Prospect Info: 2024 25 Devils DRAFT Thread

[Brodeur]

I keep wanting to describe Brady Martin as a pre-concussion Todd Harvey. It must have been early in my hockey fandom but I remember watching an ESPN game and Harvey obliterated some defenseman with a clean hit that forever left an impression.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Pronman and Wheeler predicted all 64 picks of the first two rounds. The Devils' picks were:

#50 Alexander Zharovsky, RW

Commentary
The Devils add Zharovsky, a highly skilled winger who was one of the top young forwards in the MHL this season. With the right patience, his talent could deliver value in the late second. — Wheeler

#64 Theo Stockselius, C

Commentary
The Devils add Stockselius, a good-sized forward who was very productive on a talented J20 team playing with good players, and also showed he could play with good players in more of a support role with the Swedish national team this year. — Wheeler

Does someone have any information about these players?

NHL Mock Draft 2025: Predicting all 64 picks of the first two rounds with Pronman and Wheeler

How will the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft shake out? Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler alternate picks in this mock.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Brodeur]

#64 Theo Stockselius, C

Commentary
The Devils add Stockselius, a good-sized forward who was very productive on a talented J20 team playing with good players, and also showed he could play with good players in more of a support role with the Swedish national team this year. — Wheeler

Does someone have any information about these players?

Stödet - efter cancern: "Alltid vetat vad han kan göra"

2022 drabbades Theo Stockselius av cancer. Nu spelar 17-åringen U18-VM med Småkronorna, intill vännerna från Täby-tiden.

hockeysverige.se

I didn't know that Stockselius had a cancer scare a few years back on top of some other notable injuries. He didn't stand out against USA in the U18 semis that I attended, but Stockselius got pushed down the lineup after Anton Frondell joined the team.

 

[evnted]

Pronman and Wheeler predicted all 64 picks of the first two rounds. The Devils' picks were:

#50 Alexander Zharovsky, RW

Commentary
The Devils add Zharovsky, a highly skilled winger who was one of the top young forwards in the MHL this season. With the right patience, his talent could deliver value in the late second. — Wheeler

#64 Theo Stockselius, C

Commentary
The Devils add Stockselius, a good-sized forward who was very productive on a talented J20 team playing with good players, and also showed he could play with good players in more of a support role with the Swedish national team this year. — Wheeler

Does someone have any information about these players?

NHL Mock Draft 2025: Predicting all 64 picks of the first two rounds with Pronman and Wheeler

How will the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft shake out? Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler alternate picks in this mock.

www.nytimes.com

still hammering out my own rankings so i dont quite have the ability to compare placements yet but at first glance these picks seem ok. not really tom picks but lol

so with zharovsky, if we're talking just raw skill and talent level, thats pretty tremendous value to land at pick 50. if you start digging into the full picture, though, then it does feel a bit more fair for him to go in that range. elite, elite handling ability. very evasive. deceptive. slick. hes a pretty imaginative player on the puck. now he can be reckless with it, too, but some of that is just experimentation because he flashes some pretty impressive vision and playmaking ideas at times. where we run into issue is...well, theres really no actual foundation here, just talent right now. the pace isnt particularly great, his skating in general has warts, the decision making is all over the place, the defensive contributions fringe on nonexistent, hes an opportunistic forechecker at best, i mean theres a tremendous amount of work that needs to be put into this player. ultimate talent project

some reason for optimisim would be that he still kinda torched the MHL in spite of all this, and it was his first year in the league as well (graduating from RUS U17) so he might just be very far back on the development curve at this point. to me, i wouldnt complain about this big of a talent swing on a stash and forget prospect (even if he isnt a center lol) because ive been begging for tom to make that type of pick. and, lets be real, our russian prospect trajectories consistently smash what we pull out of NA, so thats another positive. in this particular mock,, i wouldve been disappointed to see some of my favorites like nestrasil and lee go right before, and while i think some of the defenders who went after (amico, limatov, rombach) might be better overall prospects, if the goal was to land top forward talent, its fine

flipping over to stockselius, pretty different prospect. in his case, we're talking more of a play facilitator. he has some tremendous positional sense and anticipation. this is a player who is always where he needs to be to make a play, be it offensively or defensively. he sees lanes develop quite well and can make quick decisions with the puck. contrary to zharovksy, there really isnt anything remarkable about his playmaking per se, but its super efficient and hes good with getting pucks through triangles. his timing and defensive stick both stand out as well. he can be very disruptive off the puck and hes great at turning pokes/strips into opportunities for his linemates

on the more problematic side, well, its hard to say what you're betting on with the player. hes not particularly skilled, a lot of his play with the puck is just quick connections (as opposed to longer carries) so its not like a lot of his points are off beating defenders or finding high danger chances, its opportunistic positioning and jump starting sequences for his linemates to do most of the work. for a player like him, i like to say his size is cosmetic in a way. outside of using his reach to keep position, there really is next to no benefit to him being 6'3" right now. his skating/pace isnt too great, his intensity/compete isnt too great. not problematic, just not a strength. so youre betting on basically just reads and instincts and quick decisions with the hope that the rest of the toolkit will fill out (which, hey, we did that before on a pretty solid prospect playing in the worlds right now). fortunately, stockselius is fairly lanky and young for the class, so youd expect some growth potential down the road

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

still hammering out my own rankings so i dont quite have the ability to compare placements yet but at first glance these picks seem ok. not really tom picks but lol

so with zharovsky, if we're talking just raw skill and talent level, thats pretty tremendous value to land at pick 50. if you start digging into the full picture, though, then it does feel a bit more fair for him to go in that range. elite, elite handling ability. very evasive. deceptive. slick. hes a pretty imaginative player on the puck. now he can be reckless with it, too, but some of that is just experimentation because he flashes some pretty impressive vision and playmaking ideas at times. where we run into issue is...well, theres really no actual foundation here, just talent right now. the pace isnt particularly great, his skating in general has warts, the decision making is all over the place, the defensive contributions fringe on nonexistent, hes an opportunistic forechecker at best, i mean theres a tremendous amount of work that needs to be put into this player. ultimate talent project

some reason for optimisim would be that he still kinda torched the MHL in spite of all this, and it was his first year in the league as well (graduating from RUS U17) so he might just be very far back on the development curve at this point. to me, i wouldnt complain about this big of a talent swing on a stash and forget prospect (even if he isnt a center lol) because ive been begging for tom to make that type of pick. and, lets be real, our russian prospect trajectories consistently smash what we pull out of NA, so thats another positive. in this particular mock,, i wouldve been disappointed to see some of my favorites like nestrasil and lee go right before, and while i think some of the defenders who went after (amico, limatov, rombach) might be better overall prospects, if the goal was to land top forward talent, its fine

flipping over to stockselius, pretty different prospect. in his case, we're talking more of a play facilitator. he has some tremendous positional sense and anticipation. this is a player who is always where he needs to be to make a play, be it offensively or defensively. he sees lanes develop quite well and can make quick decisions with the puck. contrary to zharovksy, there really isnt anything remarkable about his playmaking per se, but its super efficient and hes good with getting pucks through triangles. his timing and defensive stick both stand out as well. he can be very disruptive off the puck and hes great at turning pokes/strips into opportunities for his linemates

on the more problematic side, well, its hard to say what you're betting on with the player. hes not particularly skilled, a lot of his play with the puck is just quick connections (as opposed to longer carries) so its not like a lot of his points are off beating defenders or finding high danger chances, its opportunistic positioning and jump starting sequences for his linemates to do most of the work. for a player like him, i like to say his size is cosmetic in a way. outside of using his reach to keep position, there really is next to no benefit to him being 6'3" right now. his skating/pace isnt too great, his intensity/compete isnt too great. not problematic, just not a strength. so youre betting on basically just reads and instincts and quick decisions with the hope that the rest of the toolkit will fill out (which, hey, we did that before on a pretty solid prospect playing in the worlds right now). fortunately, stockselius is fairly lanky and young for the class, so youd expect some growth potential down the road

Thanks for the answer. I look forward to your final rankings and who the Devils' potential 2nd round picks are.

 

[My3Sons]

still hammering out my own rankings so i dont quite have the ability to compare placements yet but at first glance these picks seem ok. not really tom picks but lol

so with zharovsky, if we're talking just raw skill and talent level, thats pretty tremendous value to land at pick 50. if you start digging into the full picture, though, then it does feel a bit more fair for him to go in that range. elite, elite handling ability. very evasive. deceptive. slick. hes a pretty imaginative player on the puck. now he can be reckless with it, too, but some of that is just experimentation because he flashes some pretty impressive vision and playmaking ideas at times. where we run into issue is...well, theres really no actual foundation here, just talent right now. the pace isnt particularly great, his skating in general has warts, the decision making is all over the place, the defensive contributions fringe on nonexistent, hes an opportunistic forechecker at best, i mean theres a tremendous amount of work that needs to be put into this player. ultimate talent project

some reason for optimisim would be that he still kinda torched the MHL in spite of all this, and it was his first year in the league as well (graduating from RUS U17) so he might just be very far back on the development curve at this point. to me, i wouldnt complain about this big of a talent swing on a stash and forget prospect (even if he isnt a center lol) because ive been begging for tom to make that type of pick. and, lets be real, our russian prospect trajectories consistently smash what we pull out of NA, so thats another positive. in this particular mock,, i wouldve been disappointed to see some of my favorites like nestrasil and lee go right before, and while i think some of the defenders who went after (amico, limatov, rombach) might be better overall prospects, if the goal was to land top forward talent, its fine

flipping over to stockselius, pretty different prospect. in his case, we're talking more of a play facilitator. he has some tremendous positional sense and anticipation. this is a player who is always where he needs to be to make a play, be it offensively or defensively. he sees lanes develop quite well and can make quick decisions with the puck. contrary to zharovksy, there really isnt anything remarkable about his playmaking per se, but its super efficient and hes good with getting pucks through triangles. his timing and defensive stick both stand out as well. he can be very disruptive off the puck and hes great at turning pokes/strips into opportunities for his linemates

on the more problematic side, well, its hard to say what you're betting on with the player. hes not particularly skilled, a lot of his play with the puck is just quick connections (as opposed to longer carries) so its not like a lot of his points are off beating defenders or finding high danger chances, its opportunistic positioning and jump starting sequences for his linemates to do most of the work. for a player like him, i like to say his size is cosmetic in a way. outside of using his reach to keep position, there really is next to no benefit to him being 6'3" right now. his skating/pace isnt too great, his intensity/compete isnt too great. not problematic, just not a strength. so youre betting on basically just reads and instincts and quick decisions with the hope that the rest of the toolkit will fill out (which, hey, we did that before on a pretty solid prospect playing in the worlds right now). fortunately, stockselius is fairly lanky and young for the class, so youd expect some growth potential down the road

I hope whoever they pick can skate well. The league is getting faster every year. I’m not sure Fitz realizes that’s an issue since he seems focused too much on size/strength

 

[Guadana]

I hope whoever they pick can skate well. The league is getting faster every year. I’m not sure Fitz realizes that’s an issue since he seems focused too much on size/strength

still hammering out my own rankings so i dont quite have the ability to compare placements yet but at first glance these picks seem ok. not really tom picks but lol

so with zharovsky, if we're talking just raw skill and talent level, thats pretty tremendous value to land at pick 50. if you start digging into the full picture, though, then it does feel a bit more fair for him to go in that range. elite, elite handling ability. very evasive. deceptive. slick. hes a pretty imaginative player on the puck. now he can be reckless with it, too, but some of that is just experimentation because he flashes some pretty impressive vision and playmaking ideas at times. where we run into issue is...well, theres really no actual foundation here, just talent right now. the pace isnt particularly great, his skating in general has warts, the decision making is all over the place, the defensive contributions fringe on nonexistent, hes an opportunistic forechecker at best, i mean theres a tremendous amount of work that needs to be put into this player. ultimate talent project

some reason for optimisim would be that he still kinda torched the MHL in spite of all this, and it was his first year in the league as well (graduating from RUS U17) so he might just be very far back on the development curve at this point. to me, i wouldnt complain about this big of a talent swing on a stash and forget prospect (even if he isnt a center lol) because ive been begging for tom to make that type of pick. and, lets be real, our russian prospect trajectories consistently smash what we pull out of NA, so thats another positive. in this particular mock,, i wouldve been disappointed to see some of my favorites like nestrasil and lee go right before, and while i think some of the defenders who went after (amico, limatov, rombach) might be better overall prospects, if the goal was to land top forward talent, its fine

flipping over to stockselius, pretty different prospect. in his case, we're talking more of a play facilitator. he has some tremendous positional sense and anticipation. this is a player who is always where he needs to be to make a play, be it offensively or defensively. he sees lanes develop quite well and can make quick decisions with the puck. contrary to zharovksy, there really isnt anything remarkable about his playmaking per se, but its super efficient and hes good with getting pucks through triangles. his timing and defensive stick both stand out as well. he can be very disruptive off the puck and hes great at turning pokes/strips into opportunities for his linemates

on the more problematic side, well, its hard to say what you're betting on with the player. hes not particularly skilled, a lot of his play with the puck is just quick connections (as opposed to longer carries) so its not like a lot of his points are off beating defenders or finding high danger chances, its opportunistic positioning and jump starting sequences for his linemates to do most of the work. for a player like him, i like to say his size is cosmetic in a way. outside of using his reach to keep position, there really is next to no benefit to him being 6'3" right now. his skating/pace isnt too great, his intensity/compete isnt too great. not problematic, just not a strength. so youre betting on basically just reads and instincts and quick decisions with the hope that the rest of the toolkit will fill out (which, hey, we did that before on a pretty solid prospect playing in the worlds right now). fortunately, stockselius is fairly lanky and young for the class, so youd expect some growth potential down the road

Pronman and Wheeler predicted all 64 picks of the first two rounds. The Devils' picks were:

#50 Alexander Zharovsky, RW

Commentary
The Devils add Zharovsky, a highly skilled winger who was one of the top young forwards in the MHL this season. With the right patience, his talent could deliver value in the late second. — Wheeler

#64 Theo Stockselius, C

Commentary
The Devils add Stockselius, a good-sized forward who was very productive on a talented J20 team playing with good players, and also showed he could play with good players in more of a support role with the Swedish national team this year. — Wheeler

Does someone have any information about these players?

NHL Mock Draft 2025: Predicting all 64 picks of the first two rounds with Pronman and Wheeler

How will the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft shake out? Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler alternate picks in this mock.

www.nytimes.com

Zharovsky is an interesting case. Is Hameenaho worth to be drafted in second round?

Zharovsky is thinking the offensive game pretty well. Making fast decisions on the ice with the puck, find open space, he can create space for himself and for partners, his stickhandling is really good.He has starting speed btw, quite good. He is left handed winger, playing on the both sides of the ice and create opportunities around the O zone. He isnt north south player.

The problem is his skating, especially with the puck. Its below average. He isnt slow but his skating isnt looking good. He is smart, protect the puck well and pass well, so in the tranches in O zone he is doing right things and skating doesnt hurt him. His iq helping him to make a right pass to escape the zone. The problem is driving - he could be quite good driver but with his skating with the puck he may not be on NHL level. Anyway he is creating dangerous chances.

It is effecting his 200 foot game. He is skating around often, finding opportunities in d zone or to take away the puck, he is quite good positionally but he cant really make a pressure because with his skating he can be outplayed. I think he is making right decisions more often, doesnt create some bad things on the ice, but because of his some kind of mobile limitation he isnt helping in some situations.

So for now he is very intriguing offensive player, creative, smart and skilled, he has nice starting speed that help him to compensate some mobility issues, he is working with the puck on boards quite well. But he isnt defensive forward, or two way forward or active forechecker. I think he will be more usefull in forecheck with the time, because many of his tools will help. And I dont think he will be zone driver in NHL, at least he needs to develop skating with the puck and different aspects of this skill.

IQ/decision making with the puck with the puck - very good or even better.
Passing - very good.
Escaping from the d zone with the puck - through pass - quite good
Puck protection - good to very good for his age.
Starting Speed - good. Above average
Skating with the puck - below average. On the level with Hameenaho or may be little worser
Finding open space - very good
Defensive game - passive
Forechecking game - he is 4th-5th forechecker on the ice. He is good on boards, will take the puck away from the traffic, but he will not be the player who will make a pressure.

Late second round worthy? Yes. He could be the best forward prospect after Gritsyuk and Hameenaho right after the draft. Of course we should know who will be and who will not be available in the moment.

 

[devilsblood]

Pronman and Wheeler predicted all 64 picks of the first two rounds. The Devils' picks were:

#50 Alexander Zharovsky, RW

Commentary
The Devils add Zharovsky, a highly skilled winger who was one of the top young forwards in the MHL this season. With the right patience, his talent could deliver value in the late second. — Wheeler

#64 Theo Stockselius, C

Commentary
The Devils add Stockselius, a good-sized forward who was very productive on a talented J20 team playing with good players, and also showed he could play with good players in more of a support role with the Swedish national team this year. — Wheeler

Does someone have any information about these players?

NHL Mock Draft 2025: Predicting all 64 picks of the first two rounds with Pronman and Wheeler

How will the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft shake out? Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler alternate picks in this mock.

www.nytimes.com

I see Zharovsky has a team mate that is listed at 116 lb's on Hockey DB.

That's probably not what you were looking for, but it's still interesting.

Edit: After playing all regular season in the MHL, it looks like Zharovsky did play playoff games in the KHL. That's something.

Edit #2. Stockselius played with a 16 year old, Viggo Bjorck who put up some impressive numbers. Probably a guy on next years draft radar. Although again, not what you were looking for.

 

[longislanddevil]

I want a center(s) drafted in Round 2. It will be continued gross negligence if Fitzgerald and company don’t start to stock the cupboard to adddess our biggest organizational weakness.

 

[Guadana]

I want a center(s) drafted in Round 2. It will be continued gross negligence if Fitzgerald and company don’t start to stock the cupboard to adddess our biggest organizational weakness.

You still should try to target talent in the second round. This is how Devils drafted Casey and Hameenaho. Between similar talent Devils should draft center of course, but if they see something better available - they should draft more talented player in their view.

I believe every Devils fan will prefer center. But more often its harder to find better center in the late second round.

 

[Brodeur]

I want a center(s) drafted in Round 2. It will be continued gross negligence if Fitzgerald and company don’t start to stock the cupboard to adddess our biggest organizational weakness.

I understand the mentality but with our first pick being at #50, teams ought to toss organizational need out the window and take the best asset. When we took Lenni Hameenaho at #58 a couple years back, the team had him in our top 30 so it made more sense to take him than to deviate from the list for a position of need.

One cautionary tale I point to is LA in 2006. They had just hired Dean Lombardi who inherited a team with a bunch of young forwards but not much on the blue line. Lombardi let the scouts take Jonathan Bernier and Trevor Lewis in the first round, but apparently he stepped in when the scouts wanted to take Milan Lucic at #48. He wanted them to take a defenseman to address the organizational need and they took a D named Joe Ryan who didn't pan out.

The amusing thing is that Lombardi was later laser focused on a Lucic-esque prospect Kyle Clifford in 2009 which allegedly cost them a chance at trading up for Ryan O'Reilly. Then in 2015 Lombardi traded for Lucic which cost them a 1st that they would have used on Matt Barzal.