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

[FooteBahl]

Happy for winning in the draft. Not so happy about our luck that the draft is again mediocre at best.

I was in a couple off playoff games where Slafkovsky played (watched in total 6 of them). Didnt even notice the guy. Sure he is 17 but kids like Laine and Barkov carried the play at the same age in the same league. He is probs good but maybe borderline 2nd liner in the future.

Edit. Barkov had like a point per game pace at 17. Laine got 30pts in 50 games. Slafkovsky mustered 5+5 in 31 games played.

Beggars can’t be choosers. Jack is on his way to becoming a top-5 player, Luke looks like the second coming of Neids and we were fortunate to get late round steals in guys like Bratt, Shara and Gritsyuk. We are going to be absolutely scary as soon as next year if the net situation is fixed.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

People talk about Laine, how many points did he get on the PP because he had a generational slapshot? Barkov is just a special player. Slafkovsky has the highest ceiling and fits a tremendous need. You draft him and ensure he is developed properly.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

No he isn't. Plus he is a waterbug which NJ has tons of.

He's the BPA on a lot of lists, mine included.
I just don't think you can have too many skilled, speedy hockey players.

I like Slafkovsky too but he feels like he has a bigger bust factor. Reminds me a bit too much of Puljujarvi.

I probably take Jiricek among the guys listed. But I'd honestly prefer to go Cooley. If we end up having too many high skilled high motor play drivers I'm sure we can move one for a top 4 D or power forward.

Beggars can’t be choosers. Jack is on his way to becoming a top-5 player, Luke looks like the second coming of Neids and we were fortunate to get late round steals in guys like Bratt, Shara and Gritsyuk. We are going to be absolutely scary as soon as next year if the net situation is fixed.

Don't forget Mercer!

 

[FooteBahl]

He's the BPA on a lot of lists, mine included.
I just don't think you can have too many skilled, speedy hockey players.

I like Slafkovsky too but he feels like he has a bigger bust factor. Reminds me a bit too much of Puljujarvi.

I probably take Jiricek among the guys listed. But I'd honestly prefer to go Cooley. If we end up having too many high skilled high motor play drivers I'm sure we can move one for a top 4 D or power forward.


Don't forget Mercer!

We’re so deep I forgot Awesome Mercer and the Swiss Prince.

 

[FooteBahl]

I don’t know much about Juraj, but can someone tell me if you combined Nate Bastian and player “X” on our current roster, what player would build a Slafkovsky?

Would he be Bratt in Nate’s body or someone like Nico in Nate’s body?

 

[FinnishDevil]

I saw almost all of Slaf's playoff games and I was definitely bit underwhelmed at the time. He was good at protecting the puck, shielding the puck from defenders and stick handling in tight, "phonebooth" type. But for the most part I forgot he was even playing.

To me the argument to consider Jiricek long and hard is that theres honestly just one way to get elite, top 2 dman in this league and its through draft. They dont get traded very often and only hit free agency once theyre on the backend of their careers, if even then.

I trust us to make the right choice. I will be happy with either, both have crazy ceiling and play the position of need. Seen @StevenToddIves praising both kids all year, so I feel like we cant go wrong here.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I don’t know much about Juraj, but can someone tell me if you combined Nate Bastian and player “X” on our current roster, what player would build a Slafkovsky?

Would he be Bratt in Nate’s body or someone like Nico in Nate’s body?

Holtz in Bastian body is probably the best comparable among current devils IMO

 

[FooteBahl]

Holtz in Bastian body is probably the best comparable among current devils IMO

I’ll take it! Thanks

 

[Unknown Caller]

I’m good with Slafkovsky or Nemec. Don’t want Jiricek with those two on the board.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

I saw almost all of Slaf's playoff games and I was definitely bit underwhelmed at the time. He was good at protecting the puck, shielding the puck from defenders and stick handling in tight, "phonebooth" type. But for the most part I forgot he was even playing.

To me the argument to consider Jiricek long and hard is that theres honestly just one way to get elite, top 2 dman in this league and its through draft. They dont get traded very often and only hit free agency once theyre on the backend of their careers, if even then.

I trust us to make the right choice. I will be happy with either, both have crazy ceiling and play the position of need. Seen @StevenToddIves praising both kids all year, so I feel like we cant go wrong here.

Agree. I am usually a just take BPA guy, but if they are close IMO we should go with the D.

 

[JrFischer54]

i'm on the record for trading the pick


but i know trades like that don't happen often so i already know the devils will keep the pick. that being said they SHOULD take best player available i dont know who that is but if both players are equal they will definitely take the defender. imo the thinking is that forward is easier to find/trade then a d man. this team needs talent anywhere on the roster so definitely take the bpa and fill need somewhere else. so who is the BPA at 2?

 

[Better Call Sal]

It's impossible to not be happy with the outcome in my eyes. Of the top guys in our spot, all of them fill a position of need. We're stacking up and when it all comes together (fingers crossed for sooner than later) the potential for what this team will be capable of will be something special.

I have to watch more tape but I'm very biased with Slafkovsky because he seems to fill that one big area of need at forward that could potentially even further level up Jack or Nico's game. I totally understand the push for a RD who can be paired with Luke forever as well.

I feel it's hard to go wrong in this spot.

 

[billingtons ghost]

We have a couple of studs like him already. What we don’t have is a elite power forward or a elite defensive stud physical beast RHD. Pass. Take Slavkovsky or Jiricek. Trade that for Fiala? Come on man.
Id rather trade Holtz for him before trading pick #2 .


Fiala is a bery good young player but not what we need when we have more important roles to improve on first

Watching, or rather not seeing Fiala in last night's game because he was invisible, and the fact he has only 3 assists in five playoff games drives home your point. Watching Yamamoto fall down the lineup and Kassian end up on the first line is exactly what happens this time of year when the Maroons and Oshies come out. I don't want to dominate the regular seasons and win Corsi battles, I'd like a cup thanks.

 

[FooteBahl]

It's impossible to not be happy with the outcome in my eyes. Of the top guys in our spot, all of them fill a position of need. We're stacking up and when it all comes together (fingers crossed for sooner than later) the potential for what this team will be capable of will be something special.

I have to watch more tape but I'm very biased with Slafkovsky because he seems to fill that one big area of need at forward that could potentially even further level up Jack or Nico's game. I totally understand the push for a RD who can be paired with Luke forever as well.

I feel it's hard to go wrong in this spot.

I’m with you 100%. We have Dougie and hopefully Sevo on the right side for the foreseeable future.
Some people favor Cooley, which I wouldn’t be mad at, but come playoff time, a huge dude who plays in the corner with Juraj’s skill set is a million % what we’re lacking.
24 hours ago, I could only dream of being in the position we are now in and I’m super pumped about the future of this team even more so.

 

[FooteBahl]

Watching, or rather not seeing Fiala in last night's game because he was invisible, and the fact he has only 3 assists in five playoff games drives home your point. Watching Yamamoto fall down the lineup and Kassian end up on the first line is exactly what happens this time of year when the Maroons and Oshies come out. I don't want to dominate the regular seasons and win Corsi battles, I'd like a cup thanks.

I’m just envisioning a potential top-6 in two years for the playoffs
Slafkovsky-Hughes-Holtz
Nichuskin-Nico-Bratt

A great blend of speed, skill and a little grit on each line.

 

[Unknown Caller]

I’m just envisioning a potential top-6 in two years for the playoffs
Slafkovsky-Hughes-Holtz
Nichuskin-Nico-Bratt

A great blend of speed, skill and a little grit on each line.

Mercer and Sharangovich are going to be in the top 6. Not penciling Holtz into anything until he shows that he can do it at the NHL level.

 

[Billdo]

Fiala popped this year, in a contract year, and on a much more potent team. He worries me. No way I'd consider moving the 2OA for him. I was hesitant to even move it when we had 5th.

 

[FooteBahl]

Mercer and Sharangovich are going to be in the top 6. Not penciling Holtz into anything until he shows that he can do it at the NHL level.

In two years I hope you’re wrong. Slaf pushes Mercer to 3C (I guess we’ll have to play Nico up a line lol) giving us amongst the deepest center corps in the entire NHL. I would be extremely disappointed if Slaf isn’t the pick. I saw someone refer to him as Slapshotsky…I love it!!

 

[AfroThunder396]

I'm confident that Luke Hughes will be a top defenseman and I'm confident that at least one other defensive prospect in our system will be a contributing NHL regular.

Outside of Holtz, who has thus far looked overwhelmed and outmatched at the NHL level (but I'm sure will figure it out eventually), I'm not confident any of our forwards prospects are going to be top-6 NHL players.

Foote and Zetterlund profile as more 3rd line guys and there's not a ton of information to project based on when it comes to guys like Tyce, Clarke, or Stillman. Our farm system is deep in terms of numbers and guys likely to be NHL players, but in terms of forward quality/impact players it's really lacking at the top.

You only need 6 defensemen but 12 forwards. You can get away with 4 good defensemen and 2 filler guys, but you can't get away with 4 good forwards and 8 filler guys. Especially when Jack and Nico have had problems staying healthy.

It just doesn't make sense to continue committing premium resources to the defense when we've already been doing that for some time. The current bottleneck on our defense isn't player quality, it's systems. Ruff's system encourages his defensemen to pinch and cheat.

 

[TF1970]

I think I have settled on you either take Slafkovsky at two or try to trade down a couple spots & snag Jiricek/Nemec, if you get an offer worthwhile of course.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Look at a Carolina and St. Louis, two teams we could emulate or are actually trying to emulate in roster construction. Carolina, since Dundon took over, has an explicit strategy of not using high picks on defensemen, and is one of the best teams in the league after losing Dougie Hamilton for nothing. St. Louis, whose roster construction I'm convinced Fitzgerald has been trying to copy since he was the assistant GM, currently has one defenseman who was drafted in the first round (Nick Leddy) and he was a scrap heap pick up.

The Devils currently have the makings of a very sold blue line in the organization or under organizational control, including a defenseman that probably would be drafted number 1 overall this year had he been born a few days later.

So don't overthink things, and just draft Slafkovsky or trade the pick for someone really good like Matthew Tkachuk.

 

[longislanddevil]

AZ is gonna go center and they likely feel we won't go with Cooley. They have no incentive to make that trade

I’d like to throw out this hypothetical. What if AZ covets Cooley and fear Seattle will trade you to 2? Or…what if Cooley is Seattle’s target? Assuming Cooley is Arizona’s guy (which is more than fair and likely assumption), could Seattle make a deal with the Devils? I think either scenario is highly unlikely and would also require some serious testicular fortitude that has not yet been shown by Fitz at the draft table. If Jiricek is the Devils’ guy, just imagine if he went 4OA. With no disrespect to Nemec, this would be so profoundly disappointing. It’s risk vs reward and unless a first round pick is given in a trade, which I’m skeptical about, I don’t think it’s worth it. With that said, I’m very torn on Slaf vs Jiricek and an extra 1st round pick could sway me if I’m playing fantasy GM.

 

[longislanddevil]

Who are the pro comps for Slaf and Jiricek respectively, if they hit their ceilings and floors? It doesn’t sound like either will be a bust and I’m certainly not risk adverse. If their ceilings are both sky high which appears to be the case, a deciding factor for me could be who is safer.

 

[longislanddevil]

My apologies. I posted a trade scenario and after rereading the beginning of the thread, I now realize that is not appropriate here. I still can’t figure out how to use this new board (yes, I am technologically challenged) or I would delete and move it. Mods- please feel free to do what you deem fit. Thank you, guys.

 

[FooteBahl]

Who are the pro comps for Slaf and Jiricek respectively, if they hit their ceilings and floors? It doesn’t sound like either will be a bust and I’m certainly not risk adverse. If their ceilings are both sky high which appears to be the case, a deciding factor for me could be who is safer.

I’m just trying to think of a player we’ve had in the past that had a similar skill-set/size that compares to Slaf. I honestly can’t think of one besides Arnott who was obviously a center.