux or Warren. Because if those 3 all go by your 3rd round pick? It's slim pickings from there on out.

 

[Guttersniped]

While we're on the RD thing, I kind of want to "sour grapes" a bit about the Devils poor drafting late in the last two drafts again. The Devils are in a tough spot, where Subban is gone after this year and Severson quite possibly gone after next year. Reilly Walsh is the most NHL ready of the RD prospects, but he's far from any level of NHL competency in his own zone. While he's improved and is a pretty good offensive guy capable of 40+ points, he's going to have serious problems containing NHL forwards, and this is the opposite of what the Devils need. Meanwhile, Case McCarthy is the top RD prospect, but he's two to three years from the NHL.

So, the Devils are pretty desperate here, which is inexcusable considering how many times they've passed on solid RD in the past two drafts. In 2020, they passed on Villeneuve, Cotton, Puutio, Bauer and Persson for Edwards -- who has improved at LD but is probably 7th on the NJ prospect depth chart -- and Shlaine/Baumgartner, who are already probably no longer prospects.

In 2021, they passed on Munzenberger, Ufko and Bar for a bunch of lottery tickets like Salminen and yet another freaking LD in Vilen.

You can't just ignore such a valuable position year after year at the draft. There has to be some strategy. If Vilen is #85 on your rankings and Ufko is #91 -- screw it, take Ufko anyway. We have no RD.

Now the Devils are paying for these poor picks, because they may have to pass up on actually good picks to fill a gaping hole at RD. What do we do if it's the 2nd round, and we missed out on Jiricek/Nemec? Even if a high-end, potential top line F falls there, you almost have to consider passing them up for a Rinzel or Lamoureux or Warren. Because if those 3 all go by your 3rd round pick? It's slim pickings from there on out.

I f***ing hate the the defensemen we took in 2021 soooo much. Edwards was a decidedly better pick.

I love Finnish defensemen but we got a vanilla one with no discernible strengths. It’s nice that he gets pretty solid minutes in the Liiga but he has very little offense while not standing out at as PMD or defensive stalwart either. Best of luck to Topias on his future Finnish pro hockey career though.

But we got a RD! It’s a Swedish OA who’s playing exclusively in the J20 in what is the equivalent of his D+2 season. Oh boy. I don’t know why Hurtig hasn’t got even a taste of more competitive leagues but that’s a very bad sign.

Project or not, I very much doubt they thought he would be in J20 all season long. It’s just a 6th round pick, at least that’s what people will say lol, but it felt like a wasted pick at the time and sure looks like it now.

I’d love either of these guys to prove me wrong, Hurtig certainly is a mystery, but I see it more likely that he retires young after he fails to have a pro career. That’s a big fail to me, at least pick a guy who can play.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I f***ing hate the the defensemen we took in 2021 soooo much. Edwards was a decidedly better pick.

I love Finnish defensemen but we got a vanilla one with no discernible strengths. It’s nice that he gets pretty solid minutes in the Liiga but he has very little offense while not standing out at as PMD or defensive stalwart either. Best of luck to Topias on his future Finnish pro hockey career though.

But we got a RD! It’s a Swedish OA who’s playing exclusively in the J20 what is the equivalent of his D+2 season. Oh boy. I don’t know why Hurtig hasn’t got even a taste of more competitive leagues but that’s a very bad sign.

Project or not, I very much doubt they thought he would be in J20 all season long. It’s just a 6th round pick, at least that’s what people will say lol, but it felt like a wasted pick at the time and sure looks like it now.

I’d love either of these guys to prove me wrong, Hurtig certainly is a mystery, but I see it more likely that he retires young after he fails to have a pro career. That’s a big fail to me, at least pick a guy who can play.

Yeah, there's really no excuse for it. 2020 was worse. If the Devils had taken Puutio and Persson instead of Baumgartner and Shlaine, the Devils would not be in such dire straits of desperation to take multiple RD in a 2022 draft where there are maybe 15 good ones available in the entire class. And last year, Vilen over Chicago Steel standouts Ufko and Bar just looks really bad already.

Though the Edwards pick is looking a bit better, he's still just buried on the LD depth chart:

1 Hughes
2 Mukhamadullin
3 Okhotyuk
4 Bahl
5 Vukojevic
6 Misyul
7 Zaitsev
8 Edwards

You could've taken Villeneuve or Puutio or Cotton with that pick, guys. They'd all be top 2 on the RD depth chart. I just don't get the logic. Right now, this is the depth chart:

1 McCarthy
2 Walsh

I don't think we can still consider Hurtig a prospect, and it's not even a calendar year since we drafted him. The Devils have now done that with two consecutive 6th rounders under Fitzgerald -- Baumgartner and Hurtig. Under Shero, the Devils got Bratt, Moynihan and Talvitie with their 4 6th round picks. That's a superstar and two bottom 6 F prospects. Though of course, not every 6th rounder is going to work out (Shero also took Hoelscher), when a prospect is a washout just months after you drafted him, it has to be considered an awful pick no matter where you selected him.

I don't care if you're drafting for floor or ceiling. Bratt was ceiling, Moynihan was floor. But Baumgartner? He was a 5'9, almost woefully soft one-way center who was over-aged and didn't skate extremely well or possess a single dynamic tool. How was he taken? Did his parents own a car dealership and promise a new Tesla for the scout who recommended him? It's the only thing I can think of. There's a sizable difference between catching lightning in a bottle and catching a lightning bug with a fly swatter.

 

[nugg]

Yeah, there's really no excuse for it. 2020 was worse. If the Devils had taken Puutio and Persson instead of Baumgartner and Shlaine, the Devils would not be in such dire straits of desperation to take multiple RD in a 2022 draft where there are maybe 15 good ones available in the entire class. And last year, Vilen over Chicago Steel standouts Ufko and Bar just looks really bad already.

Though the Edwards pick is looking a bit better, he's still just buried on the LD depth chart:

1 Hughes
2 Mukhamadullin
3 Okhotyuk
4 Bahl
5 Vukojevic
6 Misyul
7 Zaitsev
8 Edwards

You could've taken Villeneuve or Puutio or Cotton with that pick, guys. They'd all be top 2 on the RD depth chart. I just don't get the logic. Right now, this is the depth chart:

1 McCarthy
2 Walsh

I don't think we can still consider Hurtig a prospect, and it's not even a calendar year since we drafted him. The Devils have now done that with two consecutive 6th rounders under Fitzgerald -- Baumgartner and Hurtig. Under Shero, the Devils got Bratt, Moynihan and Talvitie with their 4 6th round picks. That's a superstar and two bottom 6 F prospects. Though of course, not every 6th rounder is going to work out (Shero also took Hoelscher), when a prospect is a washout just months after you drafted him, it has to be considered an awful pick no matter where you selected him.

I don't care if you're drafting for floor or ceiling. Bratt was ceiling, Moynihan was floor. But Baumgartner? He was a 5'9, almost woefully soft one-way center who was over-aged and didn't skate extremely well or possess a single dynamic tool. How was he taken? Did his parents own a car dealership and promise a new Tesla for the scout who recommended him? It's the only thing I can think of. There's a sizable difference between catching lightning in a bottle and catching a lightning bug with a fly swatter.

I didn't like that Ray was fired. I was shocked and angered, to be honest, and I felt like I was one of only a few to feel this way. I understand the frustration of fans, and the belief that he kept Hynes too long. (though in hindsight Nashville seems to have turned the corner a bit with him). The trades that failed, (Subban, Grabner, etc.), but don't forget the great ones he made. It was mainly because of his drafting, which while with New Jersey, and with the help of the superb Paul Castron, most certainly among the best in the game. I like a lot of what Tom has done, mainly in trades, but his drafts have been very underwhelming, disheartening even. Many of these picks must make Castron shake his head in disbelief. I just hope it doesn't cause him to look for a different gig, though what difference does it make if Tom ignores his advice anyway? (just assuming, but Paul has quite a track record). Again, I like Tom, but am just baffled at a vast majority of his picks in his two drafts, and am not at all optimistic that he will change his drafting philosophy. I seriously hope I'm wrong.

 

[Guadana]

I didn't like that Ray was fired. I was shocked and angered, to be honest, and I felt like I was one of only a few to feel this way. I understand the frustration of fans, and the belief that he kept Hynes too long. (though in hindsight Nashville seems to have turned the corner a bit with him). The trades that failed, (Subban, Grabner, etc.), but don't forget the great ones he made. It was mainly because of his drafting, which while with New Jersey, and with the help of the superb Paul Castron, most certainly among the best in the game. I like a lot of what Tom has done, mainly in trades, but his drafts have been very underwhelming, disheartening even. Many of these picks must make Castron shake his head in disbelief. I just hope it doesn't cause him to look for a different gig, though what difference does it make if Tom ignores his advice anyway? (just assuming, but Paul has quite a track record). Again, I like Tom, but am just baffled at a vast majority of his picks in his two drafts, and am not at all optimistic that he will change his drafting philosophy. I seriously hope I'm wrong.

You are. Shero made a Lot of mistake and his plan wasn't areally working plan. He has some success in the beginning, other than that - his "success" was result of his losses. Thanks for drafting (Zacha and McLeod were his picks, even Halls trade is very questionable, Fitz did draft Mercer and trade for Siegenthaler), thats all.

 

[evnted]

During the game tonight, I was working on my draft board at RD. I wanted to get this out, because it's such a desperate need for the Devils both at the professional and prospect levels. I came up with 17 RD which I *would* select at the 2022 draft. Here's the order, with tiers:

TIER ONE (Top 7 overall)
1 Jiricek
2 Nemec

TIER TWO (Top 15)
3 Chesley

TIER THREE (1st/2nd round)
4 Luneau
5 Rinzel
6 Lamoureux
7 Warren

TIER FOUR (3rd/4th rounds)
8 Casey
9 Salomonsson
10 Nelson
11 Havelid
12 Salin
13 Kulonummi

TIER FIVE (late rounds)
14 Leddy
15 Jansson
16 Kyrou
17 Siepmann

I think the Devils are odds-on likely to be players for Jiricek or Nemec. However, if they miss out on those two, it presents a conundrum where the Devils simply *must* get one of those guys in Tier Three. It would also be smart to make a play late for one or two of the guys in Tier Four/Five, especially Kulonummi and Leddy who are value picks likely to be available late.

really like how you outlined these tiers, chesley being in his own "below nemec/jiricek but better than everyone else" tier is spot on to me. appreciate the aggressive ranking on warren, too. sure, maybe he's just a bottom pair physical guy one day (i mean we could use that anyway lol) but sporadic flashes of higher end abilities and a little bit of an excuse for missing production being behind luneau on the gatineau depth chart has me hopeful he could be more. love rinzel that high too. id probably swap casey and lamoureux myself, i think the former's upside given his IQ and transitional ability is too good not to bet on earlier in the draft, but given the context of the devils i certainly understand why you have them where they are

one question, have you looked at michael fisher at all? another comically big 17yo USHS defender. his name really seems to be picking up steam lately, with EP having a fringe 1st round ranking on him and button having him comfortably in the 2nd

 

[Guttersniped]

I didn't like that Ray was fired. I was shocked and angered, to be honest, and I felt like I was one of only a few to feel this way. I understand the frustration of fans, and the belief that he kept Hynes too long. (though in hindsight Nashville seems to have turned the corner a bit with him). The trades that failed, (Subban, Grabner, etc.), but don't forget the great ones he made. It was mainly because of his drafting, which while with New Jersey, and with the help of the superb Paul Castron, most certainly among the best in the game. I like a lot of what Tom has done, mainly in trades, but his drafts have been very underwhelming, disheartening even. Many of these picks must make Castron shake his head in disbelief. I just hope it doesn't cause him to look for a different gig, though what difference does it make if Tom ignores his advice anyway? (just assuming, but Paul has quite a track record). Again, I like Tom, but am just baffled at a vast majority of his picks in his two drafts, and am not at all optimistic that he will change his drafting philosophy. I seriously hope I'm wrong.

Castron, who turns 60 this summer, brought over Scott Harris, 35, from Columbus in 2017-18. He was a boy genius type that he groomed as a successor. When Castron got kicked up to VP of Amateur Scouting, Harris was made Director of AS in 2019-20.

There’s a lot of leadership in the scouting org chart, when Mark Dennehy got replaced as the AHL HC, he was then made Chief Scout, AS.

And Scott Lachance is head of US Scouting and Andy Schneider is head of CHL Scouting.

European and Pro/FA scouting is separate. Greg Royce is the Director of European Scouting, while
Niklas Evertsson is head of European Amateur Scouting.

I feel like all these Directors could have a voice and that might contribute to making Fitz’s drafts a bit directionless.

Under Shero there were just two Directors of Amateur Scouting, Castron and Gates Orlando and then a bunch of scouts.

 

[Hisch13r]

Another PP primary for Nemec today

 

[StevenToddIves]

I didn't like that Ray was fired. I was shocked and angered, to be honest, and I felt like I was one of only a few to feel this way. I understand the frustration of fans, and the belief that he kept Hynes too long. (though in hindsight Nashville seems to have turned the corner a bit with him). The trades that failed, (Subban, Grabner, etc.), but don't forget the great ones he made. It was mainly because of his drafting, which while with New Jersey, and with the help of the superb Paul Castron, most certainly among the best in the game. I like a lot of what Tom has done, mainly in trades, but his drafts have been very underwhelming, disheartening even. Many of these picks must make Castron shake his head in disbelief. I just hope it doesn't cause him to look for a different gig, though what difference does it make if Tom ignores his advice anyway? (just assuming, but Paul has quite a track record). Again, I like Tom, but am just baffled at a vast majority of his picks in his two drafts, and am not at all optimistic that he will change his drafting philosophy. I seriously hope I'm wrong.

Well, this year the Devils have 7 picks from the 3rd round on -- one in each round and 3 4th rounders. These picks are crucial. People who don't study the draft might think it's dart throwing so late, but the fact remains. Under Shero, the Devils consistently made great picks in this range, and that's why they have Bratt and Sharangovich and assets which helped acquire Subban and Graves and more talent on the way in Gritsyuk etc. Though I can't pinpoint what Fitzgerald is doing differently, he's had 5 1st round picks which are all very good prospects, but the only player drafted after the first round who can even be considered an interesting prospect right now is Nico Daws.

This simply must change this year. Devils need a cohesive strategy at the 2022 draft table. As Fitzgerald is still a relatively young and new GM who has excelled in virtually all other areas, I have faith we will turn it around.

 

[StevenToddIves]

really like how you outlined these tiers, chesley being in his own "below nemec/jiricek but better than everyone else" tier is spot on to me. appreciate the aggressive ranking on warren, too. sure, maybe he's just a bottom pair physical guy one day (i mean we could use that anyway lol) but sporadic flashes of higher end abilities and a little bit of an excuse for missing production being behind luneau on the gatineau depth chart has me hopeful he could be more. love rinzel that high too. id probably swap casey and lamoureux myself, i think the former's upside given his IQ and transitional ability is too good not to bet on earlier in the draft, but given the context of the devils i certainly understand why you have them where they are

one question, have you looked at michael fisher at all? another comically big 17yo USHS defender. his name really seems to be picking up steam lately, with EP having a fringe 1st round ranking on him and button having him comfortably in the 2nd

To be honest, I haven't watched any film on Fisher yet, but thanks for the suggestion -- because now I certainly will.

Rinzel will have a ranking which will shock some and please others when my spring rankings come out, very soon. His size, speed and puck skills are very uncommon in a RD and I don't think it's unfathomable that he takes a Scott Morrow-like jump when he goes to the NCAA.

My reasoning for Lamoureux over Casey was strictly upside. Casey is, without a doubt, better right now. He's also better than Rinzel right now. But his limitations in size and skating lower his ceiling, while Lamoureux has the potential to become a Jamie Oleksiak-type with better puck skills, which is very intriguing to me.

Thanks again for the heads up on Fisher and the terrific post.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Another PP primary for Nemec today

Um, yeah... Nemec is pretty awesome.

 

[Eggtimer]

I'm a huge fan of Noah Warren. He's exactly what the Devils need -- a 6'5, physical defense-first RD who skates well and is very competent with the puck. McKenzie has Warren ranked #59, and his consensus ranking is probably in the early to mid-3rd round. He's a player I circle with the Devils 3rd round pick and just cross my fingers he's still there. If the Devils miss out on RD in the first 2 rounds, I'd actually trade up to get Warren -- it's just that important to get a RD like that in the system. He'd immediately pass rival McCarthy for #1 NJ RD prospect ahead of Walsh, who would fall to #3.

I'm working on my spring rankings, and right now I have Warren a bit ahead of the consensus at #44 overall. For a refresher, here's my write-up of him from February:

RD Noah Warren, Gatineau QMJHL
Noah Warren is a prospect who makes my job here pretty easy, because he's a very simple player who is extremely effective in his strengths and does not attempt to be anything else. The Quebec native is 6'5-215 and routinely the strongest and most physical player on the ice. He skates well, and uses the combination of his wing-span, strength, high compete and high defensive awareness to make life literally hell for any opposing forwards daring to challenge him in the defensive zone. I've seen softer opposing forwards literally avoid the corners or crease whenever Warren is on the ice, I've seen them pull up and flutter weak, zero-percentage shots on net from bad positions to avoid challenging him. Warren is the big dog on the block, and he has no shortage of teeth to his game.

It's important to note that Warren is not just a power defender, he's also a smart one. He does not take dumb penalties, and he does not leave position to seek the big hit he is capable of. He is positionally strong and fundamentally sound. But he's also not a weapon in transition. If, once he attains possession, Warren does not see an immediate pass option, he does not like to handle the puck -- he'll prefer to just bang it up the boards and out of danger. Warren's biggest problem would lie in puckhandling, as he does not have good hands and he's strictly north/south in his mindset. He's usually the last man to enter the offensive zone, and he rarely activates from the point. Where Warren does offer some offensive capability is in his shot, which is a freaking bomb from the point. He'll accumulate points in whatever level he plays in simply by unleashing his cannon and scoring off rebounds, deflections, or just cleanly blowing pucks past goaltenders. That being said, the shot is the limit to Warren's offensive capability.

Noah Warren shows intriguing potential as a physical, shut-down, stay-at home defender for a future NHL bottom-4. His consensus ranking is usually found in the neighborhood of the late 3rd/early 4th round range, and the highest ranking I've seen for him is #45 overall (Craig Button). I certainly would not draft him as high as the 2nd, but later in the draft he certainly represents a value as a player of specific potential NHL value. From the Devils point of view, if they don't come away with Jiricek or Nemec at the top of the draft, they are simply going to have to find some RDs later on.

Whoa McArthy is ahead of Walsh? I obviously do not know much about either and assumed Walsh was our #1 guy by a mile on RD .

 

[Eggtimer]

Um, yeah... Nemec is pretty awesome.

Yup. I think we end up with him as the Flyers take Jiricek instead. But..... still games left to be played. Go FLyers Go!!! Agh that feels so dirty and wrong.

 

[Eggtimer]

Depending on who we take , Slafkovsky Jiricek Nemec , would any of those three be ready to play for the Devils next year ? Either 3rd paring RHD or maybe Slafvosky in the top 9? If not , how many years out are they ?
This is all assuming we take one of those 3. It looks pretty good that at least will be there but there is a chance all 3 are gone.

 

[Hisch13r]

Depending on who we take , Slafkovsky Jiricek Nemec , would any of those three be ready to play for the Devils next year ? Either 3rd paring RHD or maybe Slafvosky in the top 9? If not , how many years out are they ?
This is all assuming we take one of those 3. It looks pretty good that at least will be there but there is a chance all 3 are gone.

I'd bring them over to Utica but I wouldn't have any of them playing until at least their D+2 at the earliest. Maybe D+3 is when they stick.

 

[Antiillafire]

Depending on who we take , Slafkovsky Jiricek Nemec , would any of those three be ready to play for the Devils next year ? Either 3rd paring RHD or maybe Slafvosky in the top 9? If not , how many years out are they ?
This is all assuming we take one of those 3. It looks pretty good that at least will be there but there is a chance all 3 are gone.

I don’t think Nemec is ready for the NHL. I’d say he’s probably in the AHL. Look at the top dman in the league and many didn’t jump straight to the NHL. Hedman did but he’s a behemoth. I think Nemec ends up taking a Seider path. Jiricek probably plays in the AHL too. Slafkovsky will probably stay in Finnish league like Lundell did.

 

[My3Sons]

Well, this year the Devils have 7 picks from the 3rd round on -- one in each round and 3 4th rounders. These picks are crucial. People who don't study the draft might think it's dart throwing so late, but the fact remains. Under Shero, the Devils consistently made great picks in this range, and that's why they have Bratt and Sharangovich and assets which helped acquire Subban and Graves and more talent on the way in Gritsyuk etc. Though I can't pinpoint what Fitzgerald is doing differently, he's had 5 1st round picks which are all very good prospects, but the only player drafted after the first round who can even be considered an interesting prospect right now is Nico Daws.

This simply must change this year. Devils need a cohesive strategy at the 2022 draft table. As Fitzgerald is still a relatively young and new GM who has excelled in virtually all other areas, I have faith we will turn it around.

The strange thing to me is that the late round NJ picks don't reflect anything that teams normally get criticized for. You can't say NJ drafted for need recently. Vilen, Edwards? Baumgartner? You can't say they went old school and picked just big slugs or guys who fight. You can't say they just played it safe and picked high floor guys hoping one can pan out to a bottom six guy. I really don't get it. I know Fitz is a stick to the list guy but something is disconnected compared to a few years ago with Castron in charge of both. It doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Guadana]

we will not draft Bratt, Yegor or Gritsyuk every year.
btw Malek is good prospect too.

 

[Goptor]

we will not draft Bratt, Yegor or Gritsyuk every year.
btw Malek is good prospect too.

Every(2016) other (2018) year(2019).

 

[Oneiro]

EDIT: Don't think I articulated my point well.

Like most people have said, I really want us to get back to what Castron was doing initially. I dislike the approach which seemed to start a bit from 2019 on. Too much self-consciousness about Jack, Bratt and Nico being skinny chaps when the real problem was not surrounding them with more Colemans and Henriques, who were themselves sharp guys.

 

[My3Sons]

EDIT: Don't think I articulated my point well.

Like most people have said, I really want us to get back to what Castron was doing initially. I dislike the approach which seemed to start a bit from 2019 on. Too much self-consciousness about Jack, Bratt and Nico being skinny chaps when the real problem was not surrounding them with more Colemans and Henriques, who were themselves sharp guys.

But I don't think that's really what's going on. They picked Holtz and Mercer and Stillman who are pretty average sized for NHL players. Even on defense where they have tended to pick taller guys they haven't picked behemoths. Both Mukh and L. Hughes are lanky. Lower down they've picked plenty of smaller players. It's really all over the place and baffling. Whatever criteria they used to pick Bratt, Shara, Zetterlund, and a couple of others they should go back to. The goalie approach has seemed relatively consistent and they do have some decent goalie prospects but there is a development gap behind Blackwood as we are seeing.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Castron, who turns 60 this summer, brought over Scott Harris, 35, from Columbus in 2017-18. He was a boy genius type that he groomed as a successor. When Castron got kicked up to VP of Amateur Scouting, Harris was made Director of AS in 2019-20.

There’s a lot of leadership in the scouting org chart, when Mark Dennehy got replaced as the AHL HC, he was then made Chief Scout, AS.

And Scott Lachance is head of US Scouting and Andy Schneider is head of CHL Scouting.

European and Pro/FA scouting is separate. Greg Royce is the Director of European Scouting, while
Niklas Evertsson is head of European Amateur Scouting.

I feel like all these Directors could have a voice and that might contribute to making Fitz’s drafts a bit directionless.

Under Shero there were just two Directors of Amateur Scouting, Castron and Gates Orlando and then a bunch of scouts.

This could be the explanation we've been looking for, and it lends itself to what I've been saying all along. If you have several scouts from several regions, there is the possibility they all want "their guy" at the draft, more than looking at the big picture of who is the best player.

I say, let all the scouts work their region, then have one very good Head Scout then analyze the players each individual scout prefers to order them. If the Sweden scout or USA scout is coming up with subpar players? Then don't draft them.

Or, I suppose the Devils can just log onto the HFBoards and read all of my stuff. I'm the only person in the biz who is willing to work for beer.