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

[Camille the Eel]

Right D is our organizational weakness. One of those guys could make Severson expendable.

 

[Oneiro]

Slafkovsky would be a terrible pick. He is Kakko 2.0 – looks great on ice but can't produce.

Jiricek has good tape, shifty and dynamic with the puck but I question his judgement and overall IQ. He looks like a headless rooster on skates out there.

Nemec is the safer pick. Steady at home defenseman with plenty of offensive skills.
He is the only one of the three that is a consensus top 5 prospect and his IQ and understanding of the game seems superior to that of Jiricek.

This was my initial takeaway but might be a mistake to anchor to what these guys are right now. I mean Kakko is a prime example of a supposedly mature player being a step behind at the next level because what creates separation is not the same at the NHL level.

 

[Devil made me do it]

Great analysis.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Slafkovsky would be a terrible pick. He is Kakko 2.0 – looks great on ice but can't produce.

Jiricek has good tape, shifty and dynamic with the puck but I question his judgement and overall IQ. He looks like a headless rooster on skates out there.

Nemec is the safer pick. Steady at home defenseman with plenty of offensive skills.
He is the only one of the three that is a consensus top 5 prospect and his IQ and understanding of the game seems superior to that of Jiricek.

With how the Rangers develop picks recently, they deserve blame for what's going with him. He was arguably the safest prospect from that class and has looked horrible for 3 years even though he's been turning it on recently. I trust our development way more with forwards than NYR. Chances are he'd be put right on Jack's wing whenever he arrives in NJ if he is the pick as opposed to the yo-yoing that's been done with Kakko in NY. I'll honestly good with whoever as long as the right coaches in our spot for whoever they take.

 

[The Wumpus]

Slafkovsky has size which we need but most importantly he has SLICK HANDS!View attachment 544230

Can we also sign Bjorninen so we have a player named Bjorninen on our team because it's fun to say Bjorninen

 

[Lottery Lucky]

We won again!!

 

[Devilsfan992]

I voted trade down, but only if it includes a top 5 draft pick. I want either of the 2 Defenders and additional assets. Something like Arizona 3rd and late 1sts or Seattles 4th and 2nd round picks. If they don't bite, keep the pick and draft BPA.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

I voted trade down, but only if it includes a top 5 draft pick. I want either of the 2 Defenders and additional assets. Something like Arizona 3rd and late 1sts or Seattles 4th and 2nd round picks. If they don't bite, keep the pick and draft BPA.

NJ doesn't need more prospects, they need the best ones. Their system is flooded with quality prospects.

 

[Devilsfan992]

NJ doesn't need more prospects, they need the best ones. Their system is flooded with quality prospects.

True, but this is assuming we want one of the two defensemen, which is where I'm leaning. But Slafkosvsky is tempting too. We're in a great spot.

 

[Nubmer6]

So... I watched a few vids on youtube, including these two:





I was fully team Slaf, but the more I watch, the more I like Jiricek.

Now keep in mind that I'm not very good at evaluating prospects, but as much as they say Slaf's skating is good, it doesn't look so good to me and I wonder if he'll be able to keep up with our team. I do like, however, that his goals seem to come mostly from the interior.

I also feel like it's easier to find a first line power winger than a top RHD after seeing Laine traded and Puljujarvi possibly being available.

Jiricek, meanwhile, probably has some speed issues too (I guess it's just a size issue with both) but he just looks so solid defensively. It's so rare to have someone so good on both sides of the puck.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents... for now at least. It'll probably change back tomorrow.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

If I had a shot at 18 year old Rantanen, I would be jumping at the chance. The great thing about this pick is that NJ doesn't need it to pan out to be Cup Contenders. I go highest ceiling.

 

[Hisch13r]

If I had a shot at 18 year old Rantanen, I would be jumping at the chance. The great thing about this pick is that NJ doesn't need it to pan out to be Cup Contenders. I go highest ceiling.

I do too which is why I go Jiricek

 

[StevenToddIves]

Or Fiala?

Five years from now, people who thought trading the Devils 2022 #2 overall pick for *Kevin Fiala* will be denying they ever made such an utterly absurd suggestion.

 

[Emperoreddy]

If I had a shot at 18 year old Rantanen, I would be jumping at the chance. The great thing about this pick is that NJ doesn't need it to pan out to be Cup Contenders. I go highest ceiling.

Who has the highest ceiling?

 

[Nubmer6]

Five years from now, people who thought trading the Devils 2022 #2 overall pick for *Kevin Fiala* will be denying they ever made such an utterly absurd suggestion.

To be fair, that was before we won the lottery.

And... another (less in-depth) review of Jiricek:

 

[Bcap88]

It’s really a great spot to be in, you get a dman you can pair in with the core of Hamilton, severson(hopefully), smith(another hopeful), Hughes, shaq or you take the winger and give both Hughes and hischier a trigger man between holtz and slav

Prefer not to trade back either becuase as we seen the draft is pretty unpredictable year to year. I would only trade the 2 overall for a stud winger like tkatchuk and not fiala but tkatchuk prob isn’t even available

 

[StevenToddIves]

Slafkovsky would be a terrible pick. He is Kakko 2.0 – looks great on ice but can't produce.

Jiricek has good tape, shifty and dynamic with the puck but I question his judgement and overall IQ. He looks like a headless rooster on skates out there.

Nemec is the safer pick. Steady at home defenseman with plenty of offensive skills.
He is the only one of the three that is a consensus top 5 prospect and his IQ and understanding of the game seems superior to that of Jiricek.

This is a very myopic post, and I'm not trying to insult you, I'm only trying to make sure any younger fans who may believe there is any truth whatsoever in this post are not swayed to make such a mistake.

1) Kakko produced terrifically in his draft-eligible season.

2) Slafkovsky produced terrifically in the Finland Juniors, in the Olympics, and then in the Finnish men's league following the Olympics. The only time he did not produce was in his initial call up to the Liiga, when he was buried in the bottom six and still struggling with his initial move to Finland, where he did not speak the language of his teammates and coaches and was playing vs. adults for the very first time.

3) Comparing Slafkovsky to Kakko is absurd, since their play-styles are so different. I guess a better comparison in the NHL would be Rantanen, though they are different as well. But Kakko is a "good at everything, elite at nothing" player tools-wise. Slafkovsky has probably the most elite combination of playmaking and puck-handling in the entire 2022 class. He's more physical than Kakko and probably faster on his skates.

4) Jiricek's IQ has not been questioned by anyone except very poor prospect evaluators. His consensus ranking has been most negatively impacted by a knee injury which he is mostly recovered from. His upside is universally considered to be higher than Nemec, though admittedly Nemec is the more polished product as of now.

5) Speaking of the consensus, it will look a lot different come June. I guarantee once the final rankings roll out, Slafkovsky will be top 5 and likely Jiricek too.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

When in doubt, draft the forward with a high pick.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Who has the highest ceiling?

My top 5 for "ceiling" in the 2022 draft -- in no order because I don't feel like picking it apart right now -- would be Wright, Slafkovsky, Jiricek, Miroshnichenko and Lambert

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Five years from now, people who thought trading the Devils 2022 #2 overall pick for *Kevin Fiala* will be denying they ever made such an utterly absurd suggestion.

I mean there’s a very significant chance Fiala is a better a player than most of the players being discussed here. Do we think Slafkovsky is topping 33 goals and 85 points by age 25? Yes, interior this, interior that, but Fiala is a stud.

 

[Doublechin]

Based on the polls you'd think most NHL scouts rank Jiricek as top 2 or 3 and not 6 or 7 where he seems to be

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

I mean there’s a very significant chance Fiala is a better a player than most of the players being discussed here. Do we think Slafkovsky is topping 33 goals and 85 points by age 25? Yes, interior this, interior that, but Fiala is a stud.

That really is not a good way to look at. In a cap world you have to factor in what % of cap a player will be taking up. Also, scoring was way up this year. I mean, Chris Kreider scored 52 goals this year. I doubt Slaf will ever score 52 goals but I would not trade the pick for Kreider if he was turning 26 this summer

 

[StevenToddIves]

I mean there’s a very significant chance Fiala is a better a player than most of the players being discussed here. Do we think Slafkovsky is topping 33 goals and 85 points by age 25? Yes, interior this, interior that, but Fiala is a stud.

Yes, if Slafkovsky hits close to his ceiling he will score more than Fiala while also offering an interior presence and thus improving the play of the forwards he skates alongside in ways Fiala is not capable of.

Fiala to me is comparable to Jesper Bratt. Personally, I like Bratt better, but this post isn't about that so I'm not getting into it here, if that's cool with you.

Slafkovsky's closest recent Devils comparable in terms of talent would be... I don't know... Bill Guerin? Brendan Shanahan? Though those two players were "shoot-first" and Slafkovsky is "pass-first", the rest of the skill sets could be compared with some measure of accuracy. Fiala's talent is not quite in that league.

As far as current NHLers go, I'm not sure where I'd put Slafkovsky. Rantanen might be the best comparable. Maybe Svechnikov? There's no guarantee Slafkovsky will hit his ceiling to be quite as dominant as those two, but it's a ballpark possibility. Fiala's talent is not quite in this league, either.

If I had to bet? Yes, Slafkovsky tops 85 points by the end of his 25 year old season, probably multiple times. I'm extremely high on the kid.

 

[Bcap88]

I mean there’s a very significant chance Fiala is a better a player than most of the players being discussed here. Do we think Slafkovsky is topping 33 goals and 85 points by age 25? Yes, interior this, interior that, but Fiala is a stud.

If slaf is all cracked up to be he’s probably scoring in the 60 point range by year 3 on an elc as opposed to fiala who will prob command 8 mil plus. I think fiala was a realistic option at trading our original pick but winning the lottery has probably changed that