Devils 2021 training camp thread (news, notes and speculation) - Part III [MOD warning in OP]

[devilsblood]

You should do the analysis and post the results, I'd love to see them

The "probability function" is your baby, you raise it.

 

[devilsblood]

That glass comment makes me laugh. It brought to mind my college roommate. He was our top scorer and point man on the PP. He would intentionally miss the net on most of his pregame warmup shots. He said he could never lose the thrill he got hearing the puck go off the glass and the looks on the faces of the people sitting behind the net when the puck hit the glass in front of them, especially if they hadn't been watching.

Been there.

 

[Tao Jersey Jones]

I have no problem with Bahl and think he’s a legitimate NHL prospect. I just think he’s overrated by some devils fans and that Okhotiuk is the better prospect and has been outperforming him. Hopefully they both make it and become impactful players.

Fair enough.

At the time of the call up Bahl was the correct choice. I feel some Devils fans overrate Okhotiuk. I've seen him get burned on D enough last season that doesn't get mentioned, just the flash. Whereas Bahl gets picked a part for any and every miscue.

 

[Darkauron]

Fair enough.

At the time of the call up Bahl was the correct choice. I feel some Devils fans overrate Okhotiuk. I've seen him get burned on D enough last season that doesn't get mentioned, just the flash. Whereas Bahl gets picked a part for any and every miscue.

Also Okho is much younger and wasnt even supposed to be playing in the AHL this season. There wasnt much of a point in calling him up last season with Bahl, ect ect still on the team

 

[BurntToast]

We don’t need the constant negativity. The offseason is about Hope.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Also Okho is much younger and wasnt even supposed to be playing in the AHL this season. There wasnt much of a point in calling him up last season with Bahl, ect ect still on the team

He’s only 4 months younger actually and would’ve been eligible to play even without Covid because he was a late birthday.

Him and Bahl are both 2000’s but Okhotiuk was drafted a year later because his birthdays in December

 

[Guttersniped]

Yeah because Lou is a master of Public Relations and deeply concerned about what the press thinks

Lol, yeah, he’s very active on Twitter and worried on how it would play. It’s definitely not a team first, no distractions thing.

You can disagree with the policy but pretending that this isn’t the sort of thing that wouldn’t come up with before hand is BS. He wouldn’t reverse engineer it from Wilde’s decision.

And mandates work for a reason. Being soft with Blackwood actually encourages him to not to vaccinate. He’s basically cool with not playing with not playing in Canada, so he feel like he can just take his time and mull over things until whenever. These quotes don’t show the team taking any stance beyond the NHL protocols.

Again, I just want him to do it, but I’m not particularly optimistic that will happen.

I’ve kind reached the acceptance stage of my grief over this situation, it sucks and that’s how it’s going to be. (The denial stage was it that it was fringe player.) It’s frustrating and it sucks, but the anger stage is over.

What has the reaction been like from your teammates?

Everyone has been great. I’m not trying to be a distraction to them while I work through it. I am really lucky to have a great set of teammates that support me no matter what, whether they agree or disagree with me and what’s going on. I’m very thankful to have the support of the people around me. Everyone has been great. I seem to be a little bit slower working through it than some of them have, but I’m fortunate that they have been very understanding and patient.

What has it been like for you, dealing with the different protocols and restrictions?

Yeah, it’s a lot tougher. Life is a lot tougher. Not only me, but a lot of the staff and teammates. That’s unfortunate. I don’t like to see that. I don’t want to make life more difficult for the staff or my fellow teammates. I’d rather everything be normal and great. I don’t like that just as much they do.

Have the Devils communicated anything as far as what the repercussions might be if you’re not vaccinated by the time they start playing games in Canada?
Yeah, everyone is aware of the rules and consequences if you don’t have it. We’ve known about that for the last couple weeks, maybe a month now. They’ve been completely transparent. Everybody knows what happens.

Have they told you that you would be suspended?
By the team? No, not by the team. But for breaking protocols, potentially … I don’t really know about the team’s rules. I don’t think the team would do anything like that unless there’s a reason. If you follow the rules that are in place for someone that’s in my situation right now, I think you can continue on playing and practicing.
[…]

What is it like for you coming into this camp knowing there is going to be more attention on you because of this?

I have tried to stay out of the front and center part of that. Obviously, it is going to be difficult because of the restrictions. Everyone knows. I’m just trying to do my best to stay under the radar and not let it become a distraction for my teammates and the staff while I am still working through it. So far it has been great. I’ve had a lot of support from my teammates. They’ve been very patient while I’m going through this process.
[/quote]


Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood explains his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet

 

[Lou is God]

I don't have a leg to stand on in terms of what? He hasn't produced much thus far despite playing a lot of minutes. Offensively favorable minutes.

I'm not in the "disgrace" camp, and I think his play, especially last year was good, despite the lack of production, but he didn't produce last year, and he needs to if we hope to be compete at high levels.

I don't think you're following, you made a comment that suggested some of us don't think Jack needs to prove anything this year, I'm just showing you that I made a comment along those lines that he does even so it wasn't directed at you.

 

[JimEIV]

Lol, yeah, he’s very active on Twitter and worried on how it would play. It’s definitely not a team first, no distractions thing.

You can disagree with the policy but pretending that this isn’t the sort of thing that wouldn’t come up with before hand is BS. He wouldn’t reverse engineer it from Wilde’s decision.

And mandates work for a reason. Being soft with Blackwood actually encourages him to not to vaccinate. He’s basically cool with not playing with not playing in Canada, so he feel like he can just take his time and mull over things until whenever. These quotes don’t show the team taking any stance beyond the NHL protocols.

Again, I just want him to do it, but I’m not particularly optimistic that will happen.

I’ve kind reached the acceptance stage of my grief over this situation, it sucks and that’s how it’s going to be. (The denial stage was it that it was fringe player.) It’s frustrating and it sucks, but the anger stage is over.

What has the reaction been like from your teammates?

Everyone has been great. I’m not trying to be a distraction to them while I work through it. I am really lucky to have a great set of teammates that support me no matter what, whether they agree or disagree with me and what’s going on. I’m very thankful to have the support of the people around me. Everyone has been great. I seem to be a little bit slower working through it than some of them have, but I’m fortunate that they have been very understanding and patient.

What has it been like for you, dealing with the different protocols and restrictions?

Yeah, it’s a lot tougher. Life is a lot tougher. Not only me, but a lot of the staff and teammates. That’s unfortunate. I don’t like to see that. I don’t want to make life more difficult for the staff or my fellow teammates. I’d rather everything be normal and great. I don’t like that just as much they do.

Have the Devils communicated anything as far as what the repercussions might be if you’re not vaccinated by the time they start playing games in Canada?
Yeah, everyone is aware of the rules and consequences if you don’t have it. We’ve known about that for the last couple weeks, maybe a month now. They’ve been completely transparent. Everybody knows what happens.

Have they told you that you would be suspended?
By the team? No, not by the team. But for breaking protocols, potentially … I don’t really know about the team’s rules. I don’t think the team would do anything like that unless there’s a reason. If you follow the rules that are in place for someone that’s in my situation right now, I think you can continue on playing and practicing.
[…]

What is it like for you coming into this camp knowing there is going to be more attention on you because of this?

I have tried to stay out of the front and center part of that. Obviously, it is going to be difficult because of the restrictions. Everyone knows. I’m just trying to do my best to stay under the radar and not let it become a distraction for my teammates and the staff while I am still working through it. So far it has been great. I’ve had a lot of support from my teammates. They’ve been very patient while I’m going through this process.

Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood explains his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet[/QUOTE]

"I’ve kind reached the acceptance stage of my grief over this situation"

Why? You have no room to believe that he is working through an issue or some circumstance? You just have made up your mind that he doesn't want to get vaccinated and that is it?

Look, I am not arguing that you are wrong here...It's just if your right, it seems strange that he hasn't come out and said "Oh Hell no...That stuff is poison"....or "My body my choice" or even something benign like "Everyone has to make their own decisions"....He hasn't shut the door or even put up any objections...But he most certainly has discussed his health in this context?

The whole thing seems very odd to me.

 

[devilsblood]

Speculating, but if Mac had a medical consideration, he would have made that known, maybe not the specifics, but in general that there is a medical concern.


I just think he is ideologically on that side of the debate, and that side of the debate really believes the negative side effects are worth avoiding.

 

[devilsblood]

So what do we know on this comcast MSG thing?

 

[Guttersniped]

Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood explains his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet

"I’ve kind reached the acceptance stage of my grief over this situation"

Why? You have no room to believe that he is working through an issue or some circumstance? You just have made up your mind that he doesn't want to get vaccinated and that is it?

Look, I am not arguing that you are wrong here...It's just if your right, it seems strange that he hasn't come out and said "Oh Hell no...That stuff is poison"....or "My body my choice" or even something benign like "Everyone has to make their own decisions"....He hasn't shut the door or even put up any objections...But he most certainly has discussed health in the in this context?

The whole thing seems very odd to me.[/QUOTE]
I can’t imagine things I don’t have factual information about. I actually said before that his vague responses are a better sign than him making upfront political ones but he also says doesn’t want any attention.

We don’t know what he believes, I don’t see any reason to be particularly optimistic about that either. Or see what we get debating those hypothetical beliefs.

And I don’t want to know what he likes on social media either, it’s not going make it feel better to learn he’s an anti-vax enthusiast either. It’s not like I’m trying to root for the beliefs to happen.

I don’t particularly like the team’s approach and I’m not optimistic about Blackwood getting vaccinated. A lack of optimism doesn’t mean I think it’s impossible.

He left the door open, at least publicly and I’m not going to call him a liar there. I was angry about and now I’m disappointed but *shrug* This is me trying to retire from the debate.

 

[MartyOwns]

Devils' Mackenzie Blackwood explains his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet

i think it's pretty obvious that he saw the (rightful) reaction to wilde and whoever else and chose his words very carefully. he's being vague on purpose because he doesn't want to be subject to the kind of vitriol that others have experienced.

he's not being asked to get a lung transplant. it's a vaccine, it's a shot. there's obviously no medical reason why he can't get it.

 

[Bad Goalie]

lol Wouldn't be my pick either. Foote's better suited to be getting big AHL minutes as he hasn't shown to be a good NHLer and having him play on the 4th line would not help that. The top line could be something like Foote-Boqvist-Clarke. I'd probably go with Johnsson as he generally gets the better of the 5v5 play, or Jankowski because his 5v5 defense is good and he's a good PKer, or Vesey because of his PKing ability.

I will bet you unless the 1st line is Foote/Mercer/Holtz , that the first line will include one of Brian Flynn, Chase De Leo, or Joe Gambardella. Fact is De Leo could be the LW with Mercer and Holtz.

No Mercer and/or Holtz? Definitely not Foote/Boqvist/Clarke as the top line. One of those UFA AHL signings will be on the first line and another on the 2nd line and another on the 3rd line as well. Maybe 2 on the 2nd line and the 3rd is an all prospect line. They didn't sign those guys to be the Comets 3rd line. They were signed to work with the kids and that's done by interspersing them among the top 3 lines. Wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Gauthier signed and centering the 4th line.

I don't think I have ever seen an all rookie line in the AHL and certainly not the top one. Mercer and Holtz would definitely be rookies and Foote only played 24 games in Bingo last season, close enough to rookie for me.

The extras after sifting through those we expect here would be
Schmelzer/Gauthier (1 is the 4th line center)
Talvitie
Irvine
Not exactly loaded in the depth department.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Certainly understandable...Even under normal circumstances it's pretty common to see 1st year Pro Dmen look a little on the wild side.

Absolutely, and I was including a bunch of the forwards in that number of 1st yr having been the mini, watered down, COVID AHL season.

 

[Bad Goalie]

So Loughlin's statement was off a couple days. Camp opens Monday as the Comets announced this morning and the Devils will cut this weekend in order for a bunch of them to make the opening day of camp.

I bet the AHL signings not in NJ will will be here ahead of time. Probably come in Friday or Saturday.

 

[Buck Dancer]

Do you think Tomas Tatar was signed for his defensive prowess or something?

No, he was signed to put up points. He has been one of the best 5 on 5 forwards in the NHL over the past few years...that is why they signed him

I’m aware we didn’t sign him for his defensive game but putting him on a line with a defensive minded center or winger is a must and Hughes or Sharangovich aren’t the answer. Zacha has chemistry with Hischier and Bratt plus he’s almost forced to act as the trigger man on that line, which is a good thing, because the other other guys are known for the playmaking skills. Hence why I think Tatar should be playing with Mercer and Kuokkanen.

 

[Billdo]

I love Mercer, I really do. I'm just so hesitant to put him into the lineup longer than the 9 game cup of coffee. Rushing guys can destroy their development and while he seems like a future stud for us, I don't want to rush him. It's quite a pickle.

 

[HyperX]

I love Mercer, I really do. I'm just so hesitant to put him into the lineup longer than the 9 game cup of coffee. Rushing guys can destroy their development and while he seems like a future stud for us, I don't want to rush him. It's quite a pickle.

What is it about rushing a player that affects their long term development?

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

I love Mercer, I really do. I'm just so hesitant to put him into the lineup longer than the 9 game cup of coffee. Rushing guys can destroy their development and while he seems like a future stud for us, I don't want to rush him. It's quite a pickle.

The concern is valid, but I really don't understand the constant worry when management has been clear about their stance on "rushing" players.

 

[Buck Dancer]

But he also does always have really good defensive impacts so even if that isn't the primary reason for signing him it'll be a secondary benefit.

You keep saying that yet he’s been a healthy scratch several times in the regular season because of his poor play defensively and was a healthy scratch by two different teams during the playoffs for the same reason.

Analytics are good but if what I just brought up doesn’t convince you he’s a defensive liability, I don’t know what will.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I love Mercer, I really do. I'm just so hesitant to put him into the lineup longer than the 9 game cup of coffee. Rushing guys can destroy their development and while he seems like a future stud for us, I don't want to rush him. It's quite a pickle.

It’s not really a pickle because he’s AHL eligible. If he’s not ready, he can go right down. It’s a pickle when the player has to go back to junior when they’re clearly too good for that competition.

 

[Nubmer6]

The way I look at it is that we have 11 or 10 ( if your not giving boqvuist a spot) forwards locked in:

That leaves two roster spots open cause i would assume 1 extra that doesn't dress.. Holtz/ Mercer/ Foote ( fills a size and boards play need) .. i thougth studenic looked good and they like thompson. Vesey.. has experience.. i could see that move...

pre season is ... is pre season.. but mercer made two plays last night that just wowed me... if thats his game i don't see how he is a kid that can't help the team right now.. holtz' made a lot of good plays , saw the ice well and obviously has a big time shot.

hughes
hischier
zacha
Mcleod
Bratt
Kouk
Sharif
Johnsson
Wood
Boqvuist ( assuming)
Tatar

I believe Studenic is no longer waiver exempt, which may factor into their decision too.

 

[devilsblood]

What is it about rushing a player that affects their long term development?

Potentially losing confidence, developing bad habits.

 

[Puckclektr]

Vitually every scout got players like Daigle, Yakopov etc wrong. Many players like Bratt, Datsyuk were wrong as well. Fans on the same team arguing about which of the two little better than average defense prospects is better is laughable.