Prospect Info: Current #2 overall poll and discussion

[Guadana]

I was a big fan of Injuricek, but he looked bad after returning. I'm still like him, but I will not use second pick for him. He is a risky one. Because of skating. We saw enough players, who didn't return to the best skating form after serious injuries. Im ok to draft him only if we will get some assets.

And, Steve, Nemec isn't great or perfect defensively. He could be, but he isn't. Nowhere close. He has a lot of work, a lot to learn how to defend, if he wants to be NHL defenseman. I like him too, I see potential, but even with bad skating, I believe Injuricek could fix it, because this is something he already had before. But real active defense is the something Nemec should learn from the beginning. Reason we should draft Injuricek, not Nemec, if this is a choice.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Jiricek is like a taller Ty Smith. Laterally his skating is smooth, but his North/South is already awful at this level. It will look much worse in the NHL.

We need to stop drafting questionable skaters.

Jiricek is nothing like Smith. He's one of the most physical defensemen outside the NHL and in a few years his shot could be the hardest in the entire NHL. He's got the potential to be a punishing shut down defenseman who scores 20+ goals. His one-timer is as good as I've ever seen from a teenaged defenseman. He's smart and extremely skilled with the puck. Is he a great skater? No, but he's good enough.

I'm not saying he should be the #2 pick, but comparing him to Ty Smith is just batty.

 

[Hisch13r]

Technically I also think Ty's skating looks good. Could just be a lack of high end athleticism that is holding him back. Jiricek seems to be very athletic but technically his skating could use some work. His stride is noticeably pretty short and choppy for example. There's clearly work that could be done to improve his skating.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Technically I also think Ty's skating looks good. Could just be a lack of high end athleticism that is holding him back. Jiricek seems to be very athletic but technically his skating could use some work. His stride is noticeably pretty short and choppy for example. There's clearly work that could be done to improve his skating.

Smith’s skating was also noticeably better towards the end of the year. He must’ve been injured or something was going on at the start of the year. The narrative that he’s like Butcher got a little out of control. He was not a bad skater as a rookie.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Smith’s skating was also noticeably better towards the end of the year. He must’ve been injured or something was going on at the start of the year. The narrative that he’s like Butcher got a little out of control. He was not a bad skater as a rookie.

He missed camp with an injury. He wouldn't have been the only guy to come back not 100% either.

 

[Xirik]

I'm putting Wright on my DND list because I know there are some _________ people on this board that would post the same old "Thats the "Wright" thing to do" type pun or variation and I wouldn't be able to take it.

 

[Devil made me do it]

Few posts earlier you were explaining other posters how amazing asset a top 2 pick is based on the history of drafting and now you want to move out from this to a way riskier #6, while only getting a #12 as a sweetener?

Historically #2 gives you higher chance of getting a franchise or at least a star player than combination of the #5-#7 and #11-#13 picks, and I mean NHL drafting in general rather than Devils in specific because bringing McLeod, Zacha and Holtz to this discussion would be unfair because it's also possible to make a good pick here but nevertheless, the value isn't there IMO.

I think that the optimal thing from value point of view would be to simply take Wright, run 3 great centers, limit McLeod's/Boqvist's 5v5 time, run all 3 of them on PP1 and then when opportunity comes (and young centers are the most valuable entities in the league) pull Johansen - Jones (or Dubois - Laine if you want a winger) type of trade. This is hard, given that we tend to get emotionally attached to players but centers are so valuable that banking on Wright become a #1C (talking about a level, not an actual slot in the lineup here), which would allow us to trade one of our three centers for a legitimate #1D is a better strategy than hoping Jiricek/Nemec become a #1D or that Gauthier becomes a top line winger or that we get super lucky with a sweetener to make it all worth it.

I also think that #2 pick is an asset of a such caliber that Larssons, Crouses and Miroshnichenko's don't really matter when giving it up.

That's just my 0.02$, you may disagree with me but in my humble opinion, our strategy should be simple:

If Habs take Wright, we take Slaf.
If Habs take Slaf, we take Wright.
Either way, we worry about holes at all different positions via other routes than using this asset.

That's precisely how the Devils should approach this.

 

[Devils731]

I'm putting Wright on my DND list because I know there are some _________ people on this board that would post the same old "Thats the "Wright" thing to do" type pun or variation and I wouldn't be able to take it.

But he’s got the Wright stuff. You gotta take him.

I’m not going to Wright him off because of a few bad reports.

He thinks the game the Wright way and that’s a big deal.

But drafting at 2, it’s not a Wright or wrong scenario; all the choices are reasonable.

Taking him will lead the Devils to their Wrightful place on top.

It will be most Wrighteous if the Devils select him; hat tip Bill and Ted.

 

[Eggtimer]

This talk amd chatter about the Habs going Slafkovsky is bizarre.
What the F happened since the last round of polls amd projections that had Wright as the consensus #1? Nothing . Mo additional games by the two were played . Why and what could have caused the swing in the standings?
I don’t get it.
I just don’t get why the Habs would go with a winger over a potential #1 C .
Makes no sense to me . Winger is the easiest position to fill.
I will be pissed off if they go Slafkozsky. And now it is closer to a reality due to people picking Slaf going first so it takes a lot of pressure off of Habs management to pass on Wright …. So stupid…..

 

[Blackjack]

I'm putting Wright on my DND list because I know there are some _________ people on this board that would post the same old "Thats the "Wright" thing to do" type pun or variation and I wouldn't be able to take it.

You know what? I think juraj-t

 

[Normal Devil]

This talk amd chatter about the Habs going Slafkovsky is bizarre.
What the F happened since the last round of polls amd projections that had Wright as the consensus #1? Nothing . Mo additional games by the two were played . Why and what could have caused the swing in the standings?
I don’t get it.
I just don’t get why the Habs would go with a winger over a potential #1 C .
Makes no sense to me . Winger is the easiest position to fill.
I will be pissed off if they go Slafkozsky. And now it is closer to a reality due to people picking Slaf going first so it takes a lot of pressure off of Habs management to pass on Wright …. So stupid…..

Yeah .. it's stupid. I do think Slaf closed the gap a bit with a nice showing in the Olympics, but the recent nitpicking of Wright well after his season ended is weird. I'm calling BS on it. Wright will still go #1, and if he slips to #2 he'll be a Devil.

 

[Hisch13r]

This talk amd chatter about the Habs going Slafkovsky is bizarre.
What the F happened since the last round of polls amd projections that had Wright as the consensus #1? Nothing . Mo additional games by the two were played . Why and what could have caused the swing in the standings?
I don’t get it.
I just don’t get why the Habs would go with a winger over a potential #1 C .
Makes no sense to me . Winger is the easiest position to fill.
I will be pissed off if they go Slafkozsky. And now it is closer to a reality due to people picking Slaf going first so it takes a lot of pressure off of Habs management to pass on Wright …. So stupid…..

The draft lottery was May 10th. Bob's top 5 poll he released that day had Wright 1 and Slaf 2. That was in the midst of Wright's underwhelming playoffs and right before Slaf's WC. I imagine that is what tipped the scales for them. Most of the fanbase will still be incredibly pissed at Hughes and Gorton if they pass up on Wright and those 2 have built up some good will with the fanbase. I still think they ultimately go Wright but if they don't Slaf better end up clearly better or that fanbase is going to give them so much shit for passing on the center.

 

[RememberTheName]

David Jiricek is an amazing prospect. I'd argue he's the best defensive prospect since Dahlin all the way back in 2018. He's exactly what we need from the back end. He would absolutely be a worthy choice at #2.

 

[oxman44]

I would certainly be disappointed to come away from this draft without Slaf. But its in MTL's hands. I still think its going to be very hard for Ken Hughes to pass on Wright. its a very tough position to be in, in that particular market. In the end I still think the position premium will tip him over to taking Wright. At least I hope so! Now this pronman smoke may have a little fire to it about Jiriceck. I love the prospect personally but, I am in no way taking him a 2OA. Like people have been saying here, its the skating. from my veiwings and reading people way better at this than me, He has clear skating deficiencies particularly in his hips, which prevent him from efficiently back skating and turning quickly. That unfortunately results in you getting absolutely traffic coned at the NHL level. I assume he can probably work on it and hopefully improve it to an acceptable level. Because everything else in his game is fantastic. Top end, 2 way beast if you look at the rest of his toolkit. But theres just too much risk there that early. Reminds me alot of Clarke's situation last year. If Slafs gone Fitz should either take wright or do his damndest to trade down and get Jiriceck or whomever later, plus assets.

 

[oxman44]

David Jiricek is an amazing prospect. I'd argue he's the best defensive prospect since Dahlin all the way back in 2018. He's exactly what we need from the back end. He would absolutely be a worthy choice at #2.

I 100% agree.... except for the skating. I think people saw it at the Worlds on several occasions with puck retrievals. He ended up getting very limited minutes and I think thats part of the reason why.

Heres a couple quotes from NHL scouts from the black book just to back up the point.

I don’t see what others see. I’ve seen him a few times now and I’m not a fan of his skating. I don’t see how he can play big minutes against top players in the NHL.”
“The backwards skating is my big question mark about him, the rest is very good.”
I don’t see him getting into our top 10.”

Although There were equally as many positive quotes as well

 

[Devilsgrl35]

Don Cherry is going to stroke out if Montreal takes a European over a good Canadian boy.

 

[Guttersniped]

Jiricek is in the Cooley tier for me. I hope we don't pick him, as we'd be passing on better talent, but I could convince myself that it was a fine pick. Similar to us picking Holtz over Rossi.

I really like Jiricek's game. I actually had him as my #2 pick before the WC. He's a player we do not have in our roster; a big, defensively minded RD. Consensus is Jiricek's a two-way D but I havent seen this offense in the handful+ games I've seen. I'd say he's more of a defensive D who has a rocket of a shot and can make an excellent first pass. His defensive game is his biggest asset and he can skate very well for a guy his size. There's no doubt in my mind Jiricek is the best defenseman in this draft and he'd be the perfect partner for Luke.

I also get the appeal of the pick. Draft Jiricek and the Devils suddenly have a foundation of a franchise C, elite LD, RD, and RW, and a supporting cast of young, high-end talent with plenty of potential to grow into. That's dynasty material.

There are two main issues with Jiricek at #2 however. First is the BPA issue. Jiricek is currently not a better player than Wright (or Slaf, but I'm assuming the only reason why we don't take Slaf is because he went to MTL). I personally see him as tied for #3 with Cooley for BPA. In my opinion, he also doesn't have the same ceiling as Wright. Before I watched games of Jiricek and Nemec, I read reports saying Nemec had the highest floor while Jiricek had the highest ceiling. After watching, I couldn't disagree more. I don't see much upside with Jiricek, however I have no doubt he's going to be a talented, lockdown Top 4 defender that NHL teams will have out protecting leads in the final minutes. Wright has at least a similar Top 9 floor with more projectible upside.

My second issue is I believe you don't draft defensive defensemen with high picks. Top defensemen picks have to contribute offensively and I just haven't seen it with Jiricek, other than the occassional clapper. He has the skating ability to become a 2 way D and if he develops into this role, hell ya, sign me up for Jiricek at #2. For now, the only offense I've seen is him running CZE's PP2, and the Devils have other players who can do the PP role better.

Does Jiricek fit our team better than anyone in the draft not named Slafkovsky? Yes. Is he the best player available? No. I currently don't trust Fitz to draft for need, as we've seen with Stillman and Muk picks. If there was one time I could see this strategy working, it's with Jiricek. At #2 however, the Devils can not afford missing out on game breaking talent, which is something I've yet to see from Jiricek.

Jiricek isn’t really a defensive defenseman.

The problem I have with taking him at 2nd is his skating is worse than Sanderson, Seider, and Edvinsson right now so the comparison to those guys doesn’t match perfectly.

Jiricek please and thank you. Not if Wright’s there though. If Wright is the one sitting there and we don’t want him then I’m attempting to trade back. To Columbus for 6+12 would be preferable. Do the Luka/Trae thing where we take Wright and Jiricek is there at 6 we make the move and then also grab Nazar at 12

Stop making up wonderful scenarios that won’t happen.

 

[Guadana]

David Jiricek is an amazing prospect. I'd argue he's the best defensive prospect since Dahlin all the way back in 2018. He's exactly what we need from the back end. He would absolutely be a worthy choice at #2.

Best defenseman is Seider. Better than Dahlin.and Jiricek isn't as good as Seider.

And im a big fan of Injuricek, he is my number 2/3 for the Devils pick on this draft. But now he return from serious injury and showed lack of skating. We can't close eyes on it. This is literally how Devils were ahead of flyers in the draft day 5 years ago. Im not against to draft him, but only with trade down. Healthy Injuricek deserved to be picked by 2nd pick. But he isn't completely healthy.

 

[Hisch13r]

Stop making up wonderful scenarios that won’t happen.

Yeah it's a massive fantasy but boy oh boy would that be a sweet outcome.

 

[My3Sons]

I'm putting Wright on my DND list because I know there are some _________ people on this board that would post the same old "Thats the "Wright" thing to do" type pun or variation and I wouldn't be able to take it.

Look, we all know that you'd fill in the blank with "old out of touch" and frankly, I'm upset you'd call me out that way. For revenge, I'll just say that if taking Slaf is wrong, I don't want to be Wright.

 

[Guttersniped]

Look, we all know that you'd fill in the blank with "old out of touch" and frankly, I'm upset you'd call me out that way. For revenge, I'll just say that if taking Slaf is wrong, I don't want to be Wright.

When this Wright discussion gets inventive it really starts to take off.

 

[MauDevils]

Jiricek is nothing like Smith. He's one of the most physical defensemen outside the NHL and in a few years his shot could be the hardest in the entire NHL. He's got the potential to be a punishing shut down defenseman who scores 20+ goals. His one-timer is as good as I've ever seen from a teenaged defenseman. He's smart and extremely skilled with the puck. Is he a great skater? No, but he's good enough.

I'm not saying he should be the #2 pick, but comparing him to Ty Smith is just batty.

You massively overrate prospects. Only 3 defensemen scored 20+ this year. And if he's a shut down defenseman scoring 20+ he would be a top 3-5 defenseman in the game right now.

Pretty impressive for a guy that manages to constantly lose icing races to skaters that won't even make it to the NHL.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

David Jiricek is an amazing prospect. I'd argue he's the best defensive prospect since Dahlin all the way back in 2018. He's exactly what we need from the back end. He would absolutely be a worthy choice at #2.

I will just have to trust the scouts if he's the pick at 2 because what I saw from him, well...let's just say I was not that impressed and definitely not #2 kind of player.

 

[RememberTheName]

Best defenseman is Seider. Better than Dahlin.and Jiricek isn't as good as Seider.

And im a big fan of Injuricek, he is my number 2/3 for the Devils pick on this draft. But now he return from serious injury and showed lack of skating. We can't close eyes on it. This is literally how Devils were ahead of flyers in the draft day 5 years ago. Im not against to draft him, but only with trade down. Healthy Injuricek deserved to be picked by 2nd pick. But he isn't completely healthy.

Now? Yea, I definitely take Seider over Jiricek no question. But at the time of the draft, Jiricek was a little bit better in my opinion and I think better than everyone since Dahlin.

 

[Xirik]

congratulations, you guys killed me with your terrible bad "Dad" humor.