Prospect Info: 2024 25 Devils DRAFT Thread

[Guadana]

Sounds more to me like a 5 or 6 round pick.

Why gamble with a 2 round pick?

Thats how we are drafting low ceiling guys from 3th to 5th because "sounds more to me like a 5 or 6 round pick". Good luck with drafting him in the third.

 

[BomaLightDevils]

Thats how we are drafting low ceiling guys from 3th to 5th because "sounds more to me like a 5 or 6 round pick". Good luck with drafting him in the third.

Can you give me a couple of examples if you can where this type of player was drafted let’s say between 1 and 2 round who ended up being a good player?

I am really curious because my knowledge of this is limited.

 

[Guadana]

Can you give me a couple of examples if you can where this type of player was drafted let’s say between 1 and 2 round who ended up being a good player?

I am really curious because my knowledge of this is limited.

You mean productive physical center with top-tier playmaking vision(on the draft), slick hands and good skating? Hm...
I didnt watch for every player on the draft who needs more cardio but I guess thats something he will disciplin himself with the time or with new coaches.


He is top-10 level talent who has passion for the game and character that didnt help him to make good relationships with Dynamo. But he is always trying to play with partners, protect them and not focusing on his own stats. He will become NHL player because everything he needs to working with is his personal immaturity. How is it fixed? With experience. He will be better than several players who will be selected in the top 20. Maybe even the top 10. Thats how Chernyshov was available in the second round year ago. Even if I like Chernyshov much more, Ryabkin is absolutely the pick in the second round if he will become available. I dont care that he is Russian or not. He wasnt bully in the locker room against his teammates, he is a bully against opponents. If some American hockey player has his combo of skills and has lower stocks because of his previous relationships with ex-team and problems with being overweight and losing the energy, give me the player in the second round.

 

[BomaLightDevils]

You mean productive physical center with top-tier playmaking vision(on the draft), slick hands and good skating? Hm...
I didnt watch for every player on the draft who needs more cardio but I guess thats something he will disciplin himself with the time or with new coaches.

Sorry I didn’t wrote it differently, I mean examples of a player with high sealing but a shitty attitude/ questionable character who’s draft stock plummeted but became a good player afterwards

 

[Guadana]

Sorry I didn’t wrote it differently, I mean examples of a player with high sealing but a shitty attitude/ questionable character who’s draft stock plummeted but became a good player afterwards

Knies. He was drafted waaaay lower because he was sh1tty teammate - character issues. Ryabkin wasnt sh1tty teammate, he had problems with management/he was sh1tty subordinate.

 

[My3Sons]

Knies. He was drafted waaaay lower because he was sh1tty teammate - character issues. Ryabkin wasnt sh1tty teammate, he had problems with management/he was sh1tty subordinate.

How about Alexei Protas? He fell all the way to 91. Was he a bad player who developed well beyond expectations or was he not scouted or did he have personal issues?

 

[Guadana]

How about Alexei Protas? He fell all the way to 91. Was he a bad player who developed well beyond expectations or was he not scouted or did he have personal issues?

He is Belarus player with weak skating. Underscouted, undervalued. His production is great and he is over his expectations but his performance isn't going from nowhere. Never heard something about his attitude.

But I heard something about Connely and Mailloux. Both were bad persons as teammates, its not just immaturity as it is in Ryabkin case where player is thinking a lot about himself. Both were drafted in the first round.

 

[StevenToddIves]

He is Belarus player with weak skating. Underscouted, undervalued. His production is great and he is over his expectations but his performance isn't going from nowhere. Never heard something about his attitude.

But I heard something about Connely and Mailloux. Both were bad persons as teammates, its not just immaturity as it is in Ryabkin case where player is thinking a lot about himself. Both were drafted in the first round.

Mailloux wasn't consistently disliked by his teammates, but there were whispers he wasn't a very bright kid and then he went out and made a huuuuuge mistake which seemed to prove a lack of general intelligence. To his credit, he was vocally remorseful of his own actions and has not repeated the mistakes of his earlier youth.

Connelly I'm more skeptical of because his almost disturbing entitlement -- both on and off the ice -- have been a recurring theme throughout his entire adolescence. He's a lot more talented than Mailloux, however, and this is going to give him a lot of slack with NHL teams. I mean, we're not that far away from the Bruins signing Mitchell Miller -- one of the worst human beings ever to don a hockey jersey in any league, anywhere.

Ryabkin doesn't really compare with any of these kids. He did not make the "one big moral mistake" like Mailloux, he has not been accused of racism or systematic toxicity like Connelly, and he is certainly not an evil person who you would not allow in a room with your child like Miller. If anything, Ryabkin is just subjectively immature and needs to really, really grow up.

It's also important to mention that Ryabkin's talent level is far ahead of Mailloux and Miller, and probably on about an even plane with Connolly, with the potential to be a bit better. So, if the Devils are drafting at #50 overall and Ryabkin is on the board -- a very, very possible scenario -- well, let's just say it's important that the New Jersey front office does their due diligence on this kid, because he has the potential to be a franchise-altering pick at that spot.

 

[Forge]

Sorry I didn’t wrote it differently, I mean examples of a player with high sealing but a shitty attitude/ questionable character who’s draft stock plummeted but became a good player afterwards

I think you have to be careful there because this is (right now) its a one time thing between him and Dynamo, right?

I think a lot will depend on what comes out of interviews with staff / teammates in the USHL. You have to leave open the possibility that he and management (in Russia) didn't get along and not necessarily an indication of a recurring problem for him everywhere.

 

[StevenToddIves]

2025 Draft Profile:

RW/LW Victor Eklund, Djurgardens SHL
Here we have the perfect example of my "one inch" theory (no jokes please @My3Sons) simply because, at 5'11-170, Eklund's major criticism is that he's a "small forward". This is not an argument you would hear if Eklund were, say, 6'0-180 and, to be frank, if this were the case the consensus would probably have him ranked over Porter Martone as the top winger available in the 2025 draft.

Eklund is not a franchise talent per se, but he is what I would call a "perfect player" in the sense that he has no weakness whatsoever, mental or physical. Though he lacks a singular elite physical talent, every aspect of his skill set is absolutely high end -- skating, puck handling, shooting, passing vision, two-way play, transition, forechecking. You name it, Victor Eklund excels at it. His head is always up and, though he does not have the best hands in the draft, he's as good at anyone at a rare ability to make slick puck-handling dekes while keeping his head up to constantly spy for openings and passing lanes. He is also top notch at combining quick mitts with quick feet, using myriad jukes and pivots to retain puck control and find the perfect play. In this way, the NHLer he reminds of most is probably Jesper Bratt, and I strongly feel this is the type of player Eklund is likely to one day achieve the heights of.

With all his physical tools, Eklund's greatest attributes are his intangibles. As I have repeated at length for many years, hockey IQ and compete level need to be scrutinized more heavily with draft-eligible hockey prospects because, quite plainly, they play up the level of every single physical tool. As for Eklund, his compete level is as good as any player in a draft which, though lacking in pure physical talent, features several players with the highest imaginable levels of compete level (Bear, Miller, Reschny, Desnoyers, Cootes, Zonnon, etc.). To me, Eklund is absolutely can't miss as an NHL top 6 stud because all of his tools are excellent across the board and then play up even higher because he's a player of almost preternatural desire and understanding of the game.

Eklund simply has it all. Deception, misdirection, anticipation -- combined with hustle hustle hustle and a fearlessness which is almost mesmerizing to watch. Every shift is life or death to this kid, but despite his ferocity he's a brilliant hockey player and you'd have to watch several games of film to find him making a mental mistake. There's nothing he really needs to work on and no criticism -- he just needs to get a bit stronger and work on his core strength, which will happen naturally with time and professional physical training. I don't think there is a spot "too early" to draft Victor Eklund once Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa are off the board, because this kid is just one hell of a hockey player.

 

[My3Sons]

2025 Draft Profile:

RW/LW Victor Eklund, Djurgardens SHL
Here we have the perfect example of my "one inch" theory (no jokes please @My3Sons) simply because, at 5'11-170, Eklund's major criticism is that he's a "small forward". This is not an argument you would hear if Eklund were, say, 6'0-180 and, to be frank, if this were the case the consensus would probably have him ranked over Porter Martone as the top winger available in the 2025 draft.

Eklund is not a franchise talent per se, but he is what I would call a "perfect player" in the sense that he has no weakness whatsoever, mental or physical. Though he lacks an elite physical talent, every aspect of his skill set is absolutely high end -- skating, puck handling, shooting, passing vision, two-way play, transition, forechecking. You name it, Victor Eklund excels at it. His head is always up and, though he does not have the best hands in the draft, he's as good at anyone at a rare ability to make slick puck-handling dekes while keeping his head up to constantly spy for openings and passing lanes. He is also top notch at combining quick mitts with quick feet, using myriad jukes and pivots to retain puck control and find the perfect play. In this way, the NHLer he reminds of most is probably Jesper Bratt, and I strongly feel this is the type of player Eklund is likely to one day achieve the heights of.

With all his physical tools, Eklund's greatest attributes are his intangibles. As I have repeated at length for many years, hockey IQ and compete level need to be scrutinized more heavily with draft-eligible hockey prospects because, quite plainly, they play up the level of every single physical tool. As for Eklund, his compete level is as good as any player in a draft which, though lacking in pure physical talent, features several players with the highest imaginable levels of compete level (Bear, Miller, Reschny, Desnoyers, Cootes, Zonnon, etc.). To me, Eklund is absolutely can't miss as an NHL top 6 stud because all of his tools are excellent across the board and then play up even higher because he's a player of almost preternatural desire and understanding of the game.

Eklund simply has it all. Deception, misdirection, anticipation -- combined with hustle hustle hustle and a fearlessness which is almost mesmerizing to watch. Every shift is life or death to this kid, but despite his ferocity he's a brilliant hockey player and you'd have to watch several games of film to find him making a mental mistake. There's nothing he really needs to work on and no criticism -- he just needs to get a bit stronger and work on his core strength, which will happen naturally with time and professional physical training. I don't think there is a spot "too early" to draft Victor Eklund once Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa are off the board, because this kid is just one hell of a hockey player.

Hey, your poor choice of words is your own fault Mr. published author. Nobody held a gun to your head and told you to drop those comments in front of me. You know I post here and also that I'm dangerous with diction and have a painfully bad sense of humor. If you put a steak on the ground in front of my golden retrievers are you going to act surprised when they eat it?

 

[StevenToddIves]

Hey, your poor choice of words is your own fault Mr. published author. Nobody held a gun to your head and told you to drop those comments in front of me. You know I post here and also that I'm dangerous with diction and have a painfully bad sense of humor. If you put a steak on the ground in front of my golden retrievers are you going to act surprised when they eat it?

"My3Sons, dangerous with dic...tion"

 

[evnted]

I think you have to be careful there because this is (right now) its a one time thing between him and Dynamo, right?

I think a lot will depend on what comes out of interviews with staff / teammates in the USHL. You have to leave open the possibility that he and management (in Russia) didn't get along and not necessarily an indication of a recurring problem for him everywhere.

well...maybe not at an organizational level, but this is a player who definitely had some concerns heading into the season. poor body language, rumors of being difficult to play with, and i mean, you can go load up d-1 tape right now and see him celebrating goals/assists off by himself. funny enough, in later season tape this year, you could actually see him trying to catch himself with this and scooting back to his linemates after goals lol

the word on the street is he straight up bombed combine interviews

 

[My3Sons]

"My3Sons, dangerous with dic...tion"

I have to write the most boring tedious briefs arguing about dry topics like jurisdiction and getting a chance to do something fun with words is too tempting to ignore. Heh heh he said juris...dic...tion.

 

[Forge]

well...maybe not at an organizational level, but this is a player who definitely had some concerns heading into the season. poor body language, rumors of being difficult to play with, and i mean, you can go load up d-1 tape right now and see him celebrating goals/assists off by himself. funny enough, in later season tape this year, you could actually see him trying to catch himself with this and scooting back to his linemates after goals lol

the word on the street is he straight up bombed combine interviews

Ahh, okay....thats not ideal lol