Prospect Info: 2022 HFDevils Prospect Rankings #13

[Ds88]

Seems like a lot of people are picking Stillman for where he was drafted and his pre draft scouting report. At this point he's a long way off from being a NHL 4th liner.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

First round pick being 13th best prospect doesn't seem right.

Voted for Stillman. Add Talvitie.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

A bit wild that Walsh just put up 43 points in the AHL last year as a defender and still doesn’t have a single vote at #13.

Is there reason to believe there is more upside or does his career trajectory follow that of Robbie Russo and other college players who spend the bulk of their career in the AHL?

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

That goalie was considered the best goalie in this draft and had lousy numbers bc he was on a dog shit team. Stillman just stinks.

Off topic momentarily but wondering how Brennan compares to Suchanek who had a great tournament for Czechia at the World Juniors?

Like Brennan his WHL team wasn't very good and he had mediocre numbers. Suchanek passed through the draft without being selected.

 

[devilsblood]

A bit wild that Walsh just put up 43 points in the AHL last year as a defender and still doesn’t have a single vote at #13.

I think Walsh is being punished a bit because he likely won't ever find consistent minutes in NJ.

Now he might find minutes with another team at the NHL level but I think there has been more players of his ilk, ie, small offensive minded pp specialists, then there are spots for that type of player in the league.

The really good ones will find minutes, the merely good ones, not so much.

 

[devilsblood]

Two different situations in my opinion. Tyler Brennan was considered the best goalie in the draft by a lot of major writers (albeit in a weaker draft for goalies), and his numbers right now are not the reason why he was drafted highly. He played on a horrendous team and is widely considered to be a project goalie with a really great set of tools. Granted I do not know how to scout goalies, but our goaltending scouting these past couple of years has proved to be really, really solid.

On the other hand, if you want to talk about lousy numbers for a D+1, let's talk about Stillman going sub PPG in the OHL in his D+1. That is beyond lousy. That would be considered a bad season if he was picked in the fourth round, and Stillman was picked in the first. I'd argue that Stillman being picked in the first round is having far too positive an effect on people's opinion. If he was drafted in the third like he should have been and performed the way he's been performing, he'd have the same number of votes as our actual underperforming third rounder last year, Samu Salminen, 0.

I said it above but there was a goalie on prince george who put up good #'s this year before getting traded. And another kid, who was a year younger, and was drafted in the 5th round this year, who put up pretty much the exact same #'s Brennan.

I also think Stillman's #'s were affected by playing on a bad team and then being traded to an OK team. Did he play much with the Pete's best players? Did he get much PP time? I don't know, but I can see the team change perhaps contributing to his limited production.

 

[devilsblood]

Off topic momentarily but wondering how Brennan compares to Suchanek who had a great tournament for Czechia at the World Juniors?

Like Brennan his WHL team wasn't very good and he had mediocre numbers. Suchanek passed through the draft without being selected.

Suchanek is only 6' tall, which in today's day and age makes it tough to get to the NHL level. And he's already 19, so passed over twice in the draft.

Brennan at 6'4" has ideal height. Listed at 184 lbs, which I'm not sure if some think the long and lanky frame is better then a bigger body (ala Blackwood)

 

[Guadana]

May be if Fitz would say a couple of good words about Walsh, we could feel about him something better.
But he drafted 4 right defensemen and traded Wal... Smith for Marino.

Best case scenario for Walsh is finding some time in NHL, create some dangerous moments and makes some passes\scores some goals in PP. And be traded. Guy has some NHL potential. Just there is no place for him in organisation after sign of Hamilton and draft of Hughes and Nemec.

 

[billingtons ghost]

A bit wild that Walsh just put up 43 points in the AHL last year as a defender and still doesn’t have a single vote at #13.

IMHO, I think we just know the most about him and don't see a ceiling that makes anyone go wow. If we watched any of the other top 12 on a regular basis, Walsh would be higher bc all of the others would be so much lower.

I mean Hughes is tearing it up, and Zetterlund had a superb cup of coffee - but is Walsh any worse than Foote or Thompson who's been hurt, or any of the other guys we know nothing about. I like Seamus just because of the Pink Floyd song. He must have gotten votes bc of that. And Tyler Brennan in real life against AHL pros? Who the hell knows.

The reality is that Daws is a probably a better prospect today than anyone on the list not named Hughes or maybe Holtz, if we're talking about guys that will play in the NHL soon. (Well hopefully not bc that means Blackwood/Vanacek duo is broken)

 

[devilsblood]

IMHO, I think we just know the most about him and don't see a ceiling that makes anyone go wow. If we watched any of the other top 12 on a regular basis, Walsh would be higher bc all of the others would be so much lower.

I mean Hughes is tearing it up, and Zetterlund had a superb cup of coffee - but is Walsh any worse than Foote or Thompson who's been hurt, or any of the other guys we know nothing about. I like Seamus just because of the Pink Floyd song. He must have gotten votes bc of that. And Tyler Brennan in real life against AHL pros? Who the hell knows.

The reality is that Daws is a probably a better prospect today than anyone on the list not named Hughes or maybe Holtz, if we're talking about guys that will play in the NHL soon. (Well hopefully not bc that means Blackwood/Vanacek duo is broken)

Foote benefits from having size, as well as goal scoring ability. That's a combo that suggests potential.

Walsh is kind of the opposite, he's small and is not known for his defense.

Neither guy is a good skater, but given that weakness, I think a big fwd who can shoot has a better chance of being an NHL player then a small d-man who can't defend.

I also think Foote's #'s were tamped down because he was asked to play a checking line role. I think Gauthier was his most common center. I think playing a more physical defense oriented game will benefit him if he can then figure out his offense.

If Foote pans out I could certainly see him as a good 3rd liner in NJ, or maybe a 4th liner who chips in some goals. I legit don't see Walsh finding his way into the NJ lineup, unless there is an injury. And even then I'm not so sure.

 

[billingtons ghost]

Foote benefits from having size, as well as goal scoring ability. That's a combo that suggests potential.

Walsh is kind of the opposite, he's small and is not known for his defense.

Neither guy is a good skater, but given that weakness, I think a big fwd who can shoot has a better chance of being an NHL player then a small d-man who can't defend.

I also think Foote's #'s were tamped down because he was asked to play a checking line role. I think Gauthier was his most common center. I think playing a more physical defense oriented game will benefit him if he can then figure out his offense.

If Foote pans out I could certainly see him as a good 3rd liner in NJ, or maybe a 4th liner who chips in some goals. I legit don't see Walsh finding his way into the NJ lineup, unless there is an injury. And even then I'm not so sure.

I'm not going to feign outrage since you bring up a ton of good points. That said, he is realistically one of very few RHD options if Nemec doesn't make the leap, so he might be playing sooner than later.

I think you help make my point, too.. there's been alot of discussion about Walsh, with the Nemec pick, Severson's impending free agency, etc. He's been pointed to as the poster child of our thin prospect pool at rhd, and all of his flaws have been highlighted.

Folks lobbied super hard that Kuokkanen was a great add when we traded for him, former first round pick that needed to be protected in expansion. Outside of Foote's awesome shot, his game is as underwhelming as kuokks.. So I actually think we could probably safely forget about the guy, especially if a guy like Zetterlund is pretty much doing what we hoped he do but better. I also just used him as an example... Like tyce or really any of those guys.

 

[My3Sons]

IMHO, I think we just know the most about him and don't see a ceiling that makes anyone go wow. If we watched any of the other top 12 on a regular basis, Walsh would be higher bc all of the others would be so much lower.

I mean Hughes is tearing it up, and Zetterlund had a superb cup of coffee - but is Walsh any worse than Foote or Thompson who's been hurt, or any of the other guys we know nothing about. I like Seamus just because of the Pink Floyd song. He must have gotten votes bc of that. And Tyler Brennan in real life against AHL pros? Who the hell knows.

The reality is that Daws is a probably a better prospect today than anyone on the list not named Hughes or maybe Holtz, if we're talking about guys that will play in the NHL soon. (Well hopefully not bc that means Blackwood/Vanacek duo is broken)

Pity they didn’t draft a guy named Sam then. That would be a perfect fit.

 

[Beastdog75]

Voted for Stillman, add Leddy

 

[devilsblood]

I'm not going to feign outrage since you bring up a ton of good points. That said, he is realistically one of very few RHD options if Nemec doesn't make the leap, so he might be playing sooner than later.

I think you help make my point, too.. there's been alot of discussion about Walsh, with the Nemec pick, Severson's impending free agency, etc. He's been pointed to as the poster child of our thin prospect pool at rhd, and all of his flaws have been highlighted.

Folks lobbied super hard that Kuokkanen was a great add when we traded for him, former first round pick that needed to be protected in expansion. Outside of Foote's awesome shot, his game is as underwhelming as kuokks.. So I actually think we could probably safely forget about the guy, especially if a guy like Zetterlund is pretty much doing what we hoped he do but better. I also just used him as an example... Like tyce or really any of those guys.

I think the trading for Marino, the drafting of Nemec, and then Casey says a lot about how Fitz feels about Walsh.

Also note that Walsh is a year and a half older than Foote, but has played all of one game in NJ, while Foote has played games in NJ in each of the last 2 seasons, not a ton, but certainly more than Walsh.

Foote stats have certainly been unimpressive but I think there are tools there, and his size is part of that, which does separate him from Kuok. With Walsh I'm skeptical about the tools. I won't pretend to really know his game, but he seems to be in the Butcher, Ty Smith mold, ie, small, offense oriented, not a good skater, but he's probably not as good as either of those guys.

 

[Eggtimer]

Suchanek is only 6' tall, which in today's day and age makes it tough to get to the NHL level. And he's already 19, so passed over twice in the draft.

Brennan at 6'4" has ideal height. Listed at 184 lbs, which I'm not sure if some think the long and lanky frame is better then a bigger body (ala Blackwood)

Goalies are not usually drafted based off numbers . Goalies at the draft are too far out to project as it takes them way longer to develop . Also , I don’t think it’s nearly as accurate or projectable as advanced stats for forwards / D are .
Unless a kid is a freak and crushes it and is miles ahead of his peers , I think teams just look for a big kid with the most athleticism.

 

[devilsblood]

Goalies are not usually drafted based off numbers . Goalies at the draft are too far out to project as it takes them way longer to develop . Also , I don’t think it’s nearly as accurate or projectable as advanced stats for forwards / D are .
Unless a kid is a freak and crushes it and is miles ahead of his peers , I think teams just look for a big kid with the most athleticism.

I'm not doubting Brennan, I'm just noting that there is not a ton there which suggests he is a better prospect then Stillman.

 

[Eggtimer]

I'm not doubting Brennan, I'm just noting that there is not a ton there which suggests he is a better prospect then Stillman.

Yes , I didn’t mean to post in reply to anything you commented on , I meant to just make a generalized comment on goalies and how they are almost impossible to project off of stats when they were 16/17/18 years old . Unless they were godly everywhere they played .

 

[TBF1972]

I think Schmid is on the same level as Daws. The only difference is a small sample of NHL games where Daws started off hot and Schmidt didn't. I'm a bit disappointed he's going to be ranked significantly lower than Daws.

i wonder, if daws is ranked too high.

 

[Guttersniped]

I said it above but there was a goalie on prince george who put up good #'s this year before getting traded. And another kid, who was a year younger, and was drafted in the 5th round this year, who put up pretty much the exact same #'s Brennan.

I also think Stillman's #'s were affected by playing on a bad team and then being traded to an OK team. Did he play much with the Pete's best players? Did he get much PP time? I don't know, but I can see the team change perhaps contributing to his limited production.

The guy who was traded, Taylor Gauthier is 21 and has played 194 regular season WHL games vs Brennan’s 59.

Brennan played 39 of those games last season, he’s young and like a lot of goalies he’s been robbed of critical development playing time. We’ve drafted a lot of overage goalies, this guy is 18 so get ready to wait.

I can actually see voting for Stillman, he’s arguably the most valuable asset here, but I voted for Schmid. (What happened to visible voters?)

McCarthy and Moynihan become UFA next off-season, so that dampens my enthusiasm a little with them. People can ignore that tho.

 

[forceten]

I thought there was 1-2 goalies ranked ahead of Brennan and even drafted ahead of Brennan?

I hope we sign McCarthy before he hits UFA.

 

[My3Sons]

I thought there was 1-2 goalies ranked ahead of Brennan and even drafted ahead of Brennan?

I hope we sign McCarthy before he hits UFA.

He was thr hihest ranked North Amerocan goalie if memory serves. I think he was thr third goalie drafted. Theoretically that should be a player thr scouts really like. In the fourth round that is good value.

 

[forceten]

Yep. I think that sounds right, #1 NA goalie, but wasn't sure if he was #1 overall, and I know there were 1-2 drafted before him, some as high as 2nd round. Supposedly was not a deep or strong draft for goaltending. I'm hopeful, always an optimist, but tempering my enthusiasm.

 

[My3Sons]

Yep. I think that sounds right, #1 NA goalie, but wasn't sure if he was #1 overall, and I know there were 1-2 drafted before him, some as high as 2nd round. Supposedly was not a deep or strong draft for goaltending. I'm hopeful, always an optimist, but tempering my enthusiasm.

One was the Finnish kid Leinonen who was the top ranked Euro goalie. Another Euro was picked before both of them. As an aside he did have a great playoff albeit a small sample size so he can play well despite the lackluster regular season. Let’s see how he develops. He’s got years to percolate with Daws and Schmid and even Malek ahead of him.

 

[Triumph]

I think the trading for Marino, the drafting of Nemec, and then Casey says a lot about how Fitz feels about Walsh.

I don't think any of these moves say anything about Walsh. Nemec and Casey are 5 years younger than Walsh. Marino is a PKer/D first guy. I agree it makes things harder for him, but I don't think they have much to do with him.

Also note that Walsh is a year and a half older than Foote, but has played all of one game in NJ, while Foote has played games in NJ in each of the last 2 seasons, not a ton, but certainly more than Walsh.

The Devils have had more injuries at forward than on defense the last two years. Walsh also was called up in December but either he or Okhotiuk got COVID and that was the end of it.

Foote stats have certainly been unimpressive but I think there are tools there, and his size is part of that, which does separate him from Kuok. With Walsh I'm skeptical about the tools. I won't pretend to really know his game, but he seems to be in the Butcher, Ty Smith mold, ie, small, offense oriented, not a good skater, but he's probably not as good as either of those guys.

I'm not sure why we're saying Walsh isn't a good skater. But again, the well has continually been poisoned here for him.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

A bit wild that Walsh just put up 43 points in the AHL last year as a defender and still doesn’t have a single vote at #13.

that’s just cuz i was offline for a few days