Prospect Info: Devils Win #2 Overall -- Slafkovsky vs. Jiricek vs. Nemec

[njdevils1982]

I don't know why it has to be a modern animal. If you want to portray yourself as some sort of mighty hunter or top of the food chain animal isn't a T-Rex or Deinonychus a much scarier more powerful animal than a lion?

you got it! with ringo appearence too

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

View attachment 555069

Hockey players be like “It’s good maybe, I don’t know, we’ll see” and reporters are like “hell yeah they’re gonna LOVE this quote.”

 

[mtnet]

He tells me the fans are great, sometimes calling out to him "Novak Novak!" though admits he still does not know what this means but assumes it is all good things.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Not even saying what he’s saying is right but that is just wrong.
First off, most of these players are very competitive, want to play and be a difference maker. They don’t want to be on the 3rd line if they know they could play and be a much more impactful player on an NHL first line.
Second, it can have an affect on how much they make on their next contract and how they develop as a player. If they’re stuck on the third line with worse players and less ice time they won’t be viewed as highly or have as much of an opportunity to produce and put up numbers that will earn them their next contract.
Just because they’re getting paid like a 1st liner doesn’t mean they’ll be happy or not care about being on the 3rd line.
There’s so many factors.

It was just a question, not sure why you posted in such an aggressive manner lol

Our board draft geek has us sold on Slaf.

Not for me. All my opinions on Slaf are based on my actual viewings of him, thank you very much

 

[nugg]

I actually guess this is the type of question where the answer matters less than how the player approached answering.

Does a player giving an answer about something they may not understand as fully as they think say something about them?

Did they think about the question before answering?

Did they ask for more guidelines around the question before answering?

————-

The psych part of the interviews is a lot of voodoo and inferring.


Or someone goes the crypto route and wants to be a yeti.

Fitz: What is your spirit animal?
Slafkovsky: I am Jersey Devil.

 

[devilsfan35]

 

[Devils731]

Juraj: “They disrespect me and I will have my revenge!”

 

[mtnet]

Habs showed me the way to their vending machines, then sent me away hungry that day.

 

[glenwo2]

Tatar trying to get that contract, I see.

Well if this doesn't scream "We don't give a s--t about anyone who ISN'T a Center"......

I think this a hint as to where the Habs are leaning...

 

[Captain3rdLine]

It was just a question, not sure why you posted in such an aggressive manner lol



Not for me. All my opinions on Slaf are based on my actual viewings of him, thank you very much

What? There was nothing remotely aggressive about man

 

[Drill]

I strongly feel if the Devils picked 3rd, they would take Jiricek/Nemec over Cooley. Again, with all the people attacking Wright and Slafkovsky (it's a three horse race!), you'd think Cooley singlehandedly carried the US-NTDP. But I watch a ton of the US-NTDP, and I don't think Cooley separated himself in any way as the best player on his own team.

Cooley is an exciting an dynamic player, and I think he'll be a terrific NHLer. But I wouldn't take him over Jiricek or Nemec right now, especially with the scarcity and value of top-pairing caliber RD at the NHL level.

Okay now youre just taking the piss

I get youre a Devils fan and you watch prospects a lot so people trust you, but shitting on Cooley is really necessary?

The moment the Devils won the 2nd overall pick you started hating on Cooley. Youre purposely making him sound worse just because hes a center and small.

And youll chime in and say no Im not, but yeah, you are. Devils wouldnt consider Cooley 3rd? Would take Jiricek whos looked awful lately over him?

Yeah, right. Thankfully no team actually employs you

 

[Buggsy]

Okay now youre just taking the piss

I get youre a Devils fan and you watch prospects a lot so people trust you, but shitting on Cooley is really necessary?

The moment the Devils won the 2nd overall pick you started hating on Cooley. Youre purposely making him sound worse just because hes a center and small.

And youll chime in and say no Im not, but yeah, you are. Devils wouldnt consider Cooley 3rd? Would take Jiricek whos looked awful lately over him?

Yeah, right. Thankfully no team actually employs you

Saying he thinks he will be a terrific nhl player is hating on him? Picking jiricek and nemec over him for a team devoid of RD prospects is taking the piss?

Take a minute and take a breath Mrs. Cooley

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Okay now youre just taking the piss

I get youre a Devils fan and you watch prospects a lot so people trust you, but shitting on Cooley is really necessary?

The moment the Devils won the 2nd overall pick you started hating on Cooley. Youre purposely making him sound worse just because hes a center and small.

And youll chime in and say no Im not, but yeah, you are. Devils wouldnt consider Cooley 3rd? Would take Jiricek whos looked awful lately over him?

Yeah, right. Thankfully no team actually employs you

Tell me you don't know who you're talking to or what you're talking about without saying I don't know who I'm talking to or what I'm talking about.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Okay now youre just taking the piss

I get youre a Devils fan and you watch prospects a lot so people trust you, but shitting on Cooley is really necessary?

The moment the Devils won the 2nd overall pick you started hating on Cooley. Youre purposely making him sound worse just because hes a center and small.

And youll chime in and say no Im not, but yeah, you are. Devils wouldnt consider Cooley 3rd? Would take Jiricek whos looked awful lately over him?

Yeah, right. Thankfully no team actually employs you

Point to one place he either "shits on" or "hates on" Cooley and I'll buy the pitchforks.

If you can't, relax.....

 

[My3Sons]

you got it! with ringo appearence too

Ringo and Bolan were buddies. Ringo swore that "Back off Boogaloo" was an homage to Bolan who used that phrase even though the song seems to clearly be a dig at Paul.

 

[Eggtimer]

Tatar trying to get that contract, I see.


Well if this doesn't scream "We don't give a s--t about anyone who ISN'T a Center"......

I think this a hint as to where the Habs are leaning...

Possibly. Who knows why they didn’t do the same with Slaf but kinda makes some sense

 

[Nubmer6]

slaf big man, he chop down many trees.

personally, i think anyone comparing him to jagr is out to lunch

I dunno. Watching some clips of him in Liiga before the WC, he did a lot of puck protecting, especially along the boards. He'd use his body to shield the puck and swirl around, and it looked damned near impossible for opponents to knock the puck from him. It really DID remind me of Jagr.

 

[GameSeven]

View attachment 555069

 

[My3Sons]

Tatar trying to get that contract, I see.


Well if this doesn't scream "We don't give a s--t about anyone who ISN'T a Center"......

I think this a hint as to where the Habs are leaning...

I wonder if Fitz had to give Tatar a watch to lie to Slaf. If he did I bet Tatar was smart enough to get an automatic.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Okay now youre just taking the piss

I get youre a Devils fan and you watch prospects a lot so people trust you, but shitting on Cooley is really necessary?

The moment the Devils won the 2nd overall pick you started hating on Cooley. Youre purposely making him sound worse just because hes a center and small.

And youll chime in and say no Im not, but yeah, you are. Devils wouldnt consider Cooley 3rd? Would take Jiricek whos looked awful lately over him?

Yeah, right. Thankfully no team actually employs you

Whooo boy, where to start?

1) I ranked Logan Cooley at #6 in my April rankings, weeks before the Devils won the #2 pick in mid-May. However, I also continued to say that Cooley was a terrific player -- which I have done from the get-go. You don't rank a player you're not extremely high on at #6. I can't shut up about how much I love Gauthier and Perevalov... and they are my 7/8 behind Cooley.

2) I did not say the Devils "wouldn't consider Cooley" at #3. The actual quote is: "I strongly feel if the Devils picked 3rd, they would take Jiricek/Nemec over Cooley."

3) My question about Cooley was whether he separated himself as the best player on the US-NTDP, which I have watched a ton of. Now, I think Cooley is awesome, but I also think a few other guys may have an argument for team MVP this year:

Here are the scoring leaders:

1) Howard 33-49-82
2) Cooley 27-48-75
3) Nazar 28-42-70
4) McGroarty 35-34-69
5) Gauthier 34-31-65
6) Snuggerud 24-39-63
7) Hutson 10-53-63

Now we can argue Cooley played the least amount of games here (51 of 60). Or we can argue that Howard led the team in scoring and played a great two-way game, or that McGroarty received mostly defensive responsibilities, or that Snuggerud was the best defensive F on the team, or that Gauthier was the most physical guy and was constantly flipped from line to line, or that Nazar came on a ton as the season wore on, or that Hutson was a defenseman. But certainly we can't argue that one player separated themselves from the other 6 on that list. They're all great players, and should all go in the 1st round region except maybe Hutson, and that's just because he's 5'6-135.

4) Just for fun, here is my incessantly cynical and negative Cooley write-up from way back on February 3. The one thing I'd change is in the first paragraph, where I called Wright "the ostensible top pick", and this has nothing to do with Cooley or Wright, just simply the fact that Slafkovsky had a far more impressive end to his season than either and, to me, jumped up to make the #1 battle quite interesting.

C Logan Cooley, US-NTDP
Writing about Logan Cooley is quite frankly boring, because there's really nothing but great things to say about every aspect of his game. Don't just take my word for it though, if you read 25 scouting reports from major bureaus, the only negative you will see repeated is that, at 5'10-175, he's small for an NHL center. But then when you watch him play a few games, you realize quite quickly that his incredible compete level and intelligence more than makes up for a few inches and a few pounds. This is a can't miss future star who should get strong consideration for #2 overall in the 2022 draft behind only ostensible top pick Shane Wright.

Let's start with Cooley's skating, because among all the top forward prospects for 2022, I'd say Cooley's skating trails only Brad Lambert. Cooley has elite speed and agility, his acceleration is off the charts and his edge work is phenomenal. Against slower and slower-reacting opponents, Cooley looks like a video game darting in between, around and through defenders before they have the reaction time to even turn to have a chance to stop him. Though Lambert has more natural skating ability and higher top speeds in space, Cooley might play even faster because the high compete level and intelligence give him the anticipation and motivation to always be on the puck. I'd say we can argue Cooley might not be faster than anyone else in the 2022 class, but he plays faster than anyone in the 2022 class.

Which leads us to the obvious conversation about Cooley's intangibles. This kid's combination of heart and brain are almost a super power. His awareness is just ridiculous, which combined with his consistency of off-the-charts effort make him an impossibility to defend. Similarly, we're also talking about a potentially elite NHL two-way center, who routinely shuts down much older top centers in the NCAA. Quite simply, he's a one man pace-driver on all 200 feet of ice, almost unconsciously and consistently attaining possession in the defensive zone, leading the rush up ice in transition, then beating you once again in the offensive zone. I've watched three games of this kid in a row and been unable to find a single moment when his effort dropped or he made a mental mistake. You need a microscope and a healthy dose of pessimism to find fault in any of the fundamental aspects of his game.

High-end puck-handling? Check. High-end vision and passing? Check. There is some discrepancy in the view of his shooting, but I find Cooley to have a phenomenally quick and deceptive release on an accurate and lethal wrist-shot, though I would say Cooley is certainly more playmaker than pure scorer and will always accumulate more assists than goals. Cooley's passing game is probably his other truly elite skill, his vision is incredibly impressive and he completes high-danger passes with the acuity and regularity that most amateur centers complete bank passes off the boards to uncovered point men.

There is nowhere you can draft Logan Cooley which is "too early". His upside is as a high-scoring, extremely fast, two way #1 center at the NHL level, and his talent floor is as a pretty-high scoring, extremely fast two-way #2 center at the NHL level. I don't care that he's 5'10-175 because he plays big, his brain is like a supercomputer and his heart is tremendous. Logan Cooley is an NHL star waiting to happen.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

This is obviously a joke but imagine a three way trade with Habs, devils and coyotes where:

Arizona: 1OA
Montreal: 2nd and 3rd OA
Devils: Anderson, Flames 1st (2022), Florida 1st (2023), Carolina 1st (2022), Colorado 1st (2022)

 

[youryeah]

This is obviously a joke but imagine a three way trade with Habs, devils and coyotes where:

Arizona: 1OA
Montreal: 2nd and 3rd OA
Devils: Anderson, Flames 1st (2022), Florida 1st (2023), Carolina 1st (2022), Colorado 1st (2022)

the most outrageous part of this trade is including josh anderson

 

[Nubmer6]

This is obviously a joke but imagine a three way trade with Habs, devils and coyotes where:

Arizona: 1OA
Montreal: 2nd and 3rd OA
Devils: Anderson, Flames 1st (2022), Florida 1st (2023), Carolina 1st (2022), Colorado 1st (2022)

I dunno. I think we're at the point where we need quality over quantity. Meanwhile, I think Arizona needs the opposite.

 

[mdj12784]

I actually guess this is the type of question where the answer matters less than how the player approached answering.

Does a player giving an answer about something they may not understand as fully as they think say something about them?

Did they think about the question before answering?

Did they ask for more guidelines around the question before answering?

————-

The psych part of the interviews is a lot of voodoo and inferring.


Or someone goes the crypto route and wants to be a yeti.

I’m that case, if he said the jersey devil, I’d cream in my pants!

 

[R8Devs]

guessing but i think this is right
player 1 - logan cooley
player 2 - shane wright
player 3 - marco kasper
player 4 - matthew savoie
player 5 - cutter gauthier
player 6 - juraj slafkovsky