Prospect Info: 2024 25 Devils DRAFT Thread

[StevenToddIves]

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

Martin was my 13. I might take another deep dive, I liked what I've seen from him.

I'd say the biggest "shocks" on my list are Bear at 6 and Martone at 10, the rest is pretty par for the course. But Bear has the #1 compete level in the entire 2025 class, and you know how I feel about that. The kid is ferocious. What is really undersold with him is his scoring talent, however. I think we're talking about a kid whose downside is one of the best middle-6 Fs in the NHL, and I think he has first line scoring upside. He's just can't-miss to me, through and through.

As for Martone, I think I've said my piece. Upside is huge, no doubt, but the risk is higher than most people are stating. A lot has to change/improve for him to even crack the NHL, and that's not what I'm looking for in a top 10 pick. He's really the player who I believe has spurred the most delusion on draft day in years. He has slightly less in common with Matt Tkachuk than Jesper Bratt.

 

[forceten]

Do we have any ideas on NJDHFB Scout recommended swings for our 2nd round selections?

 

[longislanddevil]

If all things are considered relatively equal and we don’t draft a center with one of our two 2nd round picks, Fitzgerald needs to go.

@StevenToddIves What players would you like to see us target with those selections?

 

[StevenToddIves]

If all things are considered relatively equal and we don’t draft a center with one of our two 2nd round picks, Fitzgerald needs to go.

@StevenToddIves What players would you like to see us target with those selections?

I'm going to do a deeper dive on this later, but I'm short on time today because I'm doing an author event in Asbury Park and am heading down there in a few minutes.

I can say now I really like a couple US Development kids in Jack Murtagh and Cole McKinney. Both are under the radar and lack high end upside, but both have strong bottom 6 upside and the Devils need some center depth. They both are smart and competitive with strong skating, which to me are the three most vital tools I look for in draft prospects.

 

[My3Sons]

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

How likely is it Frondell makes it to the second half of the second round? Asking for Fitz.

 

[evnted]

Do we have any ideas on NJDHFB Scout recommended swings for our 2nd round selections?

harder than normal draft to gauge player ranges so some of these might go round 1, some might go late round, but in terms of a couple realistic-ish targets id like...

Eriksen, Hillstrom, Lewandowski, McKinney, Nilson, Paupanekis, Ryabkin (if we get really lucky with him falling)

those are all centers or center potential players. tom needs to draft centers. if for whatever reason he refuses to again, the likes of Cihar, Lee, Nestrasil, etc. would all be interesting skill bets down the wing

when i do a bigger list of targets ill include some bigger discussions on style/fit/timeline/etc.

 

[longislanddevil]

harder than normal draft to gauge player ranges so some of these might go round 1, some might go late round, but in terms of a couple realistic-ish targets id like...

Eriksen, Hillstrom, Lewandowski, McKinney, Nilson, Paupanekis, Ryabkin (if we get really lucky with him falling)

those are all centers or center potential players. tom needs to draft centers. if for whatever reason he refuses to again, the likes of Cihar, Lee, Nestrasil, etc. would all be interesting skill bets down the wing

when i do a bigger list of targets ill include some bigger discussions on style/fit/timeline/etc.

Big fan of your work in our little Devils community. I always look forward to your posts. Thank you, good sir!!

Wheeler says Ryabkin has attitude problems on and off the ice. Seems like the kid has some talent though as a playmaker that has good physicality. With the “Russian factor” included, maybe this kid could fall. Would this be a swing for the fences type pick worth taking? I’m not opposed to it but would prefer to do so in later rounds. It would be a shame to come out of this with yet another total bust pick (Holtz, Stillman, etc).

 

[Oneiro]

I'm hoping for a course correction here.

Watching guys like Luostorainen / Lundell, Jarvis / Stankoven, Knies, Johnston, Perfetti, etc. contribute in major ways while he tapped out on Holtz and Stillman...Hope Fitz got the message.

 

[longislanddevil]

I'm going to do a deeper dive on this later, but I'm short on time today because I'm doing an author event in Asbury Park and am heading down there in a few minutes.

I can say now I really like a couple US Development kids in Jack Murtagh and Cole McKinney. Both are under the radar and lack high end upside, but both have strong bottom 6 upside and the Devils need some center depth. They both are smart and competitive with strong skating, which to me are the three most vital tools I look for in draft prospects.

I really like what I’m reading about Murtagh and see mocks that have him as a late first round selection. Love me some high motor players. Sounds like he could profile as a 3C at the next level. I’m not opposed at all to trading our 2nd second round pick (that felt weird to type) to move up if we have targeted a player. Granted, this doesn’t seem like the draft to do it and Fitzgerald has shown a propensity to be extremely passive at the table. I don’t think he has traded up once and he’s actually over drafted players rather than moving down to accrue more assets. I have little faith in him or our scouts as this point.

 

[evnted]

Big fan of your work in our little Devils community. I always look forward to your posts. Thank you, good sir!!

Wheeler says Ryabkin has attitude problems on and off the ice. Seems like the kid is flush with talent though. With the “Russian factor” included, maybe this kid could fall. Would this be a swing for the fences type pick worth taking? I’m not opposed to it but would prefer to do so in later rounds.

just calling it attitude problems is probably generous lol we're talking poor attitude, poor discipline, poor body language, poor mhl performance, engagement issues, conditioning issues, entitlement issues, just a mess of problems. i dont fault anyone for not wanting to touch him with a 10ft pole because theyre probably right, hes a walking red flag

but

the depth of this class doesnt have a ton of talent and we're unlikely to find anything even close to the potential he can offer at pick 50 (especially not with a tom led draft lol). on top of that, the forward side of our farm is about to vaporize with gritsyuk hitting the nhl and lenni now moving to the ahl. we need talent, we need centers, and we need players who can slot in behind jack/nico and play up if needed. this is the type of pick a team in our position should make. top of the class playmaking/vision, sublime handling ability, a smooth albeit not high paced skater, and a surprisingly good forechecking game (when he wants to play it lol). hes also got a bit of psycho in him, he can be outright dirty

obviously huge blowup potential with picking him, its not that i dont get it, i just still think we should take the risk. i would hope sarge could be a sort of safety net that other teams might not be able to offer him, i would hope having played with silayev before could be a positive influence as well. and i mean, for all the concerns about him, he still produced at a high rate in the ushl this year and hes been a force on muskegons playoff run. something is very much there, its just hidden behind a LOT of bs

 

[longislanddevil]

just calling it attitude problems is probably generous lol we're talking poor attitude, poor discipline, poor body language, poor mhl performance, engagement issues, conditioning issues, entitlement issues, just a mess of problems. i dont fault anyone for not wanting to touch him with a 10ft pole because theyre probably right, hes a walking red flag

but

the depth of this class doesnt have a ton of talent and we're unlikely to find anything even close to the potential he can offer at pick 50 (especially not with a tom led draft lol). on top of that, the forward side of our farm is about to vaporize with gritsyuk hitting the nhl and lenni now moving to the ahl. we need talent, we need centers, and we need players who can slot in behind jack/nico and play up if needed. this is the type of pick a team in our position should make. top of the class playmaking/vision, sublime handling ability, a smooth albeit not high paced skater, and a surprisingly good forechecking game (when he wants to play it lol). hes also got a bit of psycho in him, he can be outright dirty

obviously huge blowup potential with picking him, its not that i dont get it, i just still think we should take the risk. i would hope sarge could be a sort of safety net that other teams might not be able to offer him, i would hope having played with silayev before could be a positive influence as well. and i mean, for all the concerns about him, he still produced at a high rate in the ushl this year and hes been a force on muskegons playoff run. something is very much there, its just hidden behind a LOT of bs

Great insights as always. I actually wonder if having Silayev in our pipeline negatively affects the chances we draft Ryabkin. I can see Fitzgerald not wanting this kid around Silayev, Grits and eventually Yegorov. Would he want to risk causing toxicity amongst the Russian contingent? Food for thought.

 

[devilsblood]

just calling it attitude problems is probably generous lol we're talking poor attitude, poor discipline, poor body language, poor mhl performance, engagement issues, conditioning issues, entitlement issues, just a mess of problems. i dont fault anyone for not wanting to touch him with a 10ft pole because theyre probably right, hes a walking red flag

but

the depth of this class doesnt have a ton of talent and we're unlikely to find anything even close to the potential he can offer at pick 50 (especially not with a tom led draft lol). on top of that, the forward side of our farm is about to vaporize with gritsyuk hitting the nhl and lenni now moving to the ahl. we need talent, we need centers, and we need players who can slot in behind jack/nico and play up if needed. this is the type of pick a team in our position should make. top of the class playmaking/vision, sublime handling ability, a smooth albeit not high paced skater, and a surprisingly good forechecking game (when he wants to play it lol). hes also got a bit of psycho in him, he can be outright dirty

obviously huge blowup potential with picking him, its not that i dont get it, i just still think we should take the risk. i would hope sarge could be a sort of safety net that other teams might not be able to offer him, i would hope having played with silayev before could be a positive influence as well. and i mean, for all the concerns about him, he still produced at a high rate in the ushl this year and hes been a force on muskegons playoff run. something is very much there, its just hidden behind a LOT of bs

How much of these negatives have been apparent since he came over to the USHL?

 

[evnted]

Great insights as always. I actually wonder if having Silayev in our pipeline negatively affects the chances we draft Ryabkin. I can see Fitzgerald not wanting this kid around Silayev, Grits and eventually Yegorov. Would he want to risk causing toxicity amongst the Russian contingent? Food for thought.

ya im just spitballing, very much could influence the other way. for what its worth, he did come to NA in an attempt to save his draft stock, so at least in that regard i dont think thered be concern with respect to the russian group specifically. but very much understood not wanting that influence around in any capacity. regardless, we're probably putting more thought into this than tom would anyway lol "out of muskegon? whats he doing there, i thought he was in russia?"

How much of these negatives have been apparent since he came over to the USHL?

i havent heard as much about the off ice side of things since coming over (one way or the other) but he can still switch off, hes still super reckless/prone to bad hits/suspensions, and hes definitely not in shape

 

[StevenToddIves]

Big fan of your work in our little Devils community. I always look forward to your posts. Thank you, good sir!!

Wheeler says Ryabkin has attitude problems on and off the ice. Seems like the kid has some talent though as a playmaker that has good physicality. With the “Russian factor” included, maybe this kid could fall. Would this be a swing for the fences type pick worth taking? I’m not opposed to it but would prefer to do so in later rounds. It would be a shame to come out of this with yet another total bust pick (Holtz, Stillman, etc).

Agreed that @evnted is an absolute gift for the Devils draft threads.

As for the Holtz pick, I'm still sore that we took him over the players I (loudly) preferred (Rossi or Jarvis) with the pick. Really, really sore.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'm hoping for a course correction here.

Watching guys like Luostorainen / Lundell, Jarvis / Stankoven, Knies, Johnston, Perfetti, etc. contribute in major ways while he tapped out on Holtz and Stillman...Hope Fitz got the message.

We don't really draft for upside anymore. Maybe in the first round. But after that it seems like our M.O. is "a goalie, then give every scout a guy".