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

[Captain3rdLine]

Games over the next 4 days that have an affect on how high the devils pick and/or their chances of getting Slafkovsky in rough order of relevance.

Detroit and Buffalo are probably out of reach or close to it but I included them in case the devils go on a winning streak or something.
*=probably not relevant

Wednesday April 6:
SEA win vs STL
*DET win vs WPG

Thursday April 7:
MTL win vs NJD
PHI win vs CBJ
OTT win vs NSH
SEA win in OT vs CHI
ARI win vs VAN
*BUF win vs CAR

Friday April 8:
*BUF win vs FLA

Saturday April 9:
DAL win vs NJD
PHI win vs ANA
SEA win vs CAL
OTT win vs NYR
ARI win vs VGK
MTL win vs TOR
*DET win vs CBJ

 

[HBK27]

At this point, NJ should finish no lower than the 5th worst in the league. Ottawa is up by 4 points with a game in hand as well as the tie-breaker. Philly is up by only 1 point though for the 5th spot and has a 1 game RW advantage in the first tie-breaker.

Devils have one of the easiest remaining schedules though - which is good and bad as this could include 4 point swings in games against Arizona, Seattle & Philly, teams they've vying with for draft position. Philly also has one of the easiest remaining schedules. Games against Montreal, Arizona and Seattle this next week and a half will play a large role in where they finish.

NHL Remaining Schedule Strength | Tankathon

At least we finally own our own 2nd round pick this year. For as bad as this team has been, it's insane the Devils have had only one very late 2nd round pick (Okhotyuk - 61st overall) in the past 4 drafts, especially since they would've all been top 6 in the round the past 3 drafts.

 

[Nocashstyle]

At this point in the season in previous years, I’d want the Devils to tank out for the best pick possible. This year, I’d much rather them win out (lololol). This culture of losing is so toxic. They’ll pick where they’ll pick.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Fedotov's consensus ranking was probably in the 125-150 range.

If we really want to nitpick, Arizona picked next at #43 overall and took Ilya Fedotov. Fedotov would have been a nice flyer to take in the 7th round. But not when Chibrikov, Stankoven and Raty were all on the board.

Fedotov was 72nd in the Bob's final ranking, so I don't know if he was such a big reach. The NHL Draft Black Book had him as high as 22nd.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

At this point, NJ should finish no lower than the 5th worst in the league. Ottawa is up by 4 points with a game in hand as well as the tie-breaker. Philly is up by only 1 point though for the 5th spot and has a 1 game RW advantage in the first tie-breaker.

Devils have one of the easiest remaining schedules though - which is good and bad as this could include 4 point swings in games against Arizona, Seattle & Philly, teams they've vying with for draft position. Philly also has one of the easiest remaining schedules. Games against Montreal, Arizona and Seattle this next week and a half will play a large role in where they finish.

NHL Remaining Schedule Strength | Tankathon

At least we finally own our own 2nd round pick this year. For as bad as this team has been, it's insane the Devils have had only one very late 2nd round pick (Okhotyuk - 61st overall) in the past 4 drafts, especially since they would've all been top 6 in the round the past 3 drafts.

We could quite possible still pass Ottawa especially if we win our game against them. We’re slightly closer to them than Arizona and Montreal are to us. Obviously, Jack being out for the rest of the season and our recent struggles probably mean it’s more likely we lose more and go down than up. Our easy schedule may counter this a bit though.
As you said our games over the next 10 days against ARI, MON, Sea will likely have a huge effect on where we finish.

 

[Guttersniped]

At this point, NJ should finish no lower than the 5th worst in the league. Ottawa is up by 4 points with a game in hand as well as the tie-breaker. Philly is up by only 1 point though for the 5th spot and has a 1 game RW advantage in the first tie-breaker.

Devils have one of the easiest remaining schedules though - which is good and bad as this could include 4 point swings in games against Arizona, Seattle & Philly, teams they've vying with for draft position. Philly also has one of the easiest remaining schedules. Games against Montreal, Arizona and Seattle this next week and a half will play a large role in where they finish.

NHL Remaining Schedule Strength | Tankathon

At least we finally own our own 2nd round pick this year. For as bad as this team has been, it's insane the Devils have had only one very late 2nd round pick (Okhotyuk - 61st overall) in the past 4 drafts, especially since they would've all been top 6 in the round the past 3 drafts.

“At least we finally own our own 2nd round pick this year. For as bad as this team has been, it's insane the Devils have had only one very late 2nd round pick (Okhotyuk - 61st overall) in the past 4 drafts, especially since they would've all been top 6 in the round the past 3 drafts.”

Is this true? I never heard this before. “this is sarcasm”

Fun Fact: 2021 was the 1st time we drafted with our own 3rd since 2015.

2020 3rd (#68) to Vegas in the Gusev trade (July 2019)

2019 3rd (#65)* to Edmonton in the Maroon trade (Feb 2018)
*pick is four spots after the 2nd we got for Mojo from Boston (that 61th we used to get Okhotyuk.)

2018 3rd (#79) to Anaheim in the Henrique/Vatanen trade, we did get ANA 2019 3rd (#70) so we won the swap in terms of which team was bad in which year. (Nov 2017)

2017 3rd (#67) to Carolina in the Ruutu/Loktionov trade lol (March 2014)

2016 3rd (#72) to Pittsburgh for John Hynes (June 2015)
That was involuntary obviously and we did get SJS 2017 #81 for DeBoer (May 2015) & TOR 2018 #87 (July 2015) for Lou, so whatever I guess.

 

[Dallas1229]

If we somehow win the lotto for the first pick would you be upset if Fitz drafted Slafkovsky over Wright? I know BPA is the motto, but something about high skilled wingers with size and weight seems like a desperate need.

I was really hoping we could of traded for Tuch from Vegas, but I doubt Buffalo has any desire to trade him.

 

[My3Sons]

If we somehow win the lotto for the first pick would you be upset if Fitz drafted Slafkovsky over Wright? I know BPA is the motto, but something about high skilled wingers with size and weight seems like a desperate need.

I was really hoping we could of traded for Tuch from Vegas, but I doubt Buffalo has any desire to trade him.

Tuch is from Buffalo and wants to be there. NJ really only has room for one more top six wing if you presume that Bratt, Sharangovich, and Mercer occupy three of those four slots. My guess is they hope that Holtz will take that last spot.

 

[OmNomNom]

if we win lottery, we should def explore trade-down options

 

[imMagnum]

Dont think we’ve done this yet. Where would you slot Jiricek & Nemec with last year’s big 4D (comparing their draft eligible seasons)?

 

[Hisch13r]

At this point in the season in previous years, I’d want the Devils to tank out for the best pick possible. This year, I’d much rather them win out (lololol). This culture of losing is so toxic. They’ll pick where they’ll pick.

I don't believe in the "culture" shit. Bad teams stay bad because they aren't good enough. Bad teams become good teams when they're good enough. It's not because of "culture".

 

[StevenToddIves]

Fedotov was 72nd in the Bob's final ranking, so I don't know if he was such a big reach. The NHL Draft Black Book had him as high as 22nd.

What is the NHL Draft black book? I'm not familiar with that.

 

[StevenToddIves]

At this point in the season in previous years, I’d want the Devils to tank out for the best pick possible. This year, I’d much rather them win out (lololol). This culture of losing is so toxic. They’ll pick where they’ll pick.

All we've got to do is stick with Ty Smith 20+ minutes per game and we'll probably finish last overall.

 

[StevenToddIves]

If we somehow win the lotto for the first pick would you be upset if Fitz drafted Slafkovsky over Wright? I know BPA is the motto, but something about high skilled wingers with size and weight seems like a desperate need.

I was really hoping we could of traded for Tuch from Vegas, but I doubt Buffalo has any desire to trade him.

If the Devils win #1 overall, the likeliest options are either trading down or drafting Slafkovsky #1. And no, there would be no reason to be upset with this. Slafkovsky has really closed the cap in the calendar year of 2022.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Dont think we’ve done this yet. Where would you slot Jiricek & Nemec with last year’s big 4D (comparing their draft eligible seasons)?

It's tough to say unless I rank them now. Fact is, I blew it last year with Clarke too high and Edvinsson too low. So, I'd have to rank them as is:

1 Power
2 Hughes
3 Jiricek
4 Edvinsson
5 Nemec
6 Morrow
7 Chesley
8 Mintyukov
9 Lambos
10 Ceulemans

EDIT -- new list down below, I forgot Clarke in the rankings. My bad.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I don't believe in the "culture" shit. Bad teams stay bad because they aren't good enough. Bad teams become good teams when they're good enough. It's not because of "culture".

Tell that to Boy George.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

What is the NHL Draft black book? I'm not familiar with that.

This one: 2021 NHL Draft Black Book (PDF Instant Download) - HockeyProspect.com

Some people have raved about it in the main forum (NHL Draft - Prospects). I bought it for the first time last summer. I think it was pretty good, but on the other hand, I don't know much about prospects, so take it how you like it.

 

[StevenToddIves]

This one: 2021 NHL Draft Black Book (PDF Instant Download) - HockeyProspect.com

Some people have raved about it in the main forum (NHL Draft - Prospects). I bought it for the first time last summer. I think it was pretty good, but on the other hand, I don't know much about prospects, so take it how you like it.

Oh right, that's Mark Edwards. I like him -- really strong opinions, comprehensive scouting and good write-ups. I always think "HockeyProspect" but never think "Black Book", that is, unless I'm thinking about all the phone numbers I accrued as a bartender in the 90s.

 

[nugg]

It's tough to say unless I rank them now. Fact is, I blew it last year with Clarke too high and Edvinsson too low. So, I'd have to rank them as is:

1 Power
2 Hughes
3 Jiricek
4 Edvinsson
5 Nemec
6 Morrow
7 Chesley
8 Mintyukov
9 Lambos
10 Ceulemans

Wow... Clarke has dropped that much? Is it his defensive game?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Wow... Clarke has dropped that much? Is it his defensive game?

Oh shit I forgot Clarke. No he didn't drop that much, I just suck until I've finished my first cup of coffee when I wake up.

1 Power
2 Hughes
3 Jiricek
4 Edvinsson
5 Nemec
6 Clarke
7 Morrow
8 Chesley
9 Mintyukov
10 Lambos
11 Ceulemans

 

[HBK27]

At this point in the season in previous years, I’d want the Devils to tank out for the best pick possible. This year, I’d much rather them win out (lololol). This culture of losing is so toxic. They’ll pick where they’ll pick.

Yeah, that was my mentality until Hughes went down. Maybe not win out, but at least finish the season on the high note and get some wins and at least play some competitive hockey. I don't want to see them get blown out or anything, but I'd rather see them send Daws back down to Utica and get a couple younger players in the lineup. At least I can root for them improving their draft positioning/odds - which is more likely than seeing wins. Hopefully a shiny new coaching staff and some trades and/or free agent signings in the offseason can give this team a fresh start next season to build off of.

Not saying this is a comparable situation (though hopefully it somewhat is), but the Colorado Avalanche finished the 2016-2017 season with 48 points in 2016-2017. They ended the season with 2 wins in their final 13 games - one in OT and another in a shootout. They finished the following season with 95 points. Also helps when star players like MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog all seem to find their game and go off at the same time, but clearly NJ has offensive players with similar high potential. I just think a strong finish to carry over into the next season is a bit overrated.

Still, I get that moving up isn't always the best thing in hindsight. It's just getting hard to keep rooting for this team and sit through games like last night. I flipped over to the end of the Toronto-Florida game afterwards and that was much, much more exciting hockey. At this point, I'm looking forward more to tomorrow night's Michigan game and the NHL playoffs than I am for any remaining Devils games.

“At least we finally own our own 2nd round pick this year. For as bad as this team has been, it's insane the Devils have had only one very late 2nd round pick (Okhotyuk - 61st overall) in the past 4 drafts, especially since they would've all been top 6 in the round the past 3 drafts.”

Is this true? I never heard this before. “this is sarcasm”

Fun Fact: 2021 was the 1st time we drafted with our own 3rd since 2015.

2020 3rd (#68) to Vegas in the Gusev trade (July 2019)

2019 3rd (#65)* to Edmonton in the Maroon trade (Feb 2018)
*pick is four spots after the 2nd we got for Mojo from Boston (that 61th we used to get Okhotyuk.)

2018 3rd (#79) to Anaheim in the Henrique/Vatanen trade, we did get ANA 2019 3rd (#70) so we won the swap in terms of which team was bad in which year. (Nov 2017)

2017 3rd (#67) to Carolina in the Ruutu/Loktionov trade lol (March 2014)

2016 3rd (#72) to Pittsburgh for John Hynes (June 2015)
That was involuntary obviously and we did get SJS 2017 #81 for DeBoer (May 2015) & TOR 2018 #87 (July 2015) for Lou, so whatever I guess.

Good call on the amount of 3rd round picks that have also been dealt over this period.

I hated the Subban trade at the time and it just keeps getting worse seeing as Bobby Brink went to Philly in what would've been our slot in 2019. Obviously no clue if we would've actually taken him or a bust of a player, but he's having a nice year as the NCAA scoring leader (though in his Junior season).

 

[StevenToddIves]

Yeah, that was my mentality until Hughes went down. Maybe not win out, but at least finish the season on the high note and get some wins and at least play some competitive hockey. I don't want to see them get blown out or anything, but I'd rather see them send Daws back down to Utica and get a couple younger players in the lineup. At least I can root for them improving their draft positioning/odds - which is more likely than seeing wins. Hopefully a shiny new coaching staff and some trades and/or free agent signings in the offseason can give this team a fresh start next season to build off of.

Not saying this is a comparable situation (though hopefully it somewhat is), but the Colorado Avalanche finished the 2016-2017 season with 48 points in 2016-2017. They ended the season with 2 wins in their final 13 games - one in OT and another in a shootout. They finished the following season with 95 points. Also helps when star players like MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog all seem to find their game and go off at the same time, but clearly NJ has offensive players with similar high potential. I just think a strong finish to carry over into the next season is a bit overrated.

Still, I get that moving up isn't always the best thing in hindsight. It's just getting hard to keep rooting for this team and sit through games like last night. I flipped over to the end of the Toronto-Florida game afterwards and that was much, much more exciting hockey. At this point, I'm looking forward more to tomorrow night's Michigan game and the NHL playoffs than I am for any remaining Devils games.



Good call on the amount of 3rd round picks that have also been dealt over this period.

I hated the Subban trade at the time and it just keeps getting worse seeing as Bobby Brink went to Philly in what would've been our slot in 2019. Obviously no clue if we would've actually taken him or a bust of a player, but he's having a nice year as the NCAA scoring leader (though in his Junior season).

I had Brink as a 1st rounder -- heck of a player. Philly did pretty well under the last management of identifying US-NTDP talent like Farabee, Brink and York. Last year they made a nice pick in the 5th with Murchison.

 

[Nocashstyle]

I don't believe in the "culture" shit. Bad teams stay bad because they aren't good enough. Bad teams become good teams when they're good enough. It's not because of "culture".

Hard disagree there.

If players expect to lose, well, more often than not, that’s what happens.

 

[Devs3cups]

Hard disagree there.

If players expect to lose, well, more often than not, that’s what happens.

And if players decide to win, even if their opponent has more skill/better team than them, they often win? Sure, that might happen once in a while, and mindset is important, but good, skilful teams will usually win against lesser teams, regardless of culture.

I don’t disagree with your opinion on mindset/culture, it plays a minor part though, in my opinion.

 

[Nocashstyle]

And if players decide to win, even if their opponent has more skill/better team than them, they often win? Sure, that might happen once in a while, and mindset is important, but good, skilful teams will usually win against lesser teams, regardless of culture.

I don’t disagree with your opinion on mindset/culture, it plays a minor part though, in my opinion.

Yes, but that’s my point. That can be the difference between a team taking the next step and a team stuck in purgatory.