GDT: 2024 NHL Entry Draft - Round 1 - June 28th - 7 P.M. / Round 2-7 - June 29th - 11 A.M

[SteveCangialosi123]

It is when youre not poor and have the real thing though

Drafting a 3C (if hes a center who doesnt want to play wing) is a terrible use of the pick and asset

No it isn’t. Having center depth is good, actually.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

No it isn’t. Having center depth is good, actually.

Having center depth is good - and doesnt require the 10th overall to do so

If the pick isnt being used on a player who Fitzgerald believes will play with Jack, Nico, Luke, or Simon - then he should be moving the pick

Center depth at 3-4C can be had with lower picks, smaller trades, and fewer UFA dollars

Edit: trade back toward the end of the 1st or high 2nd if we want to strictly draft a center

 

[Xirik]

Really? So he's a 4C or maybe a 5C?

Keep this joke going and I'll put 100 CC's of something in your coffee!

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

 

[Guadana]

Strong feeling Fitz will draft for need and leave the bpa on the board. It's never a good strategy but every seems like so many teams do it.

We don't know who is bpa, everybody have different vision, I believe Fitz, Dennehy and specific scout who scouted specific player have little bit or bigger different imagine of potential of this specific player. who will develop better in different environments. Of course no one saying to draft for needs, draft only for needs is stupid because needs can change, but if team has some players in the same range, they should go with position.

I'm jot so sure Fitz will draft for needs, he would not draft Lenny for this reason. He would work on center depth before. Sometimes it could look like they drafted for needs, but after some time it looks more and more as a pick for potential. Nemec, Casey, Barabosha are good examples of "drafting for needs" on the same draft. All of them are doing quite well for their draft spot and competition level.

Stillman was draft for needs, they literally talked about him as a good role player potentially. After that Fitz fired CHL scout, Castron isn't head scout anymore, Devils didn't draft any center even if big need exist for two drafts.

 

[NJDevs26]

Although it appears at 'times' Fitz has drafted for need (specifically 2020, but that was also the COVID draft), Guadana's right here, everyone's draft board is different. We don't actually know who's above who on their draft board so the entire BPA vs. need discourse is just guesswork. We don't have any proof the two don't align anyway.

Besides I always take the whole BPA discussion as people assuming players on another tier below get drafted just out of need when realistically they're probably rated so closely together the difference is almost irrelevant even if it's the slightest of reaches.

 

[britdevil]

View attachment 888581

Did Kovy re-sign yet?

 

[Xirik]

if the draft rankers and others can't figure out who's BPA after 3rd OV then it's going to be impossible to know who's actually BPA. This draft is going to be tough for fitz. he's going to have to rely on his scouts really hard and trust his gut.

In such a situation I believe it defaults to "Need" instead of BPA

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Having center depth is good - and doesnt require the 10th overall to do so

If the pick isnt being used on a player who Fitzgerald believes will play with Jack, Nico, Luke, or Simon - then he should be moving the pick

Center depth at 3-4C can be had with lower picks, smaller trades, and fewer UFA dollars

Edit: trade back toward the end of the 1st or high 2nd if we want to strictly draft a center

You can be a “3C” on this Devils team and still be worthy of a top 10 pick. That’s how good our top guys are. Plus, a 3C that plays in all situations is going to be playing tons of minutes. We want to do the whole top 9 and 4th line thing, not a top 6-bottom 6.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

You can be a “3C” on this Devils team and still be worthy of a top 10 pick. That’s how good our top guys are. Plus, a 3C that plays in all situations is going to be playing tons of minutes. We want to do the whole top 9 and 4th line thing, not a top 6-bottom 6.

Agree with this (especially the last sentence) as long as the player isn’t an actual 3C. If he’s a top line player and he’s just our 3C because Nico and Jack are ahead of him and just that good it’s a good thing.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Drafting 'Best Player Available' is and always has been a myth

Every single pick made is based on need

Just as a hypothetical: if a team had just drafted Luke Hughes and Owen Power top-5 picks b2b years - there is a less than 0% chance they take the 'BPA' in another LD top-5 in a third draft in a row. Not even would they take a consensus 1st overall, theyd trade out

Thats because theres inherently a need for every reason behind taking a pick; it never was or will be as simple as 'i think he ends up the best'

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

I think the Devils are in a unique position to eschew BPA and draft for need while still getting an excellent player, and my pipe dream is that Fitz agrees and takes Brandsegg-Nygard or Helenius. But i’ll also be quite happy with Sennecke, Iginla, or a minor reach in Hage.

I’d rather not take a D unless Buium falls, though i wouldn’t hate a Stolberg reach. Anyone else and I’ll be cautiously optimistic, but realistically i think this pick is gonna ge traded sometime in the next 7.5 hours.

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

You can be a “3C” on this Devils team and still be worthy of a top 10 pick. That’s how good our top guys are. Plus, a 3C that plays in all situations is going to be playing tons of minutes. We want to do the whole top 9 and 4th line thing, not a top 6-bottom 6.

its not about top-6 or top-9 even if i agree there

And its not about drafting in general, where i also agree

This is the last draft pick we will be making inside the top-10/15 until well into the 2030's, barring a significant trade for one - you need to be acquiring the best and highest ceiling fit possible, and that isnt a center for a second 'second line'

It could turn out that way when we look back at the quality of the draft class - but we cant pick that way

If the pick isnt to pair with our Power Four then its value is much better served in a trade (or trade-back)

Agree with this (especially the last sentence) as long as the player isn’t an actual 3C. If he’s a top line player and he’s just our 3C because Nico and Jack are ahead of him and just that good it’s a good thing.

This isnt reality - what contending team had a 'top line player' on their third line?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Drafting 'Best Player Available' is and always has been a myth

Every single pick made is based on need

Just as a hypothetical: if a team had just drafted Luke Hughes and Owen Power top-5 picks b2b years - there is a less than 0% chance they take the 'BPA' in another LD top-5 in a third draft in a row

Thats because theres inherently a need for every reason behind taking a pick; it never was or will be as simple as 'i think he ends up the best'

Needs are always a factor but it is absolutely not a 0% chance in that scenario. Especially in the top 5. The further back you get the more needs are a factor. If you took LD in back to back years but now you’re picking first and Rasmus Dahlin is there. You’re taking him. Or if you’re picking 5th and there’s a LD there who you think is the 2nd best player in the draft and notably better than the other options available, you’re probably taking him even if you took back to back LD’s. You want to hit on those picks. They’re your opportunity to get franchise changing stars. And you don’t know what’s gonna happen around of with the other guys you’ve taken.

 

[Better Call Sal]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806725609655074958

These things suckkkkkkk.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

This isnt reality - what contending team had a 'top line player' on their third line?

None at all, we’d have by far the best center’s in the league.

 

[Devils731]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1806725609655074958

These things suckkkkkkk.

The Utah one does make me laugh.

I’ll cherish my NHL logo draft cap with my state name on it!!

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Interesting that a couple teams not have preemptively moved up.

 

[britdevil]

What's Kent Hughes cooking?

 

[Saugus]

Ya this is most pre-draft pick trades I remember ever seeing.

Maybe some GMs are getting jittery that their guy won't drop to them because there is so little consensus on the ranking after #1.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Come on Fitz, get in the action

 

[Moist ReadOnly]

Needs are always a factor but it is absolutely not a 0% chance in that scenario. Especially in the top 5. The further back you get the more needs are a factor. If you took LD in back to back years but now you’re picking first and Rasmus Dahlin is there. You’re taking him. Or if you’re picking 5th and there’s a LD there who you think is the 2nd best player in the draft and notably better than the other options available, you’re probably taking him even if you took back to back LD’s. You want to hit on those picks. They’re your opportunity to get franchise changing stars. And you don’t know what’s gonna happen around of with the other guys you’ve taken.

Id be floored if you could find me one example of this - Ive followed many a drafts since the late 90s and I dont ever recall a moment where a team chose a position they had just taken multiple high picks of

Teams get fans up in arms when they take the same position back to back years - and its almost always based in need that the fans dont want to look long-term toward. A third time, however? No shot

For example - Devils could be 1st overall and if Celebrini said he refuses to play wing, we would not take him. In no reality of ours would an organization think Hischier or Celebrini would be on the third line making the dollars they make (whether its a top-6 or top-9 doesnt matter) and then convince yourself theyll get fair minutes

Its all a crazy hypothetical but perfectly illustrates that BPA isnt real - its 100% always about need, but what need that is fans miss the mark on sometimes

 

[NJDevs26]

Ya this is most pre-draft pick trades I remember ever seeing.

Maybe some GMs are getting jittery that their guy won't drop to them because there is so little consensus on the ranking after #1.

Does seem to be a bit of volatility, some teams probably have more players in the next tier of prospects than others.

 

[Devils731]

For example - Devils could be 1st overall and if Celebrini said he refuses to play wing, we would not take him.

The Devils would still take him, every team would. He’s the only slam dunk pick in the draft. Every team would take him at #1 regardless of their roster.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Ya this is most pre-draft pick trades I remember ever seeing.

Maybe some GMs are getting jittery that their guy won't drop to them because there is so little consensus on the ranking after #1.

There’s no less consensus this year than any other year. It’s always a mess after the first pick or few picks.

I’m guessing there’s some guys they like and they’re just trying to get closer to where they might fall. Maybe Hughes has some guys he really likes ranked in the early teens. Didn’t think there was a good chance they’d get all the way to 26 so he’s trying to get closer in advance.