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

[MartyOwns]

i’m all for bpa in most cases, but this is not a standard scenario. when you have as many high draft picks as we had over the last 7 years, positional need should come into play towards the end of the rebuild. for example, if montreal doesn’t pick wright, we should see if we can move down a slot. we don’t need any more top 6 centers, as talented as wright is.

 

[TBF1972]

I'm just here to 'like' every single post and drink more beer.

Cheers boys. A piece of the puzzle no matter who we pick.

this thread is going strong. 56 pages no end in sight. i hope you have enough supply of beer.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I will admit I don’t know anything about the kid but my concern is he won’t fill out that size and won’t use it in the nhl. Larrson was soft euro at 4. Zacha soft euro at 6. Not a good track record lol

He absolutely showed his strength fighting off a tank in Moritz Seider last game. I wouldn’t describe him as a power forward in my limited viewings, but physical strength will not be an issue. It will probably be a strength from day 1 in NJ (if he’s the guy).

 

[TBF1972]

What do you do with Severson then?

i don't think the two rhd returning should have any impact on drafting a rhd in this draft. jiricek or nemec most likely won't be top 4 options for the next 4 seasons. hamilton will be 33 (with 2 years left on his contract) and severson 32 by then.

the draft isn't to fix your current roster holes. it's about the future ones. organizationally rhd is the most pressing need. goalie comes second.

 

[TBF1972]

And what happens the year after that when Gritsyuk comes over?

i could see him forcing a trade like gusev.

bratt, sharangovich and gritsyuk in addition to the top round picks of hischier, hughes, foote, holtz, mercer and stillman gives the devils and abundance of forwards with top 6 potential. adding a forward with the 2nd pick this year could be a factor for a player like gritsyuk.

 

[TBF1972]

100%, I gotta brainstorm some new usernames lol

maybe there is another swedish prospect named brainstrom the devils could draft.

 

[FooteBahl]

I'm just here to 'like' every single post and drink more beer.

Cheers boys. A piece of the puzzle no matter who we pick.

I’m here to drink beer and “like”…and I’m all out of “likes.”

now we just have to inactivate the salary cap.

In 8 years, we’ll have Jack, Luke and Quinn on identical 8 year 6/per contracts. Chillax!

 

[Captain3rdLine]

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Slafkovsky has been really good again and Nemec’s been good too.

 

[Andre Palot]

I think this fan base has been spooked by Euros.

And it's unfair to Slaf because he probably has next to nothing in common is Gusev or Tedenby or Zacha or anyone else you wanna name that defers you from being sold on the pick.

However, if he's truly the second coming of Hossa or Rantanen I think we would have to rush to the podium at that point. My only contention would be is that, I still contend that a franchise caliber RW is more pressing vs a power forward and I believe that defensemen age better in comparison.

If Jiricek has a strong, and similar career trajectory for his position... it's a good case to take him. Same with Nemec if you prefer his game, I personally don't.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I think this fan base has been spooked by Euros.

And it's unfair to Slaf because he probably has next to nothing in common is Gusev or Tedenby or Zacha or anyone else you wanna name that defers you from being sold on the pick.

However, if he's truly the second coming of Hossa or Rantanen I think we would have to rush to the podium at that point. My only contention would be is that, I still contend that a franchise caliber RW is more pressing vs a power forward and I believe that defensemen age better in comparison.

If Jiricek has a strong, and similar career trajectory for his position... it's a good case to take him. Same with Nemec if you prefer his game, I personally don't.

Can I ask why you prefer Jiricek’s game to Nemec’s?

 

[Devs3cups]

I think this fan base has been spooked by Euros.

And it's unfair to Slaf because he probably has next to nothing in common is Gusev or Tedenby or Zacha or anyone else you wanna name that defers you from being sold on the pick.

However, if he's truly the second coming of Hossa or Rantanen I think we would have to rush to the podium at that point. My only contention would be is that, I still contend that a franchise caliber RW is more pressing vs a power forward and I believe that defensemen age better in comparison.

If Jiricek has a strong, and similar career trajectory for his position... it's a good case to take him. Same with Nemec if you prefer his game, I personally don't.

Man it’s gonna be a fun month and a half before the draft! As I said, we’re golden with either Wright (considering he falls, but I doubt it), Slaf, Jiricek or Nemec. I’d even add Cooley to the discussion, but I doubt he’s the pick. We shouldn’t even be at 2, it’s allll gravy at this point. It’s exciting to know we’re adding a high caliber prospect to an already stacked prospect pool. No doubt in my mind that after the draft we have the best pool of prospects/young players in the league.

 

[JrFischer54]

Zacha comparisons are kinda silly . Zacha was drafted by us because he was the most NHL ready C . Going in to that draft , we had literally zero NHL calibre C’s . Zajac hurt himself ( ruptured achilles? ) and we were almost forced to take the most NHL ready C no matter what . Zacha was seen as “ok” defensively and had somewhat of a two way game ( according to scouts ) . Devils couldn’t take someone like Barzal as he was simply not close to NHL ready . I remember the draft well and was disappointed we didn’t go Rantanen but immediately afterwards , I felt “ok”with the pick because we absolutely needed a C for that upcoming season . We had NOBODY to play C . I’m not going to get into it , but we were forced into that pick because of a complete lack of depth at C . I’m certain had we had any decent options at C at all we would have drafted someone else .I’m still pissed about it because of how short sighted “ management “ was .

How the heck can you say this? The team was just entering a rebuild they shouldn’t have been forced to take anyone! If what your saying is true then no one in their right mind should ever sing praise for Lou ever again lol.

 

[Eggtimer]

How the heck can you say this? The team was just entering a rebuild they shouldn’t have been forced to take anyone! If what your saying is true then no one in their right mind should ever sing praise for Lou ever again lol.

Doesn’t matter entering the rebuild or not , they took who they thought was most NHL ready , in error .

 

[TBF1972]

I’m not saying trade the pick. I wouldn’t. Still, age 26-30 Fiala is surely better than basically everyone being discussed in the same timeframe, and that is our likely competitive window.

when fiala turns 30, jack hughes will turn 25. i don't think the window of opportunity will close then.

 

[JrFischer54]

Doesn’t matter entering the rebuild or not , they took who they thought was most NHL ready , in error .

Then that falls squarely on Lou and his decision making.

Huh? Where in the world there did I say anything about 3rd line talent? The 5th or probably even 10th best player that comes out of this draft will be a top line talent.

If we use our 2nd pick and get the 5th best player in the draft we’ve done alright and gotten a top line player. That’s just the reality. The odds are the player we take at 2 probably won’t be a top 2 player in a redraft 10 years from now. That’s the reality of how things go. We could and certainly hope to get the best player in the draft but that probably won’t happen. There’s always players taken later that turn out great.


Zacha is no where even remotely close to being a top 10 player in his draft.

All I know is this out of the realistic players the devils might choose say it’s between 2-7 if the devils don’t end up with the best player then it’s a huge setback. I don’t care if the guy they take 2nd ends up with a career as a 3rd liner or a pk specialist the team has enough of that. They can’t afford to not walk away with the best player in that range a second time. Could all the players in that range bust? Sure then I won’t fault them it was just a shit draft.

 

[JrFischer54]

Btw what is the realistic ceiling for this kid? We talking 40g 80pts? Or more along the lines 30-60?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Then that falls squarely on Lou and his decision making.



All I know is this out of the realistic players the devils might choose say it’s between 2-7 if the devils don’t end up with the best player then it’s a huge setback. I don’t care if the guy they take 2nd ends up with a career as a 3rd liner or a pk specialist the team has enough of that. They can’t afford to not walk away with the best player in that range a second time. Could all the players in that range bust? Sure then I won’t fault them it was just a shit draft.

Jeez man what aren’t you understanding.You keep bringing up 3rd liners which isn’t anything remotely close to anything I’m talking about. If we get a 3rd liner out of the 2nd pick than yes we have absolutely failed. But the 5th best player in this draft won’t be a 3rd liner. I honestly am not even sure why you keep bringing up 3rd liners with what we’re talking about.

The Devils can end up with the second or 3rd best player from that range and still get an elite first liner. And if that’s the case they’ve done well. Odds are at least one of Nemec, Cooley, Kemell, or Jiricek will be better than Slafkovsky. Say Nemec turns into a Norris trophy defensmen. But we took Slafkovsky who turns in to a 90 point all around, physical winger. We’ve done well.

The Devils can absolutely not get the best player there and it not be a setback whatsoever. Odds are they won’t get the best player. If they get a really good player they’ve done well and it’s a really good thing.

 

[Saugus]

I think this fan base has been spooked by Euros.

And it's unfair to Slaf because he probably has next to nothing in common is Gusev or Tedenby or Zacha or anyone else you wanna name that defers you from being sold on the pick.

However, if he's truly the second coming of Hossa or Rantanen I think we would have to rush to the podium at that point. My only contention would be is that, I still contend that a franchise caliber RW is more pressing vs a power forward and I believe that defensemen age better in comparison.

If Jiricek has a strong, and similar career trajectory for his position... it's a good case to take him. Same with Nemec if you prefer his game, I personally don't.

I agree it's unfair to judge Slafkovsky by the results from previous Euro draftees. Even more ridiculous because most of those players didn't play the same type of game, didn't have the same build (ex maybe Zacha), and weren't even from the same country!

Personally, I'm most encouraged by seeing his clips, and reading about how even Jagr thinks he plays like Jagr. I know a lot of it is predraft hype, and not everyone lives up to theirs, but it's hard not to get excited hearing that about a guy we stunningly have the opportunity to pick.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Btw what is the realistic ceiling for this kid? We talking 40g 80pts? Or more along the lines 30-60?

Well the ceiling is certainly the first if not higher.

 

[JrFischer54]

Jeez man what aren’t you understanding.You keep bringing up 3rd liners which isn’t anything remotely close to anything I’m talking about. If we get a 3rd liner out of the 2nd pick than yes we have absolutely failed. But the 5th best player in this draft won’t be a 3rd liner. I honestly am not even sure why you keep bringing up 3rd liners with what we’re talking about.

The Devils can end up with the second or 3rd best player from that range and still get an elite first liner. And if that’s the case they’ve done well. Odds are at least one of Nemec, Cooley, Kemell, or Jiricek will be better than Slafkovsky. Say Nemec turns into a Norris trophy defensmen. But we took Slafkovsky who turns in to a 90 point all around, physical winger. We’ve done well.

The Devils can absolutely not get the best player there and it not be a setback whatsoever. Odds are they won’t get the best player. If they get a really good player they’ve done well and it’s a really good thing.

Just because a player is the 5th best player in a draft doesn’t mean he won’t be a role player. Bottom line again is simple the devils need whoever they draft to be a top line talent anything less then that is a fail

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Just because a player is the 5th best player in a draft doesn’t mean he won’t be a role player. Bottom line again is simple the devils need whoever they draft to be a top line talent anything less then that is a fail

Ummm that’s just not true. I can guarantee that if you look at any draft you will find at least 5 top line or top pair players. The 5th best player in any draft will be a really good top line caliber player. But even the 10th best guy won’t be a role player. Maybe not a top line guy but at the very least a good top 6 or top 4 player.

 

[TrufleShufle]

Just because a player is the 5th best player in a draft doesn’t mean he won’t be a role player. Bottom line again is simple the devils need whoever they draft to be a top line talent anything less then that is a fail

Ehh, no matter where the player plays, if the entire team is working like a well oiled machine or better yet a full toolbox of tools and succeeding, and that player is an important part of the bottom 6, I don't see how it could be considered a fail.

For lottery teams and most bubble teams, the bottom 6 is basically a glorified press box, for contending teams it's almost as important as the top 6.

 

[Devs3cups]

Reading the Montreal WC thread and mostly everyone is saying they’re taking Wright and would’ve been glad to take Slaf 2/3 overall.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

Ehh, no matter where the player plays, if the entire team is working like a well oiled machine or better yet a full toolbox of tools and succeeding, and that player is an important part of the bottom 6, I don't see how it could be considered a fail.

For lottery teams and most bubble teams, the bottom 6 is basically a glorified press box, for contending teams it's almost as important as the top 6.

It doesn’t matter because what he’s saying makes no sense and just isn’t true. The 5th best player to come out of any draft is a top line talent.