Prospect Info: 2022 Post-Deadline Devils-Centric Mock Draft 2.0 (thru NJ 2nd round)

[StevenToddIves]

I really wanted Morrow last year. I cannot believe the Canes got him.

Well my friend, you made the right call. Because the one right answer for people who criticize the Stillman pick is "I wanted Scott Morrow". Which is to say, anyone who now says they wanted Zellweger was probably pulling for Heimosalmi and is currently lying through their teeth.

 

[Hisch13r]

As much as I love me some Trikozov, I have to say -- as a guy who probably watches more MHL than most well-known draft-writers -- Perevalov is even better. You should check him out, he's downright nasty. Elite hands, shot and vision and one of the best compete levels in the entire draft class.

But I'm curious what you think about the draft's bazillion dollar question. You're Tom Fitzgerald, you're picking in the 2nd round at #36 or #37 overall, and Ivan Miroshnichenko is available. What do you do?

Is there a chance that his illness is serious enough it threatens his entire career? Yes. But is there a chance his early season inconsistencies are attributable to the disease, and the player you'll be getting when he's 100% healthy is the player from 2020-21 who looked like he could challenge Shane Wright for the #1 overall selection? Also, yes.

I can't say I've come to a decision, but I'm curious what you -- and other knowledgable posters -- would do in this situation. Because Miro's upside is absolutely ridiculous. And it's a 2nd round pick, right?

It really just depends on what you’re hearing from him and his camp. I don’t think we can really say from the outside. I also think there’s always really f***ing good players that slip into the early 2nd so it’s not like you still couldn’t get a great player if decide against him

 

[Hisch13r]

Well my friend, you made the right call. Because the one right answer for people who criticize the Stillman pick is "I wanted Scott Morrow". Which is to say, anyone who now says they wanted Zellweger was probably pulling for Heimosalmi and is currently lying through their teeth.

Zellweger was one of 4 guys I wanted there. He was probably last on the list but I still liked him. Raty, Stankoven, Morrow, and Zellweger for me

 

[Hisch13r]

I really wanted Morrow last year. I cannot believe the Canes got him.

I feel like the Canes get EVERYONE

 

[Guttersniped]

Big fan of trading down

If you mean anywhere in the draft. I think you need to be careful in the beginning. Sometimes you can trade down out of where an upper tier of elite players are into where there aren’t any anymore. But sometimes, cool idea.

And I’m not crazy about the end of the draft. Not much comes out of the 7th round oblivion.

But in the middle of the draft? All day lol. Everyone going on their own lists and there’s always players with a ton of upside dropping. Get more picks and let guys that interest you fall to you.

The 2021 draft was such a mess of who the f*** knows that I’m still jealous of Carolina’s four (!) pick trades. They picked some wacky stuff with their 13 picks (three goalies! Are any of them good? Who knows, but three different nationalities, so fun!). And turning their late first into Scott Morrow #40 & Ville Koivunen #51 was a baller move. (And Nashville drafted a certain poster fave’s Zachary L’Heureux with that #27 pick, killing the dream.)

 

[StevenToddIves]

It really just depends on what you’re hearing from him and his camp. I don’t think we can really say from the outside. I also think there’s always really f***ing good players that slip into the early 2nd so it’s not like you still couldn’t get a great player if decide against him

Agreed. But my point is that Miroshnichenko might have been a top 3 pick were it not for the Hodgkin's. You're not getting a top 3 caliber pick at #36 overall. His skills are top 5 in the entire class among forwards in skating, shooting, passing, puckhandling and physicality -- essentially, everything but defense. He's potentially elite or near-elite across the board.

A Russian in Perevalov -- who I have ranked higher than anyone else on the planet -- can hang with Miro in terms of puck skills (passing, shooting, puckhandling) sure, but Miro can skate circles around him. Another player I'm obviously high on in Trikozov doesn't top Miro in any single category except stick handling and hockey IQ.

Obviously, I'm hoping one of this elite Russian trio falls to the 2nd for the Devils. It would represent an absolute coup, in my opinion. But Miro raises an interesting question -- which I'll keep asking -- because although he obviously represents the greatest risk of the three, his upside is also so high it's almost unique.

 

[Hisch13r]

If you mean anywhere in the draft. I think you need to be careful in the beginning. Sometimes you can trade down out of where an upper tier of elite players are into where there aren’t anymore. But sometimes, cool idea.

And I’m not crazy about the end of the draft. Not much comes out of the 7th round oblivion.

But in the middle of the draft? All day lol. Everyone going on their own lists and there’s always players with a ton of upside dropping. Get more picks and let guys that interest you fall to you.

The 2021 draft was such a mess of who the f*** knows that I’m still jealous of Carolina’s four (!) pick trades. They picked some wacky stuff with their 13 picks (three goalies! Are any of them good? Who knows, but three different nationalities, so fun!). And turning their late first into Scott Morrow #40 & Ville Koivunen #51 was a baller move. (And Nashville drafted a certain poster fave’s Zachary L’Heureux with that #27 pick, killing the dream.)

Yeah no not at the top.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

Well my friend, you made the right call. Because the one right answer for people who criticize the Stillman pick is "I wanted Scott Morrow". Which is to say, anyone who now says they wanted Zellweger was probably pulling for Heimosalmi and is currently lying through their teeth.

Once L'Heureux was off the board I didn't really know who I wanted. I think my top 3 were Pinelli, Raty, and Morrow. I loved your write up on Morrow, but thought Pinelli could be a sleeper. Raty I wanted but was scared that his draft pedigree might have inflated him, since he had such a downfall .I like the Stillman pick though. I just feel like we missed out on a better version of him in L'Heureux.

 

[Hisch13r]

Agreed. But my point is that Miroshnichenko might have been a top 3 pick were it not for the Hodgkin's. You're not getting a top 3 caliber pick at #36 overall. His skills are top 5 in the entire class among forwards in skating, shooting, passing, puckhandling and physicality -- essentially, everything but defense. He's potentially elite or near-elite across the board.

A Russian in Perevalov -- who I have ranked higher than anyone else on the planet -- can hang with Miro in terms of puck skills (passing, shooting, puckhandling) sure, but Miro can skate circles around him. Another player I'm obviously high on in Trikozov doesn't top Miro in any single category except stick handling and hockey IQ.

Obviously, I'm hoping one of this elite Russian trio falls to the 2nd for the Devils. It would represent an absolute coup, in my opinion. But Miro raises an interesting question -- which I'll keep asking -- because although he obviously represents the greatest risk of the three, his upside is also so high it's almost unique.

I know coming into the year everyone had him super high but then a ton of people were dropping him pretty considerably. It depends on how much of that is illness vs just his play

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

And why does it matter? It doesn’t effect the player we drafted. It’s not a contest, if the 2020 draft turns out to be especially strong at forward then cool. If Holtz doesn’t become an effective top line scorer then that’s not cool.

I haven’t been in love with how Fitz has approached his drafts because he seems to seem to go after the guys his scouts want rather approaching in terms of draft assets. I might be happier if one of the talked about picked trades happened. (I really do love pick trades.) But who knows.

I’m not crazy about other aspects (lack of RHD, lack of offensive drivers) but I don’t see the point of getting hung up about guys we didn’t pick.

Putting my post in context, I was responding to a criticism of Holtz. I put up a comparable who I said is having a better season and finished with it might not make a difference and that Holtz may still have the better career in the long run. But being hung up? I cant't applaud good rookie performances from another organization?

I like Holtz and I want him to do well. I hope his AHL performance translates to the NHL and he doesn't become Brian O'Neill. Quinn's performance doesn't effect Holtz as you said. Idk what the point of that is when Quinn will be facing Holtz at the AHL level possibly in the playoffs and for the rest of their NHL careers. It's not a contest, but the games they play against each other are. Idk why I have to point out the obvious, but you asked, so there you go. Utica and Rochester have one more regular season game. I look forward to seeing how they both do.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

Agreed. But my point is that Miroshnichenko might have been a top 3 pick were it not for the Hodgkin's. You're not getting a top 3 caliber pick at #36 overall. His skills are top 5 in the entire class among forwards in skating, shooting, passing, puckhandling and physicality -- essentially, everything but defense. He's potentially elite or near-elite across the board.

A Russian in Perevalov -- who I have ranked higher than anyone else on the planet -- can hang with Miro in terms of puck skills (passing, shooting, puckhandling) sure, but Miro can skate circles around him. Another player I'm obviously high on in Trikozov doesn't top Miro in any single category except stick handling and hockey IQ.

Obviously, I'm hoping one of this elite Russian trio falls to the 2nd for the Devils. It would represent an absolute coup, in my opinion. But Miro raises an interesting question -- which I'll keep asking -- because although he obviously represents the greatest risk of the three, his upside is also so high it's almost unique.

If Miro and Perevalov are both on the board who do you take? I think I might lean Perevalov. The tapes you posted of him we're amazing. Miro might be the better player, but I feel like Perevalov has better chance of hitting his ceiling which is still elite.

 

[StevenToddIves]

If Miro and Perevalov are both on the board who do you take? I think I might lean Perevalov. The tapes you posted of him we're amazing. Miro might be the better player, but I feel like Perevalov has better chance of hitting his ceiling which is still elite.

Please don't quote me on this yet because I have a couple months before setting my opinions in stone, but I think my 2nd round wish-list right now would be:

1 Perevalov
2 Miroshnichenko
3 Kulich
4 Trikozov
5 Rinzel

I only listed players who could theoretically fall so far because no, Chesley and Kasper will not be available, sorry.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I know coming into the year everyone had him super high but then a ton of people were dropping him pretty considerably. It depends on how much of that is illness vs just his play

Yep, like I said -- the bazillion dollar question. I'm not sure if we have any doctors on the Devils boards, but I asked an anesthesiologist friend and she said that Hodgkin's could have certainly affected Miro's play negatively long before it was diagnosed. So, I'm going with that.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Once L'Heureux was off the board I didn't really know who I wanted. I think my top 3 were Pinelli, Raty, and Morrow. I loved your write up on Morrow, but thought Pinelli could be a sleeper. Raty I wanted but was scared that his draft pedigree might have inflated him, since he had such a downfall .I like the Stillman pick though. I just feel like we missed out on a better version of him in L'Heureux.

I was extremely high on L'Heureux. When he went to Nashville, I just felt deflated. Damn the Islanders!

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

Please don't quote me on this yet because I have a couple months before setting my opinions in stone, but I think my 2nd round wish-list right now would be:

1 Perevalov
2 Miroshnichenko
3 Kulich
4 Trikozov
5 Rinzel

I only listed players who could theoretically fall so far because no, Chesley and Kasper will not be available, sorry.

If both dropped I'd do anything to pick up another high #2 or late #1. Pick Slafkovsky/Jiricek with our pick. Grab Miro and Pervalov, and Warren in the 3rd. I know Firkus is more of what we already have, but I'd love him too in the 2nd round, but I could see him sneaking into the late 1st round if the Russian kids drop.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Zellweger was one of 4 guys I wanted there. He was probably last on the list but I still liked him. Raty, Stankoven, Morrow, and Zellweger for me

Exactly. I had Zellweger ranked over Morrow but after Heimosalmi. Normally, I'm really good at projecting mid-round defensemen, but this time I had it backwards. In a re-draft, it's an easy ordering for me of 1) Morrow, 2) Zellweger and 3) Heimosalmi. No-brainer there for the Monday morning QBs.

You'll recall I also loved Stankoven but had Raty ranked higher, and Pinelli above either of them. When the pick came around however, I wanted Raty because I felt he'd complete a devastating center combo with Hughes/Hischier.

I still stick to my assertion that, if the Islanders did not make the conference finals, the Devils would have taken either Ceulemans or L'Heureux. When the #29 pick rolled around, I was just happy Colorado took Olausson before us, because the players which scare me most on draft day are "big & fast with a big shot, but can they actually play hockey?" which fits Olausson to a T. I thought we'd take Morrow there, but I was as surprised as the rest of us when Stillman's name was called.

 

[StevenToddIves]

If both dropped I'd do anything to pick up another high #2 or late #1. Pick Slafkovsky/Jiricek with our pick. Grab Miro and Pervalov, and Warren in the 3rd. I know Firkus is more of what we already have, but I'd love him too in the 2nd round, but I could see him sneaking into the late 1st round if the Russian kids drop.

How about this for a dream scenario -- trade Zacha to Ottawa for a 2nd rounder (currently #38 overall). Take Jiricek at #4, then take Perevalov at #36 and then Miroshnichenko at #38. Devils jump to the #1 prospect pool in the NHL. Celebrations ensue.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

I was extremely high on L'Heureux. When he went to Nashville, I just felt deflated. Damn the Islanders!

I know I haven't posted a lot, but I've read these boards for years. Loved L'Heureux, and feel like he's what we're missing which is why Gauthier is so high on my list. Like you've said he drives every line he's on. I think he can be elite, but even if he's a 25/25 player can turn Hughes a 90/100pt player to a 100/110pt player, and Nico a 70pt player into a 80/90pt player. He might not put up the points Savoie would, but he makes your best players better.

My wish list would be
Slalkovsky
Jiricek
Gauthier
Nemic

 

[nugg]

Maybe you're right and I'm projecting. I've said about a zillion times here that, if it were me at #20 with Schneider going off the board one pick earlier, I would have traded down and drafted RD Brock Faber -- whom I had ranked as a first round pick. But hindsight is certainly 20/20 in this particular case.

You had me sold on Faber, and of course he hasn't arrived just yet, but looks to have solid potential. Then last year Tom once again underwhelmed on the later picks, though maybe not quite as badly?

 

[nugg]

Helge Grans would have been a complete disaster, he's not even in the same league as Faber, Mukhamadullin or Barron.

Faber was my highest ranked of these players, but it's also important to add the only draft writers or bureaus on the planet who ranked Faber as a 1st rounder were myself and Cam Robinson.

Barron was all over the place in draft rankings. Coming into his draft-eligible season, he was a consensus top 15 pick. But injuries and inconsistency dropped him among many scouts and draft analysts. I still liked him more than Mukhamadullin, but now I'd say Barron and Mukhamadullin are very close.

If I had to rank them now, it would be:

1 Faber
2 Barron
3 Mukhamadullin

85,218 Grans

I remember that you did say that Shakir was the only Dman aside from the top 2 to have top pairing upside. (Though not as high of a chance of reaching said upside of course) This is why I thought it wasn't too bad of a gamble, though I agree he probably could have gotten him several spots lower.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

Exactly. I had Zellweger ranked over Morrow but after Heimosalmi. Normally, I'm really good at projecting mid-round defensemen, but this time I had it backwards. In a re-draft, it's an easy ordering for me of 1) Morrow, 2) Zellweger and 3) Heimosalmi. No-brainer there for the Monday morning QBs.

You'll recall I also loved Stankoven but had Raty ranked higher, and Pinelli above either of them. When the pick came around however, I wanted Raty because I felt he'd complete a devastating center combo with Hughes/Hischier.

I still stick to my assertion that, if the Islanders did not make the conference finals, the Devils would have taken either Ceulemans or L'Heureux. When the #29 pick rolled around, I was just happy Colorado took Olausson before us, because the players which scare me most on draft day are "big & fast with a big shot, but can they actually play hockey?" which fits Olausson to a T. I thought we'd take Morrow there, but I was as surprised as the rest of us when Stillman's name was called.

I feel like Lambos also would have been the pick if we didn't drop. Of course both dropped, just to be taken right before our pick, just twisting the knife in even more.

 

[StevenToddIves]

You had me sold on Faber, and of course he hasn't arrived just yet, but looks to have solid potential. Then last year Tom once again underwhelmed on the later picks, though maybe not quite as badly?

Faber is one of the top D prospects outside the NHL right now. In a 2020 re-draft, I would happily take him in the 1st round above the 6 defensemen drafted immediately before him -- Kleven, O'Rourke, Grans, Wallinder, Barron and Mukhamadullin. In fact, it's a closer argument between Faber with Guhle and Schneider than with any of the 6 on that list. He was an absolute steal for LA in the 2nd round.

As for Fitzgerald's late round picks, I feel it needs to improve this year. Not counting the goaltenders -- because it's an entirely different scale -- I feel he could have done better with every pick except for Bardakov in the 7th round last year. A couple of the picks were just inexcusable -- Baumgartner is already a non-prospect, and Shlaine is heading in that direction. The jury is still out on Pytlik due to injuries, while Edwards showed some encouraging improvements over this season, but is still not really a consideration for top 5 in the Devils LD prospect pool, making it sort of a puzzling pick. As for the 2021 draft, I felt Vilen and Hurtig were both puzzling picks, though at least Hurtig is a RD. The Vilen pick was a real head-scratcher -- does he have any chance on earth to ever make an NHL Devils LD over the litany of guys ahead of him on the depth chart, in a year where Luke Hughes was the first round pick? Later in the round, Winnipeg took one of my favorite all-time sleeper prospects in Dmitri Rashevsky, a guy who is now tearing up the KHL and would currently be the #2 RW in the Devils prospect pool after only Alex Holtz.

I've also been vocally skeptical of Salminen in the 3rd round. I like his compete and hands and character, but he just lacks the high-end skill to justify his lack of skating speed or power elements, and I think he's the kind of player you take in the 5th round, not the 3rd... and definitely not when, with the very next pick, your division rival takes a potential top-pairing shut-down defenseman in Stanislav Svozil.

I'd like to see a bit more vision and strategy in the late rounds this year. In the first round, you take the best player to fit your core. In the second round, you take the best player who falls, period. Then in rounds 3-7 (and the Devils have three picks in the 4th round), you draft for team need -- RD, depth center, interior forwards, maybe a goaltender. Though I believe in Best Available Player, if the Devils are picking in the 4th and their highest ranked guy is a LD at #61 and they have a RD ranked #63 -- take the RD. If the difference is negligible, fill some organizational needs, for crying out loud. And I believe it's a mistake to reward scouts with "their guy" on draft day. If you're the Sweden scout and there are no players who come up with any of the 9 picks, then tough cookies. You don't give a guy a 5th rounder because he worked hard all year, that's not how it works. In the 5th round, you should be looking for a Jesper Bratt or a Yegor Sharangovich or a Arseni Gritsyuk, not a way to manifest loyalty among individual employees.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I remember that you did say that Shakir was the only Dman aside from the top 2 to have top pairing upside. (Though not as high of a chance of reaching said upside of course) This is why I thought it wasn't too bad of a gamble, though I agree he probably could have gotten him several spots lower.

Yeah, I said really soon after the draft that I would have loved the Mukhamadullin pick, had they traded down and added a 2nd or even 3rd rounder. But, in retrospect it was fine -- in a re-draft Shakir probably goes in the 25-32 range, which is perfectly okay for a guy you take at 20 overall.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I feel like Lambos also would have been the pick if we didn't drop. Of course both dropped, just to be taken right before our pick, just twisting the knife in even more.

I'd agree with this except Lambos is a left shot. I couldn't see NJ taking two LD in the first round the year after taking a LD in the first round. I personally feel L'Heureux was the most likely pick, followed by Ceulemans.

 

[glenwo2]

Someone(a poster) named "David Conte" over at allaboutthejersey had this down as his top 5 :

1. Shane Wright, C Kingston Frontenacs (OHL): While the gap may have tightened, make no mistake, this is still the Shane Wright draft.

2. Joakim Kemell, LW, JYP (Liiga): Has finally returned after missing more than a month due to a shoulder issue. Here’s hoping he can regain the touch that saw him become Liiga’s leading scorer 18 games into the season.

3. Logan Cooley, C, USNTDP: Plays with pace, passion and production. Has improved steadily throughout the season and projects to continue trending up.

4. Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, TPS Turku (Liiga): Has all the tools at his disposal, but there is some concern about the numbers. Liiga numbers are typically predictive of NHL success and his are lacking (one goal, four points in 21 games). Having said that, he made Slovakia’s Olympic team as a 17-year-old.

I don't know much about Kemell (maybe @StevenToddIves talked about him and I missed that) but Cooley above Slaf?