Vlad The Impaler said:
Well, it was more a figure of speech. I don't expect them to draft golden superstars each and every year or anything. I just think, looking at this draft record there is very little exceptional about it. It's a very good draft record but it doesn't amaze me anymore than a number of teams.
Yes, and my point is that when you evaluate drafting, you have to take into account what they have to work with. For the last decade, on average, the Devils have started picking at around pick 25. It's really hard to acquire elite nhl players drafting from that position. As such, you evaluate their drafts by seeing how many players they pick that will eventually play a role on one of their future winning teams, whereby allowing them to shed salary by replacing veterans with young players that could do the same job. Basically, the purpose of the draft for a winning organization like the Devils is not to build a core(as they have already built a core by drafting superstar players in previous drafts) but to replace the spare parts around the core. Since they draft well, they are able to do this, which allows them to keep winning as guys depart via free agency. There are many other teams that don't draft well enough to do this and thus have to spend money on outside help(free agents).
Arnott is in the top 10 underachieving players in this league. He was a floater in Edmonton with poor ethic, he went to the Devils where he was shaped up by the organization (and also had the chance to live with Scott Stevens and be humbled by his dedication to the sport) and worked under the team concept.
Petr Sykora is scoring but otherwise a non-factor in Anaheim. He fits right in with Fedorov and other individualistic pricks in Anaheim. The Elias-Arnott-Sykora line in NJ was probably one of the most promising in the whole league. They were downright amazing but all three of them were complaining and moaning at times for various reasons, particularly contracts.
It's not like any three of them have a special attitude and dedication to this sport that Conte zeroed in. They don't. They're really ordinary players mentally. Edmonton didn't want a floating Arnott anymore and NJ saw they wouldn't be able to afford Guerin much longer. Then Arnott came and if I remember well had a miserable time his first year with NJ with a ridiculous number of gaols but they shaped him up thanks to a team concept. And now he's back to floating again now that he is in Dallas despite being the total package. And Sykora scores goals.
See, I don't know that Arnott and Sykora have changed much since leaving the Devils. Arnott, in his last year with the Devils, was underachieving and thus was traded. He went to Dallas, and from what I have seen of him and from what you hear from Dallas fans, there isn't really much complaint about his play. And statistically speaking, his production isn't much worse in Dallas then it was in NJ. He still scores 20 goals a year and gets around 50 points, just like he did in New Jersey. And as far as Sykora, you are right, he does score goals, just like he did in New Jersey. Sykora was never a prototypical Devil forward, he never was a good defensive player, he never was a gritty player or a playoff warrior(the Devils won the 2000 cup with him in a hospital bed), he was just a guy that could score alot of goals, much like he does in Anaheim. What the Devils saw in these guys was talent, and when their bad attitudes got in the way of them being able to utilize their talent, they shipped them out. The one player they kept from the famous A line has become much better then his linemates(though talent wise he probably has less); mainly because he does have a better attitude.
Sheldon Souray comes to mind. (He was picked by them, right?)
Yeah he was dealt for Malakhov in 2000. Also, guys like Brian Rolston and Alyn McCauley have gone on to become good 2 way hockey players, though unfortunately on other teams. Well, not so much Rolston as he played quite a few seasons with the Devils, though his best were with Boston.
I look at their drafts and I am not overly impressed. I think David Conte is a very good scout, but I have to point my finger and laugh when folks see Conte draft Foster and say "wow! what a steal". More like, "bonehead move of the year".
See, I don't know that it is general consensus to think every player Conte drafts is a future hall of famer. I mean at this years draft the announcers are on record as stating the Devils "aren't perfect", which is the truth, as no organization is perfect when it comes to drafting. Some just do better then others and I feel Conte has done better then most with what he has had to work with(low picks). When he has had high picks, he has drafted great players(Brodeur, Niedermayer, Guerin, Shanahan, Elias). As far as Foster, that was a gamble, everyone knew it was a gamble, and in this case it didn't work. However, I don't buy the general consensus that that was a bad pick. I think it was a decent gamble, and the Devils didn't lose out on a superstar player by taking a risk on Foster. You aren't going to produce many quality NHL players in every draft, but Conte gets alot of them, which is not the case with many other head scouts.
All in all, my position is not to say Conte is not a good scout. But I do think he is overrated based on what people expect out of his picks and what they're saying of him.
Again, I don't see much overhyping of Devil prospects. In fact, I think the Devils in their history have snuck alot of prospects into prominence. I don't think anyone ever expected Elias to be as good as he is. I don't even think Brodeur was regarded very highly in his draft year. But they are great players now, even though at their draft times they weren't thought to be. Even now with Parise, I don't think many people out there think he is a future Art Ross winner. I think most people are logical with their predictions, that he will be a top 6 six forward on a good team. I don't see many threads deeming Travis Zajac the next Mike Modano. I think Conte is quietly very respected for his scouting ability. Hell, I don't even think most NHL fans know who Conte is, or even who the head scout on their favorite team is.
I give a lot of credit to this organization at the pro and farm level. I really think it deserves more credit there and less credit in the scouting.
Again, scouting isn't only drafting prospects. Scouts watch established NHL players too.
I think they have done a great job of turning players like Richer and Mogilny into more complete players and obtain success with forwards of great but not amazing qualities.
Then there are also guys like Doug Gilmour, who seem perfect for Devils hockey, but for whatever reason, never accomplished much there.
Bobby Holik is a great testament of that. Half of his contract is thanks to his talent, the other half is due to the NJ Devils.
I disagree with this. Though not deserving of 9 million a year, Bobby Holik is still every bit as good a player on the Rangers as he was on the Devils. You just don't hear about it because he isn't shadowing the other teams top players in big playoff games anymore. This year he got over 50 points just like he did in his years in New Jersey. He also was one of the few plus players on a very bad team. Watching his game, I think Holik is the same, the team around him is worse.
That's why they are one of the best organization of the last decade and have been out of all the top teams one that has had the best payroll. It's because players who are willing to stay there recognize that part of their individual achievements are due to a great team concept, and accept to be paid accordingly. Those who refuse to see that are shipped elsewhere and new players replace them out of the blue, either from trades or from within.
No arguments with that. That is how all teams in the NHL should be run.
