Devils 2017-18 team discussion (player news and notes) - Offseason part IX

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[None Shall Pass]

Gross interviews Shero. Quotes on Kovy and Kerfoot: http://www.northjersey.com/story/sp...ce/2017/07/18/ray-shero-rest-story/487750001/

 

[mtnet]

I love this line

"What I said to Reilly Walsh (the Devils’ third-round pick this year and a development camp standout) after we drafted him. ‘Good luck at Harvard next year, it will be the best three years of your life.’"

 

[FooteBahl]

I love this line

"What I said to Reilly Walsh (the Devils’ third-round pick this year and a development camp standout) after we drafted him. ‘Good luck at Harvard next year, it will be the best three years of your life.’"

Even better if he said the best year of his life. We need all of the help we can get!

 

[mtnet]

Even better if he said the best year of his life. We need all of the help we can get!

That's kind of how I was reading into the joke, Ray more or less hinting that we need all the help we can get sooner than later

1st year at Harvard = 3 years = hope you don't play there 4 years

Or at the very least, sign with us early

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I took that as "one year at an Ivy league school feels like 3 years in real life" coursework wise.

 

[My3Sons]

I took that as "one year at an Ivy league school feels like 3 years in real life" coursework wise.

I hope that is what he meant as opposed to we'll consider offering you an ELC in three years. Also, depending upon your major, Harvard is not brutal academically. If you google it you'll see the grading at Harvard is pretty lenient. I think MIT would be a much more challenging experience than Harvard on average.

 

[Devils Dominion]

I hope that is what he meant as opposed to we'll consider offering you an ELC in three years. Also, depending upon your major, Harvard is not brutal academically. If you google it you'll see the grading at Harvard is pretty lenient. I think MIT would be a much more challenging experience than Harvard on average.

Princeton has a tougher grading scale than Harvard.

 

[OmNomNom]

went to school in boston.

harvard has a reputation for grade inflation. you work hard to get in, and then it's easy

now MIT kids on the other hand....

 

[My3Sons]

Princeton has a tougher grading scale than Harvard.

Allegedly Princeton has gone away from that. Outside of pre-med I'm not sure that grinding down the kids in a semi-adversarial grade deflation regime makes sense. I get that in pre-med you have to hold the kids to a higher standard given the limited spots at US med schools and the need to have your kids succeed at the next level so the med schools will keep accepting your kids, but outside of that it just creates more problems than it solves. Now back to your regularly scheduled hockey discussion.....so anyone think Blandisi still has a future with the team?

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Allegedly Princeton has gone away from that. Outside of pre-med I'm not sure that grinding down the kids in a semi-adversarial grade deflation regime makes sense. I get that in pre-med you have to hold the kids to a higher standard given the limited spots at US med schools and the need to have your kids succeed at the next level so the med schools will keep accepting your kids, but outside of that it just creates more problems than it solves. Now back to your regularly scheduled hockey discussion.....so anyone think Blandisi still has a future with the team?

I went to Boston University, which is notorious for grade deflation and I saw it first hand. In certain courses, it is impossible to get an A or even A- unless you spend every waking moment studying every small part of the book and hours on lab reports. I did well, but the straight B+'s tanked my chances at med school or grad school. It prepared me really well for the real world though, so I guess that did me a favor.

 

[OmNomNom]

I went to Boston University, which is notorious for grade deflation and I saw it first hand. In certain courses, it is impossible to get an A or even A- unless you spend every waking moment studying every small part of the book and hours on lab reports. I did well, but the straight B+'s tanked my chances at med school or grad school. It prepared me really well for the real world though, so I guess that did me a favor.

i also went to BU - did i know you? class of 2013

engineering program was hell, but i managed to get a job, thank god.

 

[njdevil26]

Whether your GPA was a 2 or a 4, you graduated from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, and so on. A diploma from those schools are worth something in itself compared to a diploma from anywhere else.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

i also went to BU - did i know you? class of 2013

engineering program was hell, but i managed to get a job, thank god.

I know someone from NJ who is a big Devils fan and was class of 2013, but I don't think you're her. I was class of 2012. Was really hoping we'd get Shatty, partially for the BU connection.

EDIT: To make this more on-topic, I also have some thoughts on Shattenkirk during college. I worked for the student paper's sports section and loosely knew some of the people covering the BU hockey team. Shattenkirk was the captain in 2009-10, the year after they won the National Championship. That team was almost as talented, but ended up not even making the tournament. There was a big blowout at the end of the year with some players acting like frat boys, and it came out that the team had huge a huge party two days before the Hockey East tournament. I was there for the semifinal game against Maine, and they played like they were drunk.

Going back to Shatty, the rumors was that he was a bit of a goofball and not exactly captain material. People can change as they grow up, and we had the cap space to pay him as simply a defensive point producer and not necessarily a leader, but it's food for thought.

 

[OmNomNom]

I know someone from NJ who is a big Devils fan and was class of 2013, but I don't think you're her. I was class of 2012. Was really hoping we'd get Shatty, partially for the BU connection.

EDIT: To make this more on-topic, I also have some thoughts on Shattenkirk during college. I worked for the student paper's sports section and loosely knew some of the people covering the BU hockey team. Shattenkirk was the captain in 2009-10, the year after they won the National Championship. That team was almost as talented, but ended up not even making the tournament. There was a big blowout at the end of the year with some players acting like frat boys, and it came out that the team had huge a huge party two days before the Hockey East tournament. I was there for the semifinal game against Maine, and they played like they were drunk.

Going back to Shatty, the rumors was that he was a bit of a goofball and not exactly captain material. People can change as they grow up, and we had the cap space to pay him as simply a defensive point producer and not necessarily a leader, but it's food for thought.

i did sports stats, so i was at most games prob seen you around

 

[My3Sons]

Whether your GPA was a 2 or a 4, you graduated from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, and so on. A diploma from those schools are worth something in itself compared to a diploma from anywhere else.

It depends on your career goals. Very few people ask the lawyer or doctor where he went to undergrad. As a general proposition most grad programs are going to be more impressed by an A student from a large state university than a B+ student from Harvard. I think what makes the Ivies special is their alumni network and connections to big business jobs. For those of you who haven't had to naviagate the process in the last couple of years your perception of what makes an Ivy League student may be off. Hint, the great hockey player with an A- average in High School or the rich kid with an A and good but not great standardized tests still stand a much better chance at going to Harvard than the A+ perfect standardized test score kid who is clearly a high end scholar but doesn't apply early decision either because of finances or because he applies early decision to a more realistic school. And.... who thinks Mueller will play a regular role at LD?

 

[mtnet]

And.... who thinks Mueller will play a regular role at LD?

Given the way the team went with the expansion draft and this trade I have to think they are committed to playing him a great deal.

Remains to be seen whether he will sink or swim but I think they're going to give as long a look as possible to find out.

I don't know enough about him to project whether he will have a regular role but we shall see!

 

[Cheddabombs]

Definitely think Mueller will be given a regular role, or at least he has one unless he plays himself out of it. The way they've talked about him, the way they've talked about the direction they want the team to go it all seems like he's the type of player they want. Whether or not he succeeds is up in the air but he plays the style of play they want. I hope he's successful. If he can bounce back and solidify himself as an NHL defenseman (won't comment on potential, want to see more of him play) that's a good look for our left side adding another young Dman to the mix.

 

[njdevils19]

Definitely think Mueller will be given a regular role, or at least he has one unless he plays himself out of it. The way they've talked about him, the way they've talked about the direction they want the team to go it all seems like he's the type of player they want. Whether or not he succeeds is up in the air but he plays the style of play they want. I hope he's successful. If he can bounce back and solidify himself as an NHL defenseman (won't comment on potential, want to see more of him play) that's a good look for our left side adding another young Dman to the mix.

If he was to happen to work out as a second pair guy it would be enormous for this team and the defense retooling. If we happen to hit a homerun on this then we would just need to find someone to play next to Severson long-term.

That may end up being the hardest thing to do but in a perfect world the Devils already have a top 4 in their system outside of Severson and Santini. You add Rykov in 2 years and then we really have something.

I would be very happy if Mueller even ends up being a guy we can count on as a 3rd pairing. Even that would help us along.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

Mueller is absolutely going to have a regular role this year. I don't think Shero would have paid what he did if he didn't think Mueller was capable of holding down (at worst) a bottom-pairing role.

If Mueller blows it, that'll suck, but the roster spot is his to lose.

I know we all twitched when we first saw what Shero paid, but, considering the lack of D options available (so far) this summer, and Mueller's draft selection and age, I like the gamble.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Okay, I think I've got the lines I'd like to see the Devils run with to start the year.

Hall-Zajac-Palmieri
Zacha-Nico-MoJo
Henrique-McLeod-Speers/JQ
Wood/Blandisi-Boyle-Noesen

I want Zacha to be a center long-term but the potential of him and Nico together is too to pass on. Especially if Zacha is truly more assertive and engaged this season, the two of them could be a force for years to come. Zacha's shot really is great and he has a motor that can match Nico's. Mikey may not end up making the team but if he does I'd want him to start at center. I think he's a center through and through, no reason to start him elsewhere IMO. Have Speers and JQ battle for that third line RW spot, either one of them there is fine (contingent on at least of them showing they're NHL ready of course, which I think they both can).

 

[JimEIV]

I think there is going to be real competition between Kapala, Mueller and Strait for the last LHD spot.

 

[My3Sons]

If he was to happen to work out as a second pair guy it would be enormous for this team and the defense retooling. If we happen to hit a homerun on this then we would just need to find someone to play next to Severson long-term.

That may end up being the hardest thing to do but in a perfect world the Devils already have a top 4 in their system outside of Severson and Santini. You add Rykov in 2 years and then we really have something.

I would be very happy if Mueller even ends up being a guy we can count on as a 3rd pairing. Even that would help us along.

The Pens proved that you don't need a top tier defense to win the cup, but even a respectable defense on all three pairings for the Devils is tough to see right now. If Mueller pans out to a reliable NHL defender who can get the puck to the forwards and out of the zone rather than just off the glass it will be a big step forward. If the right side works out as the team hopes with Severson, Santini, and Rykov all developing with Mueller, then perhaps the left side will only require one additional top four guy as opposed to two of them. That would be a big difference for the team in the long run.

I think part of this issue is the team becoming better at identifying the requirements of a current NHL defender. I'm not sure that Lovejoy fits that bill. He's sort of old school. Maybe the Mueller trade suggests that they are at least trying to identify what will work in the next few years, and the Walsh drafting suggests that as well. I think Shero, Castron, and the scouts have done a nice job identifying what an NHL forward needs to succeed. With any luck they'll figure out defense sooner rather than later and in time for the current veteran forwards to benefit from it.

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Okay, I think I've got the lines I'd like to see the Devils run with to start the year.

Hall-Zajac-Palmieri
Zacha-Nico-MoJo
Henrique-McLeod-Speers/JQ
Wood/Blandisi-Boyle-Noesen

These lines. I really like these.

 

[njdevil26]

I think there is going to be real competition between Kapala, Mueller and Strait for the last LHD spot.

Kapla can pack his knives and go. He can leave the mansion. He's fired. He can sachet away.