Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - season begins!

[Whaddagoal]

I'm fine with Timo getting 1 game. We always say we don't like seeing our stars get pushed around so I'm fine with one of them standing up for themselves. It will keep others from fvcking with him.

Me too, however I'm not sure how different timos crosscheck was to Ross Colton's to Timos face last season. Colton only got fined. This league is wildly and intentionally uneven in their judgements

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Me too, however I'm not sure how different timos crosscheck was to Ross Colton's to Timos face last season. Colton only got fined. This league is wildly and intentionally uneven in their judgements

Their judgement criteria:

1. Do you play for an original 6 team? Yes - No hearing. No - go to 2.
2. Are you a star player? Yes - Go to 3. No - Spin the wheel and assign the random number of games the pointer lands on*
3. Was there a serious injury? Yes - Go to 4. No - Small fine.
4. Was the other player a star? Yes - spin the wheel and assign random number of games. No - Fine
* If the other player was a star, max suspension.

 

[Hisch13r]

Me too, however I'm not sure how different timos crosscheck was to Ross Colton's to Timos face last season. Colton only got fined. This league is wildly and intentionally uneven in their judgements

Their judgement criteria:

1. Do you play for an original 6 team? Yes - No hearing. No - go to 2.
2. Are you a star player? Yes - Go to 3. No - Spin the wheel and assign the random number of games the pointer lands on*
3. Was there a serious injury? Yes - Go to 4. No - Small fine.
4. Was the other player a star? Yes - spin the wheel and assign random number of games. No - Fine
* If the other player was a star, max suspension.

Matthews got 2 games for something similar too.

 

[My3Sons]

This one of my favorite stats of the season so far. Unfortunately for some reason JFresh didn't have this for last season but considering we did a great job of limiting quantity but a very poor job of limiting quality I can't imagine it'd look great lol

View attachment 936220

so thr average shot against NJ is a bad one?

 

[Hisch13r]

so thr average shot against NJ is a bad one?

Yeah they have the best average xG against per shot attempt

 

[DerekDevils30]

Cotter's a closer Timo replacement than Tatar is and Tatar's an upgrade over Cotter on the 3rd line.

If Keefe wants to deploy Hischier as the usual matchup line I don’t know if he’ll trust Cotter in that role. I think Tatar is the safer play

 

[Hisch13r]

If Keefe wants to deploy Hischier as the usual matchup line I don’t know if he’ll trust Cotter in that role. I think Tatar is the safer play

I'd just give that role to Tatar-Haula-Mercer for the game instead. I've brought this up ad nauseam at this point but Cotter-Haula have been bad together. They were able to beat up on Nashville last game so maybe against another bad team they could keep it rolling

 

[Goptor]

Their judgement criteria:

1. Do you play for an original 6 team? Yes - No hearing. No - go to 2.
2. Are you a star player? Yes - Go to 3. No - Spin the wheel and assign the random number of games the pointer lands on*
3. Was there a serious injury? Yes - Go to 4. No - Small fine.
4. Was the other player a star? Yes - spin the wheel and assign random number of games. No - Fine
* If the other player was a star, max suspension.

You are overestimating the effort that DoPS puts into their work.

They make up new criteria each year. This year its:

Did you retaliate immediately after an incident and cause injury? Suspension and hearing where the only thing said is "Do no retaliate against other players, okay?"

 

[NjDevsRR]

This one of my favorite stats of the season so far. Unfortunately for some reason JFresh didn't have this for last season but considering we did a great job of limiting quantity but a very poor job of limiting quality I can't imagine it'd look great lol

View attachment 936220

Detroit (confused Dano face)

 

[Hisch13r]

Detroit (confused Dano face)

Their offense on the other hand... Their offense has been insanely bad this year. TopDownHockey has them last in xGF/60 at 1.93. Chicago's the next worst at 2.12. That's a larger gap than Chicago at 31st and Vancouver at 22nd.

It is weird they're sandwiched where they are defensively with LA, Minny, us, and Vancouver. Those are the 4 best when it comes to xGA/60 while Detroit's 16th.

 

[Bcap88]

I knew this team wasn’t going to get pushed around when Jack dumped Lindell in the corner after a whistle in the Florida game for no apparent reason lol

 

[NJDfan86]

At this point I prefer Bowers over Foote. But the Meier suspension opens the door for both guys to get in the lineup and I'd like to see Foote play well. But I also want to see Bowers and Dowling and Tatar play well. I'm funny like that.

Edit: But yeah, Mac is clearly a non player, they protect the hell out of his minutes, and he still puts up terrible numbers. Foote is not that.

Bowers has done a good job, and I probably would have left Foote in the AHL due to his general lack of playing time the past few years so that he can get minutes. Foote has the type of profile that can pop after some middling years so I would have liked to see him get a chance to play big minutes.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

Bowers has done a good job, and I probably would have left Foote in the AHL due to his general lack of playing time the past few years so that he can get minutes. Foote has the type of profile that can pop after some middling years so I would have liked to see him get a chance to play big minutes.

What profile is that? Slow as dirt with an overrated shot?

 

[NJDfan86]

What profile is that? Slow as dirt with an overrated shot?

leaving aside the shot part (it’s a good shot), yes? Big, slow skating forwards with decent offensive skill often take time to figure out how to play at an NHL pace. There’s not a great hit rate, but the upside is worth it should the player work out.

 

[dgibb10]

This one of my favorite stats of the season so far. Unfortunately for some reason JFresh didn't have this for last season but considering we did a great job of limiting quantity but a very poor job of limiting quality I can't imagine it'd look great lol

View attachment 936220

Checks out

 

[Better Call Sal]

 

[Saugus]

PK still pumping our tires years after leaving the team.

You love to see it.

 

[MadDevil]

I still sometimes wonder how the hell a player like Bratt went that late in the draft. And then think of how much this franchise's fortunes turned on a couple of draft lottery wins and a 6th round pick.

 

[glenwo2]

I still sometimes wonder how the hell a player like Bratt went that late in the draft. And then think of how much this franchise's fortunes turned on a couple of draft lottery wins and a 6th round pick.

I honestly believe that Bratt went that late because he was basically invisible as far as other scouting teams out there.

They probably never even heard of him until the Devils drafted him.

That is credit to our overseas scout team more than anything in finding this Gem.

 

[Goptor]

I still sometimes wonder how the hell a player like Bratt went that late in the draft. And then think of how much this franchise's fortunes turned on a couple of draft lottery wins and a 6th round pick.

Its what happens when you pick skill and skating over everything else. It wasn't luck, it was strategy.

The guys who failed to make it in the NHL are still the top guys in the AHL. Something that is non-existent on our AHL team.

 

[Brodeur]

I still sometimes wonder how the hell a player like Bratt went that late in the draft. And then think of how much this franchise's fortunes turned on a couple of draft lottery wins and a 6th round pick.

Looked up the Central Scouting ranking and to my surprise Bratt was 17th on their final European list, a few spots ahead of Devils legend Janne Kuokkanen who went in the 2nd round. So he wasn't as much an unknown as I had assumed.

Corey Pronman had Bratt #50. I did chuckle a bit seeing James (J.D.) Greenway at #51. I dragged my buddy to see the USNTDP play Arizona State that year. I told there was a guy (Clayton Keller) on the ice who was going to go in the top 10-12 but let him try to figure out who it was. He eventually settled on Greenway. [/coolstorybro]

I don't recall Bratt being on my radar that draft year. He didn't crack Bob McKenzie's top 80. I can only imagine his size caused teams to bypass Bratt.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

He did have a decent assist on the Hischier goal last night and has been a bit snake bitten the last few games but it's not the end of the world if Timo misses a game. He might be playing through an injury that is hampering his game a tad (the back spasms from a few days ago). I feel comfortable this team can still beat a team like the Blues without him.


They seem like they might be able to turn things around a bit under Montgomery. I feel for the dude getting basically kicked out of Dallas and being given the boot a bit prematurely by Boston.

 

[Guttersniped]

From Hockey Prospect’s 2016 Black Book, he was seen as very boom/bust.

Bratt, Jesper
LW/RW – AIK (SHL-2) – 5'09.75", 171
HockeyProspect.com Ranking: 100

Bratt is an exciting winger that plays a high-paced game with the ability to execute at top speed. He is one of the biggest one on one threats in the draft in transition, has a rare capability to deke out defensemen and tremendous agility. He gets up to speed in a hurry and can be very quick turning with the puck on his stick, is a deft stickhandler but usually doesn’t hold onto the puck for too long. His quick decision making keeps up with his great skating ability, and together with patience and vision allows him to be a good playmaker. His accurate wrist shot is definitely a legit threat, but Jesper is a passer more than a goal scorer.

Has a high skill level and is elusive with the puck, but on the smaller rinks he would need to be stronger on the puck. We would like to see him more involved in puck battles, his focus is obviously on creating offense but he’ll have to compete harder to get the puck. It looks like he doesn’t like getting his nose dirty, especially along the boards. Defensively doesn’t go beyond keeping his position and staying ready to jump on loose pucks with his quickness. When he tries to get physical and throws the odd hit he often gets called, should bother about engaging more consistently along the board instead. Bratt was fairly productive as a 17yrs old in the second tier Swedish men league, but as an undersized player his compete level will need to improve significantly for him to have a chance to eventually succeed at the NHL level.

Quotable: "There is some upside with his skating and skill but he will need to figure out his game. In my viewings, I came away with the impression of a winger who thinks he can make a couple of fancy offensive plays and decide the game with two or three flashy efforts. For me, he's just not quite skilled enough for that to fly at the NHL level anytime soon" – HP Scout Nik Funa

Quotable: “He catches my attention with some flash and dash but he’s a guy I liked less with every viewing. He’s got skill but needs to be a more complete player. Not competitive enough. One of our Euro scouts called him this year’s Bracco.” - HP Scout Mark Edwards

IMO, Bratt’s come across as very driven from the start. He’s pushed himself to improve with a lot of outside coaching (he’s mentioned skating coaches, shooting coaches, his sports psychologist, etc)

 

[onmygameboi]

Listen. In my final season at the Inman Beer League in Edison, I had 11 points in 10 games as LHD. I reckon I could have gotten 20 points in a full year in the NHL

Did you ever play a team called the "Fat Slobs", or the "Climax"?. I played at Inman a while back.