As far as the Shuravin argument goes, I think it's important to note the last time I made this argument so voluminously it was a very similar situation in 2021.
That year, the Devils made a great pick early with LD Luke Hughes at #4.
This year, the Devils made a great pick early with LD Anton Silayev at #10.
In 2021, the Devils then turned their attention to "big, physical forwards and goalies" and used their next three picks on G Malek, F Stillman and F Salminen.
In 2024, the Devils then turned their attention to "Big physical forwards and goalies" and used their next three picks on G Yegorov, F Pikkarainen and F Traff.
In 2021, the Devils passed on a first-round LD talent in the 3rd round in Stanislav Svozil to take a big, project winger out of Scandinavia in Samu Salminen.
In 2024, the Devils passed on a first-round LD talent in the 3rd round to take two big, project wingers out of Scandinavia in Pikkarainen and Traff.
Right now, Svozil is, at the very least, a surefire NHL talent who should see loads of time with the big club this year. If Columbus challenges for a playoff spot (I don't see it but hypothetically), he'd be big-time trade ammunition at the deadline.
Right now, Salminen is a long shot to play in the NHL, though maybe there's still an outside chance. His most likely trajectory is a couple years in the AHL and then a career in Finnish Liiga.
Now it's important to add that I like Pikkarainen and Traff more than I liked Salminen on the day they were drafted. And although I had Svozil a bit higher than Shuravin on draft day, the gulf is not so wide.
I'm not cursing or disputing Pikkarainen and Traff, both of whom I like. It's just that they are similar players and it would have been better to take one of them and then take the best available player at that time, which was (to me) very clearly Shuravin. But I think management said something to the effect of "we took a LD first, now enough of the LD get me some big forwards and goaltenders". And -- again, to me -- it's foolish to lean so hard into "positional need" when a player as talented as Shuravin falls.
Time will tell if I'm right or wrong, and I'm not putting down anyone. I'm just really high on Matvei Shuravin -- a (still-growing) 6'4 defenseman who plays great D, is very solid with the puck, can mix it up physically, and is one of the best-skating D from the entire 2024 class.
That year, the Devils made a great pick early with LD Luke Hughes at #4.
This year, the Devils made a great pick early with LD Anton Silayev at #10.
In 2021, the Devils then turned their attention to "big, physical forwards and goalies" and used their next three picks on G Malek, F Stillman and F Salminen.
In 2024, the Devils then turned their attention to "Big physical forwards and goalies" and used their next three picks on G Yegorov, F Pikkarainen and F Traff.
In 2021, the Devils passed on a first-round LD talent in the 3rd round in Stanislav Svozil to take a big, project winger out of Scandinavia in Samu Salminen.
In 2024, the Devils passed on a first-round LD talent in the 3rd round to take two big, project wingers out of Scandinavia in Pikkarainen and Traff.
Right now, Svozil is, at the very least, a surefire NHL talent who should see loads of time with the big club this year. If Columbus challenges for a playoff spot (I don't see it but hypothetically), he'd be big-time trade ammunition at the deadline.
Right now, Salminen is a long shot to play in the NHL, though maybe there's still an outside chance. His most likely trajectory is a couple years in the AHL and then a career in Finnish Liiga.
Now it's important to add that I like Pikkarainen and Traff more than I liked Salminen on the day they were drafted. And although I had Svozil a bit higher than Shuravin on draft day, the gulf is not so wide.
I'm not cursing or disputing Pikkarainen and Traff, both of whom I like. It's just that they are similar players and it would have been better to take one of them and then take the best available player at that time, which was (to me) very clearly Shuravin. But I think management said something to the effect of "we took a LD first, now enough of the LD get me some big forwards and goaltenders". And -- again, to me -- it's foolish to lean so hard into "positional need" when a player as talented as Shuravin falls.
Time will tell if I'm right or wrong, and I'm not putting down anyone. I'm just really high on Matvei Shuravin -- a (still-growing) 6'4 defenseman who plays great D, is very solid with the puck, can mix it up physically, and is one of the best-skating D from the entire 2024 class.
