Prospect Info: #46 Overall, RD Seamus Casey US-NTDP

[jkrdevil]

Of course everyone in South East Florida grew up in New Jersey

Either NJ or Brazil.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

so we now own 50% of the Michigan blue line? lol

 

[RNCDevil]

I watched the Scouching video before the draft. I liked his edgework and handle but I do worry a bit about his skating. It does not look as janky as Ty Smith and certainly better than Will Butcher, but as Scouching said "IF he can be a bit more explosive, it could really unlock a lot of potential".

I'm excited to see the Devils blue line in a couple years. Hamilton, Hughes, Nemec, Casey, Bahl, Muk, Ohityuk? Let's hope they hit their ceilings and Hamilton returns to form.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Hell yea, a prospect named Seamus. That's cool

 

[Devs3cups]

Good prospect, good upside. That’s a good pick by Fitz.

 

[glenwo2]

RD Seamus Casey, US-NTDP (STI Ranking #47, McKenzie #51)
Seamus Casey's wildly divergent consensus rankings may have as much to do with how certain scouts and draft writers idealize defensemen as it does with his own game. I've seen him with multiple rankings in the #11-#12 range, but I've also seen him as low as #50 (Button) and also quite low on the most generally accurate of the big rankings, Bob McKenzie's scout poll (#44). He is generally up-ranked by the more "new age" stat-based rankers, who do not see his 5'10-160 frame and lack of top-speed or much physicality as an issue. Right now, it's a fair argument that he is the top two-way defenseman for the heralded US-NTDP team, but in terms of projection there are certainly problems and questions in his overall style of play which will not affect stronger and faster defenders.

The native Floridian is an excellent example of how the tool of skating is often misconstrued in the scouting process. While Casey's straight-end speed is good but not great, his edges and ability to spin on a dime while deceptively and elusively manipulating the puck with his elite stickhandling makes him extremely difficult to defend. In transition, Casey often makes the opposition look downright silly, manipulating the puck to draw them in and then making a litany of quick moves in a lightning-quick directional change to leave them in his dust. Straight end speed is not everything, and Casey's high IQ and hockey awareness see him always playing faster than he actually is.

Unlike most small defenders, Casey is not simply an offensive guy. This is what I like about him the most. Casey grades as excellent in terms of defensive awareness, positioning, gap control, and effort. His compete level is sometimes misconstrued as average because he's just so smooth and natural out there it seems as if he's not trying. But Casey is certainly a guy giving it his all, and his brain never takes a moment of any shift off. He has an active stick and active feet, and will never be a defensive liability. That being said, Casey can also be beaten one-on-one, both in open ice against faster players and in tight by more physical ones. It's the nature of the beast when you're 5'10 and lack the preternatural strength of a defenseman of similar height like Brian Rafalski or Kris Letang and no fault of Casey's, but at the higher levels you're going to have to pair him with a Carlo or Slavin-type in order for him to succeed in a top 4 capacity.

and will never be a defensive liability.

I'm sold.

That's all I wanted to hear.

 

[Devil made me do it]

Not a reach pick and this certainly bolsters our RD prospect depth we so desperately needed.

 

[glenwo2]

Casey is not close to Fox, but he's a good player. I'd compare him to Andy Greene, with a bit more offense but a bit less defense.

And we know how SOLID Andy was during his heyday.

But this one has more offense?

I'm really liking this pick the more I read about him.

So they got a guy they were probably going to take at 36 and picked up a goalie in the process.

Fitz doing good work here. (for a change)

 

[glenwo2]

Hell yea, a prospect named Seamus. That's cool

How is it pronounced?

Is it See-Mus or Shay-mus or some other pronunciation?

 

[StevenToddIves]

How is it pronounced?

Is it See-Mus or Shay-mus or some other pronunciation?

Second one

 

[Sgt Brylin]

How is it pronounced?

Is it See-Mus or Shay-mus or some other pronunciation?

Shay-mus.

Muk-Casey on our second/third pair? Sign me up.

 

[Xirik]

Don't we have huge NJ fan from Florida on this board?

Dun Dun Dunnn

 

[Devil made me do it]

The more I read about this kid the better I feel. Some draft evaluators had him go in the 1st round. He seems to have great hands and a very high IQ. Small in size but plays like a big defenseman. Judging by his style, the Andy Greene comparison is spot on. I think he is shiftier and quicker than Greene. Our defense is going to be sick in a couple of years.

 

[Devils Army]

double post.

 

[Nocashstyle]

I like the sound of his upside here. Boom or bust.

Also super neat to draft someone who grew up a Devils fan. Happens all the time for O6 teams, but still cool. Has that ever happened before for the Devils besides Brodeur’s kid?

 

[stastny12]

You guys are gonna be stacked on that D

 

[StevenToddIves]

I like the sound of his upside here. Boom or bust.

Also super neat to draft someone who grew up a Devils fan. Happens all the time for O6 teams, but still cool. Has that ever happened before for the Devils besides Brodeur’s kid?

Casey is not boom/bust. He's got a nice, high floor.

 

[imMagnum]

Big fan of this pick. Every scout I value is high on him, except STI who seems to be a little cool. Our RD prospect pool just rocketed higher in less than a day.

And yes, Casey is a high floor, low ceiling guy. Opposite to how I, not all, feel about Nemec.

 

[OmNomNom]

seems adorable in his interview





(but so did connor chatham)

 

[Xirik]

Makes me think of a RD Ty Smith that can SKATE!

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think this is very good value for Casey. Absolutely would've gambled on him in this spot, and even a little earlier. I had him ranked 34.

I find that he's one of those prospects that there's no way of having a good idea how his career will turn out. The draft is considered a crapshoot, and Casey is someone who epitomizes that. I've watched him play as much as any player in this draft probably or close to it, and I still have no clue what to think of him.

The one thing I am pretty confident about his his skating. He skates very well. Incredible change of direction. Great skater in all directions. Can pivot easily with no difficulty. Has good, not great, speed for his size. He doesn't have Luke or Jack type of speed, but it's pretty good for an undersized player.

The other parts of his game, I have my guesses, but I'd be lying if I said I have any idea. He came into the NTDP with a big offensive reputation as a potential offensive superstar. While his offensive game was good, it never looked elite. It always looked pretty good. You could see him being a guy that scores points in the NHL. He's a good facilitator, he has an underrated shot, and he has above-average puck skills, but Hutson was the defenseman that showed that highly skilled offensive ability from the back-end, and probably also Chesley is also a better offensive player. I do think he'll be a PP guy in the NHL, if he makes it, but I'm not 100% convinced he makes it a regular. The other area of his game that had a great reputation and I saw some really nice plays, but never thought it looked consistently great was his hockey sense. Some of his decisions, his patience, some of the plays he'd see, it'd be really high level and the type of plays that only the guys with the very good hockey sense make. But it wasn't consistent. I have no clue what to think about his hockey-sense. Could end up elite. Could end up average.

I find him pretty underrated defensively actually. His defensive game was a lot better than I thought it'd be coming into the NTDP. It's funny how he had this big offensive reputation, and I found that his offense and defensive abilities were much closer than the reputation. Saying that, he's still 5'10 and leans more towards a puck-moving/offensive type, so there's a real question of can he be any better than average defensively in the NHL.

I guess the big question becomes what is his role. There is a lot about Casey's game that you could project as being very good. He's a very good skater. He has offensive ability, and he's underrated defensively. But you can also turn that around, and say his offensive ability isn't good enough for what it'd need to be, and it's very hard for him to be anything other than a below-average defensive player, given his size. Wouldn't surprise me if he's like a Ryan Ellis type. I see how that comes together. I also see how it comes together that he plays 150 NHL games, and doesn't have a foothold in the league.

The other question is how good he actually is. I don't remember very many games at the NTDP where I said he was outplaying the other defensemen. I thought the fourth round pick for you guys Leddy probably was the better player over the course of two years than Casey. Casey's game was always about potential and some nice plays he'd make, but he never happened to make that game to game impact where he was one of the best players.

He may end up being one of those players where you want to like his game because its the type of player that is exciting to watch, but doesn't add up at the end of a game and a season to a productive player. It's a good gamble though, but I warn that Casey is the epitome of boom-bust.

 

[devilsblood]

Makes me think of a RD Ty Smith that can SKATE!

I feel we are hearing he is not a great skater. And they said Smith could skate too.

I must say that after ranting about small and slow guys a bunch over the past months that I'm not ecstatic about this pick.

 

[Clam Jensen]

seems adorable in his interview





(but so did connor chatham)

He calls his grandma nana just like me, I’m sold on him.

 

[longislanddevil]

I’m not down on this pick but I find it interesting that Fitz has not prioritized size, physicality and pure defensive defensemen at RD when previous statements ran counter to these selections. Sure, Warren and Chesley were off the board just barely but I can’t help but think of either player was coveted, there would have been a trade up (not as much Chesley because they used it as part of Washington trade). Then again, this GM has been completely passive when it comes to moving up to get a targeted player.

For the record, I do like the Nemec pick a great deal but would have slightly preferred Jiricek.