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

[Devs3cups]

Sorry but firstly actually watching and evaluating a players skillset is much more important than their production.

Second, those other two could definitely still turn out. Podkolzin was taken in 2019 and had played one NHL season and looks really good. I’d bet he breaks out at some point pretty soon.
Hayton has still only played 94 games and could turn out pretty well.


As I already said to the last time you said this. You conveniently must have missed that. Raymond and Slafkovsky’s Bader cards which are based solely on production and numbers are very similar.

How many times have you said this today? Like 30 times? Keep on going, I'm supporting you!

Scouting is SO MUCH more than statline watching.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Also Raymond's a bad comparable because he did have great U20 production in his D-1. Slaf's D-1 production was still a step down compared to other high profile players in the Finnish U20.

And Slafkovsky's draft year production was notably better than Raymond's. Look at the identical draft year projections based on pre-draft production.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

How many times have you said this today? Like 30 times? Keep on going, I'm supporting you!

Scouting is SO MUCH more than statline watching.

Lol thanks. Sometimes you gotta repeat yourself a lot in here. Because you say it to one person than another person comes in and says the same thing.

If you can’t tell I’ve had absolutely nothing to do today.

 

[Nocashstyle]

Sorry but firstly actually watching and evaluating a players skillset is much more important than their production.

Second, those other two could definitely still turn out. Podkolzin was taken in 2019 and had played one NHL season and looks really good. I’d bet he breaks out at some point pretty soon.
Hayton has still only played 94 games and could turn out pretty well.

Sorry but firstly actually watching and evaluating a players skillset is much more important than their production.

Second, those other two could definitely still turn out. Podkolzin was taken in 2019 and had played one NHL season and looks really good. I’d bet he breaks out at some point pretty soon.
Hayton has still only played 94 games and could turn out pretty well.


As I already said to the last time you said this. You conveniently must have missed that. Raymond and Slafkovsky’s Bader cards which are based solely on production and numbers are very similar.

I just named three players that came to my head. I’m sure you can think of plenty of other players drafted for their skill set that didn’t pan out to their projections.

 

[devilsblood]

It would be just horrible to have another center that can drive a line and take over a game.

No one's saying a good 3rd line center who plays a bit on the PP isn't a good thing.

The point is you don't draft that player 2nd OA. Especially when really good players are there who could play more significant roles.

 

[Tretyak 20]

Teams don't have scouting and analytic departments to just read EP and TSN lists. Each team will come up with their own draft list and each team's list will look vastly different than the next. If the Devils come out of this process and think Cooley is the best pick then so be it. If he goes to Wisconsin next year and kills it are fans really going to be upset on having a player like that in the system?

...and none of us have the first clue what Castron's list looks like, so claiming Cooley is his BPA is pure blind speculation.

 

[devilsblood]

Lol thanks. Sometimes you gotta repeat yourself a lot in here. Because you say it to one person than another person comes in and says the same thing.

If you can’t tell I’ve had absolutely nothing to do today.

This board is nothing to you?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

And Slafkovsky's draft year production was notably better than Raymond's. Look at the identical draft year projections based on pre-draft production.

View attachment 545486

All of the Raymond ones that Bader posts have Raymond at 12% star probability when he was drafted. That’s what I’ve been going off. Still very similar

 

[Devs3cups]

Why is D-1 production taken into account to compare some guys and D-0 to compare others? Slaf's production was better than Raymond's across the board, in the men's leagues and U-20 in their D-0. Not sure why that much stock is put in D-1 production, guys progress a lot in between years at those ages.

 

[devilsblood]

This if all things are equal narrative is not how the draft actually works out. Teams don't just read EP's or TSN's thoughts on a class and just choose the guy that sounds like he'd fit. Each team will have their own conclusions on this draft class and decide on the pick based on that.

We hear all the time that teams have groupings of players. And then draft by need out of that grouping.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

@Nocashstyle
You last post came out weird and I can’t quote it.

But yes I get what you’re saying but I think those players come down more to poor evaluation and or bad luck. Lots of players with great production haven’t turned out too.

There’s also lots of luck involved

Why is D-1 production taken into account to compare some guys and D-0 to compare others? Slaf's production was better than Raymond's across the board, in the men's leagues and U-20 in their D-0. Not sure why that much stock is put in D-1 production, guys progress a lot in between years at those ages.

I believe SHL is a better league.

 

[Devs3cups]

@Nocashstyle
You last post came out weird and I can’t quote it.

But yes I get what you’re saying but I think those players come down more to poor evaluation and or bad luck. Lots of players with great production haven’t turned out too.

There’s also lots of luck involved


I believe SHL is a better league.

Sure it is, slightly imo, but it is. But context doesn't really matter when evaluating these guys it appears, so I'm just going to conveniently leave that aside to prove my argument on Slaf.

 

[Nocashstyle]

@Nocashstyle
You last post came out weird and I can’t quote it.

But yes I get what you’re saying but I think those players come down more to poor evaluation and or bad luck. Lots of players with great production haven’t turned out too.

There’s also lots of luck involved


I believe SHL is a better league.

Absolutely true. Definitely goes both ways.

At the end of the day, if the Castron/Fitz and Co., decide Slaf is the guy, I’m obviously rooting for him to pan out. I just have reservations and personally prefer Nemec.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

No one's saying a good 3rd line center who plays a bit on the PP isn't a good thing.

The point is you don't draft that player 2nd OA. Especially when really good players are there who could play more significant roles.

I would draft who I thought was the best player. If you have a legitimate elite 3rd line center, you’re likely going to be doing a lot of winning.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Absolutely true. Definitely goes both ways.

At the end of the day, if the Castron/Fitz and Co., decide Slaf is the guy, I’m obviously rooting for him to pan out. I just have reservations and personally prefer Nemec.

I like Nemec too. He would probably be my second choice right now

 

[Nocashstyle]

Sure it is, slightly imo, but it is. But context doesn't really matter when evaluating these guys it appears, so I'm just going to conveniently leave that aside to prove my argument on Slaf.

This is the thing though, you keep dismissing any concerns and argue “context” as if it’s indisputable.

 

[devilsblood]

STI is definitely screaming power forward. Go read his reports on him. @StevenToddIves

There’s a lot more differences than similarities. There aren’t many similarities.

From page 1.

"But once the puck drops, you quickly realize we're not dealing with some north/south banger. Slafkovsky features a pair of talents which are absolutely elite -- his hands and his passing vision."

" I'd like to see him be a bit more physical"

Now this part:

"Most of Slafkovsky's goals seem to come from the crease area down low, where he is an absolute beast and impossible to move. Combined with his soft hands, he is a constant danger to score from anywhere down low."

Goes to the idea that he, unlike say Cooley, could fill a vital role on the top line and the PP1.

Overall, ya the goals down low aspect is more PF then Zacha is, but there was some PF in the Zacha predraft reports for sure.

 

[devilsblood]

I would draft who I thought was the best player. If you have a legitimate elite 3rd line center, you’re likely going to be doing a lot of winning.

If you have an elite 3rd line center, it means you have 2 elite centers playing ahead of that guy. Teams with 2 elite centers will tend to be good. Especially when they have elite wingers and d-men around them.

Is it nice to have 3 good centers? Sure, but if you have no organizational depth at a certain position, say RD, then I'm not focusing on filling the 3rd line center spot with an elite player.

 

[Eggtimer]

I need to chill out and just wait and see how WC play out.
Are there any other tournaments or anything beside the WC before the draft where we can see one or more of the kids in our range where we pick, play?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I need to chill out and just wait and see how WC play out.
Are there any other tournaments or anything beside the WC before the draft where we can see one or more of the kids in our range where we pick, play?

Nope don’t believe so. Slafkovsky and Nemec play at 9:00am tomorrow. I’ll make a post up of just when you can watch Slafkovsky, Nemec and Jiricek.

 

[pkbrux]

I understand the whole Zacha thing, anytime you have an underwhelming high pick, the next time a prospect comes along and has some similarities, it can scare you.

But when I actually watch Slafvosky, he doesnt remind me of Zacha at all. So despite any superficial similarities that may be there on paper, I just don't see it with my eyes.

 

[Devs3cups]

This is the thing though, you keep dismissing any concerns and argue “context” as if it’s indisputable.

I keep doing that? I've barely touched on it here haha, but that's not how I feel at all, I was joking.

What I'm seeing on these boards though is people saying that Slaf shouldn't be the pick solely based on production, and that's wrong imo. I'm not saying production can't be a concern, I don't think anyone who puts weight in context when it's justified does, I just tend to believe in context for certain prospects, especially when the skillset is apparent.

At the end of the day, it's all fun and games, we should all be happy to get another bluechip prospect. We shouldn't even be here.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Slaf scares the sh** out of me.

I want one of the DMen or to trade the pick. Or Cooley I guess, but hes another midget.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

If you want to watch Jiricek, Nemec, and Slafkovsky at the World Championships:

Friday May 13
Slovakia (Nemec, Slafkovsky) vs France - 9:20am

Saturday May 14
Czech Republic (Jiricek) vs Britain - 9:20am
Slovakia vs Germany - 1:20pm

Sunday May 15
Czech Republic vs Sweden - 1:20pm

Monday May 16
Slovakia vs Canada- 9:20am

Tuesday May 17
Czech Republic vs Austria - 9:20am

Wednesday May 18
Switzerland vs Slovakia - 1:20pm

Thursday May 19
Czech Republic vs Latvia - 1:20pm

Friday May 20
Slovakia vs Kazakhstan - 1:20pm

Saturday May 21
Slovakia vs Italy - 1:20pm
Czech Republic vs Norway - 1:20pm

Sunday May 22
None

Monday May 23
USA vs Czech Republic - 9:20am

Tuesday May 24
Slovakia vs Denmark - 9:20am
Czech Republic vs Finland - 1:20pm

Semi-Finals start on Thursday May 26th

 

[Nocashstyle]

Slaf scares the sh** out of me.

I want one of the DMen or to trade the pick. Or Cooley I guess, but hes another midget.

Woah. Been a minute, huh?