Prospect Info: Devils picking 4th Overall.

[Goomba]

Jack stated in his exit interview he’s not afraid to say he wants the Devils to take Luke. It’s his family and they would make a proactive decision to pass on his brother. It’s not something that would go unnoticed.

All I’m saying is this isn’t a straight up decision. In the scenario you pass on Luke, there’s a real chance you’re dealing with a situation where you passed on Jack’s brother and he winds up in the same organization as Quinn. You better be damn sure Clarke is unquestionably better.

Its too much for Fitzgerald, if the choice between the two arose

handedness isnt what ownership cares about nor Jack, and even though you dont draft based on feelings they certainly matter when it comes to being a cap team and signing contracts, especially our franchise offensive center

though for the record Id love Clarke at four as well, but just not over Hughes. Until the next day when I wake up and watch every second of Clarke footage I can find and force my mental addiction onto him

 

[BurntToast]

What did Vancouver give up to get the Twins?

 

[Emperoreddy]

I do think if he is there it's going to be Luke.

 

[Guttersniped]

Craig Button’s mock draft 1.0 has us selecting Clarke.

Michigan Mock: Button has Power to Sabres; Beniers to Seattle, Johnson a Canuck

Edvinsson #5, Hughes #8. Looks about right to me.

McKenzie is the obvious source for insider scout info and Pronman also uses insider info when he makes his final mock.

It seems like Button is doing his own thing here and picking prospects he thinks makes sense for a team, which is what most of these guys do after any obvious top picks are gone.

It’s a weird year so who knows but I think he has Philly taking L’Horcruxes at #13 because he has him on his own list at #8.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

McKenzie is the obvious source for insider scout info and Pronman also uses insider info when he makes his final mock.

It seems like Button is doing his own thing here and picking prospects he thinks makes sense for a team, which is what most of these guys do after any obvious top picks are gone.

It’s a weird year so who knows but I think he has Philly taking L’Horcruxes at #13 because he has him on his own list at #8.

Yes Button’s rankings and mock drafts are always just his own personal opinion. McKenzie’s are the combined rankings of 10 NHL scouts so much more reliable.

 

[Devils090]

What did Vancouver give up to get the Twins?

They had just the 3rd pick so they traded Bryan McCabe and a future 1st round pick to the Blackhawks for their pick(4th OA) then traded the 4thOA and a few late round picks to Tampa to move up to 1st in the draft then traded back to 2nd to let Atlanta move up to 1 with an assurance they wouldn’t take a Sedin

 

[Emperoreddy]

McKenzie is the obvious source for insider scout info and Pronman also uses insider info when he makes his final mock.

It seems like Button is doing his own thing here and picking prospects he thinks makes sense for a team, which is what most of these guys do after any obvious top picks are gone.

It’s a weird year so who knows but I think he has Philly taking L’Horcruxes at #13 because he has him on his own list at #8.

He didn't even write a blurb about us so I doubt he put much thought into this.

 

[njdevils1982]

What did Vancouver give up to get the Twins?

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-sedin-twins-and-the-1999-nhl-entry-draft/


almost as good as sam pollack's moves back when the habs drafted lafleur

some interesting betting and dealing on his part by burke

 

[TheDuke93]

It would take a massive set of balls to take Clarke over Hughes. Not only because it’s a coin flip who the better prospect is (with Luke the much better skater), but because you’re potentially creating hard feelings with the face of your franchise. I would be absolutely stunned, but I guess stranger things have happened.

Fwiw, Pronman has the Devils taking Hughes at 4 and Clarke going around 8 after the three other defensemen.

I think Clarke is a better player today and has better offensive potential. You draft Hughes because he's much younger and you hope he develops more obviously. I don't think you can 100% say Hughes is a better prospect and should go ahead nor would it take balls to draft Clarke over Hughes. If we draft Luke because of Jack that would be a massive failure on or franchises part.

 

[Guttersniped]

Dan MacKinnon seemingly pointing out how Luke being related to Jack and Quinn shows a 'pedigree' that adds confidence to the pick

does he have much pull? I understand hes the AGM but sometimes these roles are just figure spots, like Brodeur having tons of pull

Bloodlines are commonly seen as a plus, but not every Staal brother worked out. It only goes so far. And baby brothers aren’t usually the pick the litter, statistically speaking (Jared Staal, Matthew Strome, twins Rich and Ron Sutter).
(And say that as the youngest in the family and you overcome that.)

Corey used that quote because they talked about Luke first (because he’s the guy everyone wants to read about), then Brandt and then Eklund. You’re reading into how the used a quote.

I’m completely convinced that the team is very interested in Luke. I do not believe that there are any signs that they obsessed with Luke and feel need get him at all costs. I also think if they are that pathetic and they’re morons. He’s excellent prospect but he’s super young, he has some real flaws and a serious foot injury. I’m pretty confident he’ll be there at 4.

I don’t think that marketing is as important as getting best player. Luke is a defenseman who won’t be in NJ for a couple years. I still think we’ll end up drafting Luke. At 4.

 

[Unknown Caller]

I think Clarke is a better player today and has better offensive potential. You draft Hughes because he's much younger and you hope he develops more obviously. I don't think you can 100% say Hughes is a better prospect and should go ahead nor would it take balls to draft Clarke over Hughes. If we draft Luke because of Jack that would be a massive failure on or franchises part.

I never said Hughes is 100% a better player. It would absolutely take balls to take Clarke over Hughes because of the context. These aren't randomly generated players in a video game. In the scenario we took Clarke over Hughes and Luke went to Vancouver and lit it up, that would be a massive failure on our franchise's part as well. You can play it both ways.

There are also tons of reasons why you draft Hughes over Clarke that isn't related to age. For starters, skating is the most important quality in a defenseman and Luke is an elite skater. Clarke has skating issues (as much as some on this board don't want to acknowledge it). We can get into the nuances of their game, but Luke certainly has his strengths over Brandt Clarke and the same is true in the inverse. I'm not sure that Luke's quite as offensively dynamic right now as Brandt.

Either way, they aren't separated by much. I would take Hughes from a pure hockey standpoint as well, but that's not a knock on Clarke at all.

 

[Guttersniped]

What did Vancouver give up to get the Twins?

Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia: How did the Canucks draft the Sedin twins?

 

[Emperoreddy]

Hughes injury is something the team has to do their due diligence on.

Everything I have read said a tendon injury like that doesn't heal back to 100% where it was before.

Though on the flipside it could easily scare teams from taking him top 3 if that's the guy we want, injury be damned.

Also marketing absolutely would love Luke. Having two high profile brothers makes their jobs easier. I doubt Fitz cares much about that though.

 

[njdevils1982]

Bloodlines are commonly seen as a plus, but not every Staal brother worked out. It only goes so far. And baby brothers aren’t usually the pick the litter, statistically speaking (Jared Staal, Matthew Strome, twins Rich and Ron Sutter).
(And say that as the youngest in the family and you overcome that.)

Corey used that quote because they talked about Luke first (because he’s the guy everyone wants to read about), then Brandt and then Eklund. You’re reading into how the used a quote.

I’m completely convinced that the team is very interested in Luke. I do not believe that there are any signs that they obsessed with Luke and feel need get him at all costs. I also think if they are that pathetic and they’re morons. He’s excellent prospect but he’s super young, he has some real flaws and a serious foot injury. I’m pretty confident he’ll be there at 4.

I don’t think that marketing is as important as getting best player. Luke is a defenseman who won’t be in NJ for a couple years. I still think we’ll end up drafting Luke. At 4.

rocky trottier was a home run pick as the devils first ever overall (8th in '82) seeing as his brother was sort of a decent player……

……its ok though ….we got dano at the 18th pick that year to make up for the lacksadaisical choice by the team's scouts and management

 

[TrufleShufle]

We keep talking about the marketing and making Jack happy as the reasons to pick Luke over anyone if it's close. I look at the way Smith and Jack play together when they are clicking and think that is the reason. Both Smith and Jack are great players, but when they are in the groove together it's insane to watch. If Jack has that with Luke in anyway, and Luke is as great as he is suppose to be, that is the reason you draft him. Not for commercials or to keep a player "happy."

You really can pick any of those reasons honestly, but if Luke is available for us, I can't see any scenario we don't take him barring any information breaking that we haven't all heard before.

 

[Unknown Caller]

A large number of Anaheim fans also want them to take Hughes if Power and Beniers are off the board, which they will be. Not that fan opinion means anything, but it might be the best case if Hughes goes to a harmless team out west (not Vancouver) and the Devils can take their preferred pick of Clarke, Eklund and Guenther.

 

[beekay414]

For starters, skating is the most important quality in a defenseman

Highly, highly disagree. The ability to process the game at a high level is the most important part of being a defenseman. Obviously they can't be a piss poor skater but skating, for me, takes a back seat to hockey IQ.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Highly, highly disagree. The ability to process the game at a high level is the most important part of being a defenseman. Obviously they can't be a piss poor skater but skating, for me, takes a back seat to hockey IQ.

I disagree here as well. You can process the game at an incredibly high level, but if you can't skate, you're either not in the league or you're Ben Lovejoy. There are countless defenseman who had tremendous IQ, but just didn't have the tools to make an impact. It's why teams salivate over toolsy defensemen.

It's obviously all important, but if you want an elite defenseman in today's game, they need to be elite skaters. Even Ty Smith's ceiling is going to be somewhat capped because his skating will hold him back from being truly elite.

 

[TheDuke93]

I never said Hughes is 100% a better player. It would absolutely take balls to take Clarke over Hughes because of the context. These aren't randomly generated players in a video game. In the scenario we took Clarke over Hughes and Luke went to Vancouver and lit it up, that would be a massive failure on our franchise's part as well. You can play it both ways.

There are also tons of reasons why you draft Hughes over Clarke that isn't related to age. For starters, skating is the most important quality in a defenseman and Luke is an elite skater. Clarke has skating issues (as much as some on this board don't want to acknowledge it). We can get into the nuances of their game, but Luke certainly has his strengths over Brandt Clarke and the same is true in the inverse. I'm not sure that Luke's quite as offensively dynamic right now as Brandt.

Either way, they aren't separated by much. I would take Hughes from a pure hockey standpoint as well, but that's not a knock on Clarke at all.

I dis agree entirely about it taking balls and we can just agree to disagree. Skating imo is probably the 3rd or 4th most important quality of a defensemen. You can say Clarke has skating issues all you want, he gets around the ice efficiently and quickly, that is more important then his skating looking funny. Which is still not an issue so again we can agree to disagree. 100% ignoring Luke's injury also makes 0 sense to me. This fear of Luke going to Van and Jack leaving to me is dumb but I can't say given our history that it isn't somewhat valid. Again we can agree to disagree.

 

[TheDuke93]

Highly, highly disagree. The ability to process the game at a high level is the most important part of being a defenseman. Obviously they can't be a piss poor skater but skating, for me, takes a back seat to hockey IQ.

IQ supersedes every single trait imaginable to me personally. There is obviously a floor for certain traits that players must meet to be NHLers ++ but IQ is far and away the most important to me personally.

 

[beekay414]

I disagree here as well. You can process the game at an incredibly high level, but if you can't skate, you're either not in the league or you're Ben Lovejoy. There are countless defenseman who had tremendous IQ, but just didn't have the tools to make an impact. It's why teams salivate over toolsy defensemen.

It's obviously all important, but if you want an elite defenseman in today's game, they need to be elite skaters. Even Ty Smith's ceiling is going to be somewhat capped because his skating will hold him back from being truly elite.

No they don't. They just can't be average to poor. Plenty of above average skating defensemen have won the Norris lately. I clearly stated that they can't be bad skaters so, obviously, it's all going to play into it. Just think that you can skate all day but if you can't process the game, you're going to be borderline worthless. Processing the game is more important than skating, if they are on an equal level. Clarke's skating is fine. He's not bad there whatsoever and he processes the game at an incredibly high level, something we're still not sure about with Hughes.

 

[beekay414]

IQ supersedes every single trait imaginable to me personally. There is obviously a floor for certain traits that players must meet to be NHLers ++ but IQ is far and away the most important to me personally.

Exactly

 

[Fat Damon]

I would trade the pick and see what you can get. This draft year seems to be too weak.

 

[beekay414]

I would trade the pick and see what you can get. This draft year is just too weak.

This draft isn't weak whatsoever...

 

[Unknown Caller]

IQ supersedes every single trait imaginable to me personally. There is obviously a floor for certain traits that players must meet to be NHLers ++ but IQ is far and away the most important to me personally.

There's a reason why there are defensemen who process the game incredibly well who are drafted in the 7th round, while defensemen with elite size/skating/skill combos rarely fall out of the first round unless they have serious IQ/character flaws.

Size and skating packages just can't be taught for defensemen and are coveted by front offices.