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

[Nubmer6]

Ya, I was leaning Juricek when this thread started, but now that I've watched Slaf a bit, he's definitely eased a lot of concerns I had with him. He doesn't seem to have a problem keeping up with the speed (although I'm sure our team is faster), and is getting involved in tons of scoring chances.

I also like that he was playing a defensive role on his team, not because it's an excuse for his limited scoring, but because he's learning to be defensively responsible.

At this point I've swung so far into Camp Slafkovsky that I'd be pretty disappointed if we didn't get him.

AS for Wright falling, if I were GM, I'd probably already be exploring contingency plans before the draft... Seeing what the Yotes, Kraken, or eve Flyers would offer up. It's not a secret we're already set up at center, so it's not like we'd be giving away our draft preference or something, plus if Wright DOES fall, the few minutes we would have for our pick doesn't give us much time to work out a deal of such significance.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Can’t imagine how terrible it would be for the devils to run out 3 really good centers

 

[Lou is God]

Can’t imagine how terrible it would be for the devils to run out 3 really good centers

Actually, we can still do that if we want - Hughes/Nico/Mercer

 

[Forge]

Actually, we can still do that if we want - Hughes/Nico/Mercer

Draft talk aside, I feel like Mercer is ultimately going to end up someone's wing regardless. Nothing to support that, just a gut feeling / opinion.

 

[RSeen]

Move Hughes ot wing? We tried that . He is our franchise player. Better at C and asking him to move to the wing so the new kid can play C? Not an option. IF Wright was taken , he would b eon the wing or 3c to begin with

Okay then move Wright to the wing once he is ready for a top 6 role. Either way you find a way to fit them in.

Disagree all around. You can build 3 scoring lines if you draft Wright. Mercer converts to wing, sign Nicushkin, Gritsyuk comes over next year

Bratt
Nichushkin
Mercer
Gritsyuk
Sharangovich
Hotlz

Winger depth: Zetterlund/Bastian/Thompson/Boqvist/Foote/Stillman/

Arizona has 7 picks in the first two rounds and they can send them all to us if they want Wright. Those suckers didn't win the lottery, we did.

We still probably have sufficient cap space to make another top 6 addition if we wanted to, depending on the term, in addition to these players.

 

[Eggtimer]

Can’t imagine how terrible it would be for the devils to run out 3 really good centers

No one is saying it would be terrible. People are saying it would be terrible to leave a top line power forward or a RHD on the board when we massively need those and take a player that plays a position where we already have incredible depth.
Its like buying a a third Corvette while your house is a piece of shit mobile home. Ya cool , of cource id love another corvette but why ? And why when my house is a steaming pile of shit.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

Okay then move Wright to the wing once he is ready for a top 6 role. Either way you find a way to fit them in.


We still probably have sufficient cap space to make another top 6 addition if we wanted to, depending on the term, in addition to these players.

 

[Clam Jensen]

I voted Jiri initially but reading 66 pages of debate has swayed me to Slaffy Taffy.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I voted Jiri initially but reading 66 pages of debate has swayed me to Slaffy Taffy.

I'm almost there, I'm not watching the WC but sounds like he's creating separation between himself and the two Dmen.

 

[Eggtimer]

I keep bouncing all over th eplace but im settled on Slaf. Fils an absolute need and would not have normally been there where we should have picked. He would have been long gone at 5/6 . We should not have been draftign at 5/6 when you look at our roster and the pieces we have already. We are going to be STACKED. However , we need ot be stacked the right way , just not a full roster of water-bugs that can dangle. Slaf is exactly what we need to compliment the roster we already have. It will get the most out of our core studs we already have. Nico Hughes Bratt will all be better with a Slaf and I think Slaf will be dominant playing with those guys as well. Its a win-win. Id rather have a line o(for example) Bratt Hughes Slaf than a Cooley Hughes Bratt.
Need someone out there ot creeate time and space . Keep puck possession , win board battles , drive the net , create screens , deflections and rebounds in front of the net..... we have no one really that would be as skilled as Slaf at doing that. We have Wood and... Bastian ? Slaf can finish way better netfront than those two and I dont want those two in the top 6 .

 

[StevenToddIves]

I have to say I'm definitely spoiled from seeing guys like Laine, Kakko or even Eichel do so well at the WCs in their draft year, that I sometimes forget how incredibly rare it actually is. Just making it into the team as an 18 year old is pretty uncommon. When you count how many actually do it it's a pretty small group all things considered. Luke Hughes looking like one of USA's best defenders at 18yo is crazy.

I think the fact we didn't get to finish the U20 also affects on people's perceptions, especially for us general fans who don't watch every junior and european league game. We just remember that Slaf didn't score anything at U20, but who knows maybe he would have put up 3 pts in the next game and would have all of a sudden been ppg. And we would have more info on Nemec, Jiricek and Cooley too.

Who do you guys think is the most NHL ready of the draft, meaning will most likely play next season? Slaf will probably have to take another year in europe and then maybe one more in AHL. Is Wright going straight to NHL, or are Habs (or us who knows) going to take it slowly after the recent 1OA slow starts.

Also there's been few people/places that have stated that Nemec is a 1OA talent and should even go ahead of Wright. I wasn't very impressed with him in the olympics, and kinda brushed off the weaker Slovakian league accomplishments same way I did with Makar's AJHL seasons (yep). Nemec has been getting some Adam Fox comparisons lately, and saying while he's great offensively he's even better defensively. So far I've viewed him more as a transitional puck moving offensive dman with some holes in his defensive game, and thought Jiricek to be the more defensively solid but with great offensive upside as well. What do you guys think of this?

I always believed, when in doubt give another year of development.

If the Devils take their most obvious selection of Slafkovsky, there will be a ton of pressure to get him in NJ. While I would sign him to an entry-level deal, I would do so with the idea of giving him a year in the AHL to further develop and acclimate to North American hockey (which he's pretty much made for, anyway).

 

[StevenToddIves]

I don't know what to think about Jiricek. It seems that his puck skills and skating aren't particularly good. Maybe this is a hot take and I significantly underestimate him, but he reminds me of a former #3 pick Zach Bogosian. Both are big guys who have pretty similar skating styles. Maybe Jiricek have more skill than Bogosian, but I haven't seen much of that in these few games. The biggest difference for me is that Jiricek is much more agile than Bogosian, who always looks slow and clumsy, and he has also more accurate shot.

I expect Jiricek will be a better player than Bogosian, but I think they have some similarities in their game.

Jiricek is a decent skater with good puck skills, but they're not great.

Jiricek is light years ahead of a draft-eligible Bogosian in terms of passing vision, shooting, hockey IQ and defensive awareness/play, so I'm going to throw out the comparison. He's certainly the superior athlete.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Jiricek is a decent skater with good puck skills, but they're not great.

Jiricek is light years ahead of a draft-eligible Bogosian in terms of passing vision, shooting, hockey IQ and defensive awareness/play, so I'm going to throw out the comparison. He's certainly the superior athlete.

Yeah, I understand that. But Bogosian was also a PPG player in the OHL before the draft and he was a #3 pick, so there were hopes that he is going to be a much better player than he really became. I mean, there were definately reasons why he was picked between Doughty and Pietrangelo. I also wrote that I expect Jiricek becomes a better player than Bogosian, so I don't completely disagree with you.

 

[MartyOwns]

So you're not cool with Slaf at 2, I take it?


I don't have a problem, I just think your take of "how many 1cs does a team need" is bad as a reason to pass on the best player in the draft.

i’m ok with slaf at 2…that would fill a glaring need. i said we would take a defenseman because in this unlikely scenario, i’m assuming montreal takes slaf.

having 3 1C’s sounds wonderful and everything until you remember that the salary cap exists, and one of them is probably getting traded at some point, and then you’re spending assets to acquire a 1LW or top pairing d because you were too stupid to take the free one at the draft, and on and on.

edit- and nothing against wright. if we didn’t have 1-2C locked up for the foreseeable future, i’d be suggesting we call montreal and try to move up to nab him.

 

[StevenToddIves]

we can’t draft wright, we just can’t. we have to trade with arizona if montreal is stupid enough to pass on him

I don't think Montreal would be *stupid* to pass on Wright. I feel Slafkovsky has really closed the gap between 1/2 while really widening the gap between 2/3. I think it's close. I can't guarantee Shane Wright will be my #1 on my year-end rankings, and for me this is the closest it's been at the top since Svechnikov/Dahlin -- and if you recall, I ranked them as tied for the #1 overall slot (total wimp move, I know).

Including this year's draft, in the past half decade there has only been one "no contest" first overall pick to me, and that was Jack Hughes in 2019. To me, Hughes was almost two full tiers over anyone else in the consensus top 5. But last year was close with several players. Lafreniere had a good advantage over Byfield in 2020, but we all were aware that if Byfield hit his talent ceiling (still up in the air), he had the greatest pure upside.

But this year reminds me of Svechnikov/Dahlin, because Wright and Slafkovsky are really tight right now.

That being said, let's go with the hypothetical that the Habs take Slaf. What do we do? I think it all depends on what Arizona or Seattle are willing to offer. If Seattle decides the way to build a champion is with a ridiculous center 1/2 of Beniers/Wright, then fine. I'll gladly take their #36 overall pick plus their 3rd rounder to move down two slots, where the Devils could still get whomever they prefer out of Jiricek or Nemec.

Why? Shane Wright is a rare talent. I highly doubt Arizona or Seattle offer up enough to tempt us. I'm not giving up Wright to add a 2nd round pick.

Don't discount Arizona's desperation for a franchise center and marketing tool. Getting Wright would be a huge coup for the new management team, and they have 3 first round picks and 4 second round picks to play with this year. They're definitely going to package some to move up somewhere.

 

[glenwo2]

Or you take Wright and move him or Hughes to the wing.

Or you take Wright and KEEP HIM *and* HUGHES at Center because that makes more sense than forcing a move to wing.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Is Landeskog a good comparison to Slaf? Probably a 50-60 point player with good two-way and board game? Can sniff P/G playing with elite talent?

No.

Slafkovsky is tough to compare. I can't recall seeing a kid of his size who is also the best prospect in the draft in terms of passing vision/puckhandling. He's a monster down low, which I'd also say about Landeskog. But Slafkovsky is also a puck-hawk defensively who has serious PK potential. He's a rare kid.

Rantanen would be a better comparison from that same Colorado team, but I'd say Slafkovsky has greater upside.

 

[glenwo2]

If NJD finds themselves at 2 with Wright and 2-3 other players they want on the board, what’s the problem with trying to squeeze Arizona? If they don’t go for it then the organization is still in a great spot, getting to decide between Wright or Jiricek/Nemec. The other talents aren’t exactly slouches.

If we walked away with Jiricek (who was my best case before the lottery) and 2-3 more assets that seems like a clear win. We’d potentially round out the defense longterm and add more upside/trade bait.

It’s not really a knock on Wright, the Devils would be lucky to have him in the fold and moving him to wing (or have insanely good center depth) takes care of *what to do with him*. But, for this team to really become contenders I’m expecting Fitz to add veterans to the top 2 lines and maybe even the other 2 as well. Whatever spot Wright would take Im expecting an experienced player to fill.

Ideally? Montreal inexplicably falls in love with Cooley and we put the squeeze on AZ and walk away with Slaf plus more.

Regardless, the Devils are in great position right now. I just want them to maximize the opportunity, however they see fit.

Wow...if the Habs completely BUMBLE this draft by drafting f'n COOLEY and leave *both* Slaf and Wright on the board? There would be riots on the streets in Montreal. LOL!

Besides, Arizona won't care to do a deal with us anyway since they'll end up with either Wright or Slaf regardless of whom we pick.

 

[StevenToddIves]

If NJD finds themselves at 2 with Wright and 2-3 other players they want on the board, what’s the problem with trying to squeeze Arizona? If they don’t go for it then the organization is still in a great spot, getting to decide between Wright or Jiricek/Nemec. The other talents aren’t exactly slouches.

If we walked away with Jiricek (who was my best case before the lottery) and 2-3 more assets that seems like a clear win. We’d potentially round out the defense longterm and add more upside/trade bait.

It’s not really a knock on Wright, the Devils would be lucky to have him in the fold and moving him to wing (or have insanely good center depth) takes care of *what to do with him*. But, for this team to really become contenders I’m expecting Fitz to add veterans to the top 2 lines and maybe even the other 2 as well. Whatever spot Wright would take Im expecting an experienced player to fill.

Ideally? Montreal inexplicably falls in love with Cooley and we put the squeeze on AZ and walk away with Slaf plus more.

Regardless, the Devils are in great position right now. I just want them to maximize the opportunity, however they see fit.

Montreal is not taking Cooley. In Wright's "disappointing" draft year, he still scored at a higher PPG rate and played a better 200-foot game. I'd give Cooley the edge in skating and puckhandling, but Wright beats him in any other tool or facet of the game. It would be a PR disaster, and if Cooley underperformed it's the kind of move which could cost people in that front office their jobs.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Yeah the Rantanen comps feel lazy but it's by far the best comp I think.

Not saying Slaf will be that good, but he has all the tools to be.

 

[glenwo2]

Ya, I was leaning Juricek when this thread started, but now that I've watched Slaf a bit, he's definitely eased a lot of concerns I had with him. He doesn't seem to have a problem keeping up with the speed (although I'm sure our team is faster), and is getting involved in tons of scoring chances.

I also like that he was playing a defensive role on his team, not because it's an excuse for his limited scoring, but because he's learning to be defensively responsible.

At this point I've swung so far into Camp Slafkovsky that I'd be pretty disappointed if we didn't get him.

AS for Wright falling, if I were GM, I'd probably already be exploring contingency plans before the draft... Seeing what the Yotes, Kraken, or eve Flyers would offer up. It's not a secret we're already set up at center, so it's not like we'd be giving away our draft preference or something, plus if Wright DOES fall, the few minutes we would have for our pick doesn't give us much time to work out a deal of such significance.

I'd be disappointed if we didn't get Slaf myself....but only for a SECOND because make no mistake, Nubmer...if Wright is right there, I do not see any scenario where Fitz doesn't draft him.

Come this draft, the Devils will leave with either Slaf or Wright.

This, I can say with the utmost confidence.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Montreal is not taking Cooley. In Wright's "disappointing" draft year, he still scored at a higher PPG rate and played a better 200-foot game. I'd give Cooley the edge in skating and puckhandling, but Wright beats him in any other tool or facet of the game. It would be a PR disaster, and if Cooley underperformed it's the kind of move which could cost people in that front office their jobs.

Yeah people don't get fired for taking the consensus #1, and that's something that is easy to dismiss if you're outside the game.

But it matters.

 

[Saugus]

I voted Jiri initially but reading 66 pages of debate has swayed me to Slaffy Taffy.

Liking this just for "Slaffy Taffy". Nice.

 

[glenwo2]

Don't discount Arizona's desperation for a franchise center and marketing tool. Getting Wright would be a huge coup for the new management team, and they have 3 first round picks and 4 second round picks to play with this year. They're definitely going to package some to move up somewhere.

I wouldn't discount Fitz saying "you can take your desperation and shove it. We're drafting Wright" as well.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Yeah people don't get fired for taking the consensus #1, and that's something that is easy to dismiss if you're outside the game.

But it matters.

Absolutely correct. No one blamed the Edmonton scouting team for taking Yakupov -- most of what was written/said about that was more along the lines of "how were we all so wrong"?

If you take Cooley -- who is not as good as Wright now and does not have as much upside as Wright -- and he becomes even a very good center but Wright hits his potential and becomes a superstar? It's a question you're asking and asked forever. It's a virtual career-killer.