This is the "Draft Thread", the "Doomsday Scenario Thread" is elsewhere, I believe.
Prospect Info: 2024 25 Devils DRAFT Thread
- Thread starter StevenToddIves
- Start date
cap is going up $5.5m.
Per cap wages - we are currently scheduled to have $24.4m in cap space
Guadana
Registered User
I’m not a big fan but I would like to see Borikov as Devils pick. More likely in our situation.
U18s QFs are today, USA about to play Latvia. Winner will get Slovakia in the semis. Canada almost got upset but just got an OT goal to get by Czechia. Canada will get Sweden who routed Finland.
I'm taking a field trip to Dallas tomorrow. Aiming to catch both semifinal games on Friday. I would like to catch the gold medal game but I probably should spend time with the friend I'm staying with.
Some 2025 prospects but seemingly the more interesting guys are 2026 eligible. Slovakia has Adam Nemec (Simon's brother). Sweden has Ivar Stenberg and Veggo Bjorck. Canada has Ryan Roobroeck, Ryan Lin, and Keaton Verhoeff as possible top 10 guys for 2026.
We'll see if any guys look interesting for our 2025 2nd rounders.
I'm taking a field trip to Dallas tomorrow. Aiming to catch both semifinal games on Friday. I would like to catch the gold medal game but I probably should spend time with the friend I'm staying with.
Some 2025 prospects but seemingly the more interesting guys are 2026 eligible. Slovakia has Adam Nemec (Simon's brother). Sweden has Ivar Stenberg and Veggo Bjorck. Canada has Ryan Roobroeck, Ryan Lin, and Keaton Verhoeff as possible top 10 guys for 2026.
We'll see if any guys look interesting for our 2025 2nd rounders.
evnted
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- Apr 14, 2016
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sounds like a good time, hope you have fun. nilson (swe) and mckinney (usa) would be two potential 2nd round targets that i think could be strong adds in our position
Apparently I misunderstood how the brackets work. It'll be Canada/Slovakia in the Friday matinee and then a USA/Sweden rematch in the nightcap. USA unexpectedly beat Sweden in the round robin, but I'd expect the Swedes to be favorites on Friday.
I'm at Canada Slovakia, just walked by Paul Castron.
Monsieur Verdoux
Registered User
You should say to him that the Devils needs to make better late round picks than they have made last few years. Draft skill, not grit.
Guadana
Registered User
You should say to him that the Devils needs to make better late round picks than they have made last few years. Draft skill, not grit.
Tobias Pitka - Stats, Contract, Salary & More
Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Tobias Pitka, 2006-04-28 Poprad, SVK Slovakia. Most recently in the NCAA with Boston College. Complete player biography and stats.
www.eliteprospects.com
-ep.jpg)
Frantisek Dej - Stats, Contract, Salary & More
Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Frantisek Dej, 2005-02-28 Bratislava, SVK Slovakia. Most recently in the WHL with Saskatoon Blades. Complete player biography and stats.
www.eliteprospects.com
A couple of "good" overagers for you, Devils fans.
Did you ask him what the hell happened? He goes from Bratt Shara Zetterlund etc to Stillman and that big slug at Denver/Uconn and no decent center prospects
Canada/Slovakia was a bit of a snoozer. Aside from being the goal scorers, Xavier Villeneuve and Cole Reschny were the guys who stood out for Canada. Villeneuve missed the cutoff for 2025 by a couple weeks. Keaton Verhoeff is a projected top 10 pick for next year. He didn't do anything eye popping but maybe that's a good thing if he's a Brent Seabrook type D.
In terms of guys who might in our range in the 2nd round.......I don't know if we need another puck moving RHD but Alex Huang (63rd on TSN's midseason ranking) looked okay at times. TSN had 6'4 center Matthew Gard at #52, but he didn't stick out and I think Canada used him as a winger.
Two Slovaks got injured in the opening four minutes of the game so I can only assume that threw off their lines. If he didn't have a familiar last name I probably wouldn't have noticed Adam Nemec is ranked as a top 15 guy for next season. Sounded like the guy who did the most for his draft stock on Slovakia was goalie Michal Pradal but he probably won't be a consideration for us. I didn't remember him, but TSN had 6'4 center Jan Chovan ranked as a 3rd rounder. Chovan was tied for Tomas Chrenko for the team lead in scoring.
USA/Sweden was a much better game. I dragged my friend to that one and tried to keep her interested by saying there was a potential top 5 pick for this draft (Anton Frondell) and whether she could pick him out. Frondell proceeded to do nothing which sounded like a theme for the tournament. In his defense, he did just finish out his season in Sweden and immediately hopped on a plane to join the team in Texas.
Viggo Bjorck and Ivar Stenberg are projected top 10 guys for 2026. Bjorck created more in this game. Winger Filip Ekberg unexpectedly lead the tournament in scoring after a nondescript season in the OHL. We'll see if that vaults him into the 2nd round (or higher?).
Cullen Potter and L.J. Mooney were about the only positives for Team USA for me. Potter looks like an undersized winger with skill who's ranked in the late 1st this year. But some worry whether he'll be closer to a Connor Sheary than a true top 6 guy. Mooney showed some shades of Brian Gionta but the size will likely push him to the mid-late rounds. William Horcoff was ranked #50 in TSN's midseason list but he seemingly was steadily rising after joining Michigan midseason. Knee jerk thought was that he looked more like a bottom six guy.
Tournament attendance was a bit rough. The sassy lady working the ticket office was upset that the Gold Medal game coincided with Stars/Avs Game 7. Apparently the NHL lobbied with the IIHF and the US is going to get to host the U18s every other year for next stretch. The NHL teams liked having this tournament closer to cut down on travel costs. But being overshadowed by the NHL playoffs will always be an issue. We'll see if they aim for a host like North Dakota or Michigan next time?
In terms of guys who might in our range in the 2nd round.......I don't know if we need another puck moving RHD but Alex Huang (63rd on TSN's midseason ranking) looked okay at times. TSN had 6'4 center Matthew Gard at #52, but he didn't stick out and I think Canada used him as a winger.
Two Slovaks got injured in the opening four minutes of the game so I can only assume that threw off their lines. If he didn't have a familiar last name I probably wouldn't have noticed Adam Nemec is ranked as a top 15 guy for next season. Sounded like the guy who did the most for his draft stock on Slovakia was goalie Michal Pradal but he probably won't be a consideration for us. I didn't remember him, but TSN had 6'4 center Jan Chovan ranked as a 3rd rounder. Chovan was tied for Tomas Chrenko for the team lead in scoring.
USA/Sweden was a much better game. I dragged my friend to that one and tried to keep her interested by saying there was a potential top 5 pick for this draft (Anton Frondell) and whether she could pick him out. Frondell proceeded to do nothing which sounded like a theme for the tournament. In his defense, he did just finish out his season in Sweden and immediately hopped on a plane to join the team in Texas.
Viggo Bjorck and Ivar Stenberg are projected top 10 guys for 2026. Bjorck created more in this game. Winger Filip Ekberg unexpectedly lead the tournament in scoring after a nondescript season in the OHL. We'll see if that vaults him into the 2nd round (or higher?).
Cullen Potter and L.J. Mooney were about the only positives for Team USA for me. Potter looks like an undersized winger with skill who's ranked in the late 1st this year. But some worry whether he'll be closer to a Connor Sheary than a true top 6 guy. Mooney showed some shades of Brian Gionta but the size will likely push him to the mid-late rounds. William Horcoff was ranked #50 in TSN's midseason list but he seemingly was steadily rising after joining Michigan midseason. Knee jerk thought was that he looked more like a bottom six guy.
Tournament attendance was a bit rough. The sassy lady working the ticket office was upset that the Gold Medal game coincided with Stars/Avs Game 7. Apparently the NHL lobbied with the IIHF and the US is going to get to host the U18s every other year for next stretch. The NHL teams liked having this tournament closer to cut down on travel costs. But being overshadowed by the NHL playoffs will always be an issue. We'll see if they aim for a host like North Dakota or Michigan next time?
I'd have to imagine it's not him. There's clearly been a shift in philosophy to draft size and toughness over skill. It's certainly weakened our forward prospect pool.
I'm not going to be able to write as much on the draft this year as in past years because I have a ton of life things going on, but I'd like to say that, for those of you who have Islander fan friends (or enemies, or whatever), you're going to hear a lot about a controversy for who should be the #1 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
I'm here to say, there's no controversy. LD Matthew Schaefer is head and shoulders above the rest of this class. I recently watched three of his games in full, and the kid is simply a franchise defenseman in every sense of the words. He's the best skater in the class, and I'd also rank his hockey IQ tops in the class. He's got an elite compete level and no flaws.
I'm a huge fan of Misa and Hagens, but they both come with questions. Hagens has greater upside, Misa has a higher floor, and they're both tremendous prospects -- but neither is a #1 overall pick to a sane organization with Matthew Schaefer in the mix. Porter Martone has tremendous upside, but also a ton of questions and I'm not certain he's going to be in my top 5 for this year. I'll accept arguments for him as early as #4, but the idea people have ranked him over Schaefer is a bit off the rails in my book.
Caleb Desnoyers has really shot up my rankings over the course of this year, I'd call him the highest-floor F in the 2025 class and he's the only top 5 candidate whom I would refer to as "a true center". I think he's a likely NHL 2C but with his combination of hockey IQ and compete, it would be foolish to understate his upside as a 1C. For me, he's separated from Frondell, O'Brien and McQueen and entered the top 3 overall conversation. Overall, I'd probably rank him at #4 right now, but I think he'd be a fine pick as early as #2.
Frondell and Martone are in my top 5 consideration, but they're not locks. The three oft-overlooked 1st rounders whom I believe could also compete for my #5-#7 spots are W Victor Eklund, LW Carter Bear and LD Kashawn Aitcheson. Eklund has gotten top 7 hype, and deservedly so -- he's a high-compete, high-octane scoring wing with clear top 6 potential. Bear and Aitcheson are both sorely, sorely underrated prospects whom I will surely write about in the near future. If either slips out of the top 10 in this (relatively weak) draft, it will represent a serious steal.
I'm here to say, there's no controversy. LD Matthew Schaefer is head and shoulders above the rest of this class. I recently watched three of his games in full, and the kid is simply a franchise defenseman in every sense of the words. He's the best skater in the class, and I'd also rank his hockey IQ tops in the class. He's got an elite compete level and no flaws.
I'm a huge fan of Misa and Hagens, but they both come with questions. Hagens has greater upside, Misa has a higher floor, and they're both tremendous prospects -- but neither is a #1 overall pick to a sane organization with Matthew Schaefer in the mix. Porter Martone has tremendous upside, but also a ton of questions and I'm not certain he's going to be in my top 5 for this year. I'll accept arguments for him as early as #4, but the idea people have ranked him over Schaefer is a bit off the rails in my book.
Caleb Desnoyers has really shot up my rankings over the course of this year, I'd call him the highest-floor F in the 2025 class and he's the only top 5 candidate whom I would refer to as "a true center". I think he's a likely NHL 2C but with his combination of hockey IQ and compete, it would be foolish to understate his upside as a 1C. For me, he's separated from Frondell, O'Brien and McQueen and entered the top 3 overall conversation. Overall, I'd probably rank him at #4 right now, but I think he'd be a fine pick as early as #2.
Frondell and Martone are in my top 5 consideration, but they're not locks. The three oft-overlooked 1st rounders whom I believe could also compete for my #5-#7 spots are W Victor Eklund, LW Carter Bear and LD Kashawn Aitcheson. Eklund has gotten top 7 hype, and deservedly so -- he's a high-compete, high-octane scoring wing with clear top 6 potential. Bear and Aitcheson are both sorely, sorely underrated prospects whom I will surely write about in the near future. If either slips out of the top 10 in this (relatively weak) draft, it will represent a serious steal.
OmNomNom
Taco is Love, Taco is Life
i'm waiting for the isles to draft hagens at #1 since he's from the island. guaranteed to make me giggle
Captain3rdLine
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- Sep 24, 2020
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Not directly devils related but I think Schaefer’s become a bit overrated. Certainly worth considering at #1 but he’s not a slam dunk talent IMO.
Has some nice raw skill and talent and a really hot run shot him up to number 1 but seems like he’s one of those players that partially thrives off being allowed to play in a way in junior that wouldn’t be allowed or translate at the NHL level. Similar to how I felt about Dickinson last year although I think Schaefer is a much more talented prospect than Dickinson.
Good stickhandling. Good length and reach. High IQ. Good skater although I don’t think he skating is as good as it’s being made out to be. He’s fast but his edges and 4 way mobility are good but not elite.
I’m not sure he’s skilled enough to be an elite NHL defencemen offensively. Don’t think he’ll ever be close to a Norris candidate defensemen.
Has some nice raw skill and talent and a really hot run shot him up to number 1 but seems like he’s one of those players that partially thrives off being allowed to play in a way in junior that wouldn’t be allowed or translate at the NHL level. Similar to how I felt about Dickinson last year although I think Schaefer is a much more talented prospect than Dickinson.
Good stickhandling. Good length and reach. High IQ. Good skater although I don’t think he skating is as good as it’s being made out to be. He’s fast but his edges and 4 way mobility are good but not elite.
I’m not sure he’s skilled enough to be an elite NHL defencemen offensively. Don’t think he’ll ever be close to a Norris candidate defensemen.
I respectfully disagree. I would rank Schaefer on a similar level to how I drafted Rasmus Dahlin in his draft year. I'd say Dahlin had a bit more offensive upside but Schaefer should become a more complete defender. To me, Schaefer is certainly an elite skater. It's also important to factor in -- if you're watching tape of Schaefer's earlier games this season -- that he was just recovering from a bout of mono -- he likely only played 100% like 5 to 7 games all year.
evnted
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- Apr 14, 2016
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good stuff here as always. definitely echo schaefer as the runaway #1 in this class and best D prospect since dahlin. hype train wouldve been crazy had he been healthy. all the adversity hes faced up to now (collarbone, mono, family deaths, etc.) will only make him that much stronger. easy kid to root for
misa/hagens/martone all very much in the top 5 discussion as well. im a pretty decent frondell fan, too. as with the others he isnt without questions, but the offensive toolkit (elite shot, sneaky good playmaking) is pretty underrated to me and the power game and board work is about as good as you can ask for from a prospect. type of player who makes any line good
im actually a little skeptical of desnoyers's offensive game translating against non-Q defenders. of course, a team isnt gonna be drafting him for that specifically anyway, but i think his reliance on the same cross zone forehand attempts, difficulty with small area handling, and so-so speed for a player who is primarily just reacting to lanes he sees (as opposed to opening them up himself) might be cause for concern. plus, the shot just isnt good. but love the projectability of his 200ft game and pest like behavior, still a high pick for me
glad to see youre still holding strong on bear. think recency bias has caused him to fall in peoples rankings given the injury, but that is definitely a mistake. not a direct parallel but effectively this years jarvis-type player. big martin fan here as well (and since i have to say this now, i was before the u18s lol). great playmaking looks, pro level shot, and an elite, elite physical game
and finally, same boat here with write ups. not sure ill be able to do the huge profiles either (plus i cant imagine theres the same interest for like...pick 50 lol) BUT i plan on doing some primers in the weeks leading up so everyone has names to keep an eye on. plus, ill still be putting out a top 100, and ill do a little blurb for each player in that
Guadana
Registered User
I’m actually thinking that Frondell will crack top 4 or may be even top 3.
Captain3rdLine
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- Sep 24, 2020
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I’m not just going off his earlier games in the season. Don’t think he’s in the same stratosphere as Dahlin talent, skill, or skating wise.
I'm probably going to have a few surprises in my rankings, as usual. As you know better than anyone, the major difference in my rankings compared to most is that I place far higher weight on hockey IQ, compete level and (with defensemen and centers, not so much Ws) 200-foot play.
Ultimately, my individual assessments of players never really differ with the consensus when it comes to individual aspects. This is to say that that if a player is a fast skater, I will say they are a fast skater, other draft analysts will say they're a fast skater, everyone will say they are a fast skater. There's no discrepancy. In this case, what I'm intrigued by is how fast the player in question's hands and head keep up with his feet, and how consistently he is playing at a high pace.
As such, I love Carter Bear and Victor Eklund, two really smart kids who always play at the highest possible pace. Neither is a "franchise talent" per se, but both have the head and skill to play a top line scoring role. To me, this contrasts a Porter Martone, whose game and pace changes shift to shift, who is a nonentity in the breakout game and whose effort isn't always all there.
Does Martone's upside blow away the upsides of Eklund and Bear? Sure. But right now, I still have Bear and Eklund ranked a bit higher. And again, I need to restate that the Tkachuk or Corey Perry comparisons to Martone are downright absurd. Martone is more of a passer than a scorer, is not especially physical and does not even resemble those players.
What I am starting to like in this draft is the second tier of defensemen -- Aitcheson, Mrtka and Jackson Smith. Though none have superstar upside, they're all extremely high floor players with enough complete-game upside to easily envision as NHL 3Ds on contenders. Aitcheson in particular could be pretty unique with his high-compete and ferocity, and Smith's skating/size combo has been really rounded out by huge strides in his offensive mindset. Mrtka is just solid solid solid and pretty can't miss in my book.
I like Frondell, who reminds me in many ways of a player I really like in Lundell, but with more offensive upside. If I had to rank now:
1 Schaefer
2 Hagens
3 Misa
4 Desnoyers
5 Frondell
6 Bear
7 Eklund
8 Aitcheson
9 Smith
10 Martone
11 Mrtka
12 O'Brien
evnted
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funny to see how many lists have all those big name D (+hensler) starting to mush around 10 or so. just feels right i suppose, better F swings at the top top end. nice list, not terribly far removed from my own right now. think martin is the only major discrepancy, who i have in that bear+eklund range. agree with dropping mcqueen out of top 12 discussion as well
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