Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - part IV

[Captain3rdLine]

Right well while you pick apart their extremely subtle differences, lets just remember both play the position of wing and are known as playmakers. One isnt seven inches taller nor is one a sniper

So yes theyre basically clones. You can be literal if you want and nitpick it but Mercer is our best forward going forward whos cheap (literally what Bratt was for us, weird another perfect comparison)

But yes tell me more how its unlikely 18th overall Mercer can ever catch 6th rounder Jesper Bratt. Someone must have posted a link here last week while I was gone to a magic 8-ball vendor, I gotta get mine

Huh there’s nothing subtle about one being a significantly better skater and overall player. You can’t be serious at this point. They play the same position and are seen as playmakers so they’re clones?

What kind of logic as that. You haven’t made a single perfect comparison yet man.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Whats funny is seeing everyone try to dance around the proclamation that Mercer probably wont be better or as good as Bratt when they have literally nothing to stand on when saying that

Can I jump in and ask why it so important to make sure everyone knows Mercer could be as good/better than Bratt one day? I'd love to argue just not sure what's going on.

 

[OmNomNom]

Sorry to interrupt this debate but there are some crazy people out there :



Who pays 1300+ for a GEERSTEN jersey?

when i see this i realize i'm not that hardcore of a fan at all lol



i'm just a massive nerd to be posting on here for over 10 yrs

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Whats funny is seeing everyone try to dance around the proclamation that Mercer probably wont be better or as good as Bratt when they have literally nothing to stand on when saying that

No it’s very simple. Bratt is among the best wingers in the NHL and while possible it’s unlikely Mercer ever reaches that level because not many players do. Simple odds. There’s multiple other young wingers in the league who are much more likely to get to that level than Mercer.

Also love that you keep changing the subject and coming up with another stupid point when one fails.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Whats funny is seeing everyone try to dance around the proclamation that Mercer probably wont be better or as good as Bratt when they have literally nothing to stand on when saying that

and if Mercer ever becomes as good as Bratt, thats a GOOD thing for us. Why are you acting like having a lot of good players is somehow a negative?

You can always trade a guy if you can't afford him? Having too many good players is NEVER a bad thing.

 

[Saugus]

Man, this thread added like 5 pages since I last checked, and I figured there must have been some rumors today.

But instead, what the f*** did I just read? We are arguing with a single dissident about Bratt, again.

 

[Rybo]

Huh there’s nothing subtle about one being a significantly better skater and overall player. You can’t be serious at this point. They play the same position and are seen as playmakers so they’re clones?

What kind of logic as that. You haven’t made a single perfect comparison yet man.

And your proof that Bratt is 'a significantly better skater' is where?

Or are you going to seriously compare the skating strength of now a grown ass man to that of a guy who just was able to buy his first legal beer three months ago?

Right. Just like everybody knew Jacks shot would increase to 60+ goal pace territory... its almost like they didnt know. Because maybe, just maybe, players can develop their game.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Bratt is 3 years older than Mercer lol

you're acting like one guy is 16 and one is 27

 

[NjDevsRR]

Small forwards who have good motors and playmaking skills with good defense

Yeah those two are wildly apart youre right my bad

This is like comparing 2006 Brian Gionta and Martin St Louis…yes, both are “small” and good playmakers. Do they play similar?

No f***ing way.

 

[Saugus]

when i see this i realize i'm not that hardcore of a fan at all lol



i'm just a massive nerd to be posting on here for over 10 yrs

The rich hardcore fans drop a G on a goon's sweater.

The broke hardcore fans post here for free.

 

[Hisch13r]

Mercer is small is the new Nico is small. Neither guy is small.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

And your proof that Bratt is 'a significantly better skater' is where?

Or are you going to seriously compare the skating strength of now a grown ass man to that of a guy who just was able to buy his first legal beer three months ago?

Right. Just like everybody knew Jacks shot would increase to 60+ goal pace territory... its almost like they didnt know. Because maybe, just maybe, players can develop their game.

Holy shit. That’s absolutely a subjective opinion but I think pretty every reasonable person everywhere that watched them skate would agree that Bratt is a significantly better skater. And yes players don’t improve their skating that much from 21-23/24. Bratt’s skating at 19 was better than Mercer’s right now.

Players can absolute develop their game but skating and speed is way harder to unlikely to improve significantly than skating.

Also stop talking about proof when you have yet to produce any for anything you’re saying. It’s a pointless and stupid argument. I could just as easily say where’s your proof that Mercer is gonna be as good and it would be an even stupider debate then you’re already making it.

 

[Rybo]

Can I jump in and ask why it so important to make sure everyone knows Mercer could be as good/better than Bratt one day? I'd love to argue just not sure what's going on.

It started with not paying Bratt as much as Meier , then it was stated that Bratt is worth it, I then replied by saying he is our third best (soon fourth best) forward we cant pay him 9m and mentioned forward depth, Mercer comes up, I state Mercer can become Bratt

And now were here, where im being told Mercer cant become Bratt and somehow everyones a guru and knew Bratt would become this when he had 30 points in 62 games at 21.

 

[Nubmer6]

when i see this i realize i'm not that hardcore of a fan at all lol



i'm just a massive nerd to be posting on here for over 10 yrs

It took that post to realize this?

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

I really don’t agree with the idea Mercer can’t be a high producer. He certainly has the talent to be one. The thing that will hold him back is his usage

That's not what I was trying to say. I was trying to do different scenarios, and why i don't want to give up. But I understand, in hindsight, how my message didn't come across well

 

[Rybo]

Holy shit. That’s absolutely a subjective opinion but I think pretty every reasonable person everywhere that watched them skate would agree that Bratt is a significantly better skater. And yes players don’t improve their skating that much from 21-23/24. Bratt’s skating at 19 was better than Mercer’s right now.

Players can absolute develop their game but skating and speed is way harder to unlikely to improve significantly than skating.

Also stop talking about proof when you have yet to produce any for anything you’re saying.

Jesper Bratts skating improved the most when he was skating in the offseason with our then-Newly drafted Prospect Holtz

That offseason he came in faster stronger and better in every area of his skating

Players cant improve their skating between 21-24? Lmfao right, sure thing boss

 

[Hisch13r]

Bratt and Mercer at 21 had strikingly similar production rates. That doesn't mean Mercer's going to develop into a top 10ish winger like Bratt has.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Jesper Bratts skating improved the most when he was skating in the offseason with our then-Newly drafted Prospect Holtz

That offseason he came in faster stronger and better in every area of his skating

Players cant improve their skating between 21-24? Lmfao right, sure thing boss

Can you read? Where in that did I say players can’t improve their skating? Are you trying to just make up dumb shit because you don’t have anything decent to argue?

Jesper Bratt was an elite skater from the minute he stepped into the league. Sure he got faster and stronger over the years but he didn’t completely revamp his skating. Always had elite edges and technique that Mercer doesn’t have.

 

[My3Sons]

That, and I wonder sometimes what the difference is really like. I mean, I get it, playing in the middle of Manhattan is its own thing, and the location of MSG means it'll always have sellouts and whatnot through corporate seats alone, but in the big picture it's not like the local media really talks about the Rangers all that much, anyway. Listen to local sports radio and they're all like "Oh, it's February, nothing going on in sports until March Madness and baseball season", just a lot of ignoring or sheer ignorance of hockey, whether it's the Rags, Isles, or us.

The size of the Rags' "fanbase" is always played up, but they just don't seem to make that much of a ripple in the overall sports scene around here; this is a baseball/football/Knicks market.

The NYR fan base isn’t that much bigger than any other hockey fan base. Take the corporate seats away and NYR wouldn’t sell out most games in my view. When I was in NYC I had virtual season tickets to thr NYR . I figured out that almost every big to medium firm in NYC had a pair in the lower bowl at MSG. I had enough lawyer friends spread out that a buddy and I could get somebody’s pair for every game . For the most part people didn’t care about hockey. The Knicks were far more popular.

 

[HBK27]

 

[NjDevsRR]

Wtf…Mercer has literally one of the choppiest skating and stick handling styles in the league. Which helps make him unpredictable to his opponent which is great.

Jesper is literally the exact opposite with having one of the smoothest stickhandling and skating styles in the league which makes him dynamic.

LOL at comparing these. OH MY…

 

[Captain3rdLine]

"And yes players don’t improve their skating that much from 21-23/24."

Oh yes I can read. And what Im reading is some bullshit to knock Mercer down

If you seriously think Bratt at 19 was a better skater than Mercer at 21 then just stop replying to me, its a waste of my time

lol I’m confident pretty much everyone else in here that’s been watching them both would agree. Sorry you don’t like that.

Any chance you understand the difference between saying a player can’t improve something from 21-24 and they don’t that much, or is that gonna be too much?
Also don’t see how that knocks down Mercer whatsoever lol.

And no one’s wasting your time but you

 

[Darkauron]

Man, this thread added like 5 pages since I last checked, and I figured there must have been some rumors today.

But instead, what the f*** did I just read? We are arguing with a single dissident about Bratt, again.

Yeah I was so confused. I thought we got a trade or something.

 

[Bleedred]

So Mercer has no chance of ever being as good? Just writing him off already then cause Bratt exists?

Sure lets pay Bratt 9 instead of Mercer 5 to do the same job. Thatll keep our cap open for out future contention Im sure

In two years a team consisting of Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, Nico Hischier, Dawson Mercer, Dougie Hamilton, Ondrej Palat, and possibly Timo Meier... and thats strictly top-6/4 talent... that team seriously needs to spend 9m on a 5' 10" playmaking winger who cant score nor get to the net?

If Jesper Bratt was a Ranger absolutely nobody here would think hes worth nine million. Youre just in your feels because Bratt was one of only two guys withNico who gave us hope

Agreed completely.

We really should just try and replace Bratt with someone like Barclay Goodrow or Zach Hyman. Or some kind of equivalent.

Those are the real gritty winners.

 

[Mr Bojanglez]

Whats funny is seeing everyone try to dance around the proclamation that Mercer probably wont be better or as good as Bratt when they have literally nothing to stand on when saying that

This board was calling him Giroux light last year. We love Mercer. Relax rook.