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

[beekay414]

I’m team Slafkovsky all the way but that just isn’t true.
Cooley is much more likely to be taken by the Devils than Nemec and certainly Jiricek. He’s the only one who’s actually in the top 2 conversation and while Slafkovsky was a bit ahead and has probably pulled more ahead with his WC performance making it less likely there is still a reasonable possibility that the devils scouts and management end up liking Cooley more.

I think they would have to have him clearly ahead of Slafkovsky because if they view it as really close I’d imagine they’ll go with Slafkovsky. So ya it’s probably gonna be Slafkovsky but Cooley is certainly a possibility.


You can’t present your opinion of the player and what you think as what the devils are definitely thinking. Just because you don’t think the devils should be considering Cooley doesn’t mean they aren’t. As I said he’s been in the top 2 and even top 1 conversation for a while now. I’d say Slafkovsky, Wright, and Cooley are our 3 most likely picks in that order. And then Nemec.

I absolutely can and I will continue to do so. There's no real reason for them to even consider Cooley. The upside is marginal, his skillset is abundant and he's more of the same. I'm 100% certain he's not on our radar at #2. If we were at #5? Sure. He's safe but he lacks upside.

His shot is nonexistent, he's a boundary player and he's really not the two way player he's perceived to be. His main attribute is skating but you can find strong skaters throughout the draft.

You can argue with me all you want but there's nothing about Cooley, other than skating, that pops on tape. That's why I don't even remotely consider him an option at #2.

No we won’t. You’re almost certainly wrong and them picking someone else wouldn’t prove that he wasn’t on their board. I think Slafkovsky is the most likely but Cooley is certainly a consideration.

Cooley's not on our board. You can take it to the bank.

 

[Forge]

How much emphasis is Fitz putting on size? In his two drafts, we have really only taken two undersized guys - Edwards and Baumgarnter. Other than that, I think the smallest guy would be Mercer.

So is that happenstance, or is that something that Fitz really is putting a premium on? Because if it's the latter, I could certainly see how Cooley may end up closer to 5 on our board the 2.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I absolutely can and I will continue to do so. There's no real reason for them to even consider Cooley. The upside is marginal, his skillset is abundant and he's more of the same. I'm 100% certain he's not on our radar at #2. If we were at #5? Sure. He's safe but he lacks upside.

His shot is nonexistent, he's a boundary player and he's really not the two way player he's perceived to be. His main attribute is skating but you can find strong skaters throughout the draft.

You can argue with me all you want but there's nothing about Cooley, other than skating, that pops on tape. That's why I don't even remotely consider him an option at #2.


Cooley's not on our board. You can take it to the bank.

Lol so let’s get this straight.
You actually think
Your opinion=The devils managements opinion

That might be one of the most hilarious things I’ve read.


You’re mistaking your opinion as a fact man. Cooley very likely won’t get past 3 and he certainly won’t get past 4.

You have absolutely nothing to base what you’re saying on. In fact all the evidence would suggest that Cooley is almost certainly on our board.

 

[Devs3cups]

How much emphasis is Fitz putting on size? In his two drafts, we have really only taken two undersized guys - Edwards and Baumgarnter. Other than that, I think the smallest guy would be Mercer.

So is that happenstance, or is that something that Fitz really is putting a premium on? Because if it's the latter, I could certainly see how Cooley may end up closer to 5 on our board the 2.

His emphasis on becoming harder to play against definitely would insinuate that.

Lol so let’s get this straight.
You actually think
Your opinion=The devils managements opinion

That might be one of the most hilarious things I’ve read.


You’re mistaking your opinion as a fact man. Cooley very likely won’t get past 3 and he certainly won’t get past 4.

You have absolutely nothing to base what you’re saying on. In fact all the evidence would suggest that Cooley is almost certainly on our board.

I think most would base it off the types of players we already have, Fitz’s desire to become bigger and harder to play against and our C depth. I’d bet Cooley won’t be our pick too if I was a betting man. But, as you said, I can’t know for certain. Maybe we’re surprised by the staff, Cooley’s a good prospect.

 

[beekay414]

Lol so let’s get this straight.
You actually think
Your opinion=The devils managements opinion

That might be one of the most hilarious things I’ve read.


You’re mistaking your opinion as a fact man. Cooley very likely won’t get past 3 and he certainly won’t get past 4.

You have absolutely nothing to base what you’re saying on. In fact all the evidence would suggest that Cooley is almost certainly on our board.

I'm taking common sense into account. We don't lack anything that Cooley offers. Just because someone else considers him behind us doesn't put him on our board. We don't lack center depth like Arizona and Seattle do. We don't lack his skillset in any sense. Logan Cooley would be on our board if we had stayed at 5. He's not on our board at #2. I can promise you that. We'll do our due diligence because we'd be moronic not to but Logan Cooley is not even in remote consideration for our pick as it stands.

Laugh all you want but, in the end, Logan Cooley won't be a New Jersey Devil.

 

[Guttersniped]

I don’t think Fitz’d do that. He said it was on the table because you of course want to see what’s out there, but if he isn’t blown away for a young, team controlled, first line player, we’re picking. Teams have been in our situation before and top 5 picks never get traded.

Fitz was asked if he would trade the pick, in his presser before the lottery, and he said he would for the right deal because it’s his his job to improve the team (I’m paraphrasing).

So it’s not like he volunteered the idea of trading it, he merely admitted that it was theoretically possible when asked.

I don’t see it. Fiala isn’t worth it. And there’s no way Calgary trades Matthew now that it’s clear that playoff runs with him come with Brady drunkenly partying with the home crowd in the stands.

 

[Devs3cups]

Fitz was asked if he would trade the pick, in his presser before the lottery, and he said he would for the right deal because it’s his his job to improve the team (I’m paraphrasing).

So it’s not like he volunteered the idea of trading it, he merely admitted that it was theoretically possible when asked.

I don’t see it. Fiala isn’t worth it. And there’s no way Calgary trades Matthew now that it’s clear that playoff runs with him come with Brady drunkenly partying with the home crowd in the stands.

100% agree. The only players I’d trade it for is one of the Tkachuk’s and that’s not happening.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I'm taking common sense into account. We don't lack anything that Cooley offers. Just because someone else considers him behind us doesn't put him on our board. We don't lack center depth like Arizona and Seattle do. We don't lack his skillset in any sense. Logan Cooley would be on our board if we had stayed at 5. He's not on our board at #2. I can promise you that. We'll do our due diligence because we'd be moronic not to but Logan Cooley is not even in remote consideration for our pick as it stands.

Laugh all you want but, in the end, Logan Cooley won't be a New Jersey Devil.

I agree that he probably won’t be. But you saying he’s definitely not on our board is just dumb.

If the Devils scouts like him more than Slafkovsky and think he is a better prospect than it is possible that he would be the pick. It’s unlikely but possible.

There are NHL scouts that have Cooley ranked at #1. If that’s 1 or 2 of our scouts and/or Fitz than Cooley could very easily be the pick.
Your opinion of him doesn’t trump that reality at all.

 

[beekay414]

I agree that he probably won’t be. But you saying he’s definitely not on our board is just dumb.

If the Devils scouts like him more than Slafkovsky and think he is a better prospect than it is possible that he would be the pick. It’s unlikely but possible.

There are NHL scouts that have Cooley ranked at #1. If that’s 1 or 2 of our scouts and/or Fitz than Cooley could very easily be the pick.
Your opinion of him doesn’t trump that reality at all.

What scouts have Cooley #1 overall? Because they shouldn't have jobs come July.

My reality of what he is lines up more realistically than him being an option for us at #2. LIS, he'd be on our radar had we stayed at 5 because, at that point, safe is fine. He's not on our radar at #2. Paul Castron can find his skillset throughout the draft, he's proven that. You don't just randomly find Juraj Slafkovsky's in the 5th round.

Nothing pops when you scout Cooley. Anybody telling you he's the #1 prospect is lying or smoke screening. You can argue that he's a better prospect than Slaf, fine but I vehemently disagree, but he's not even in Wright's stratosphere.

 

[Captain3rdLine]

What scouts have Cooley #1 overall? Because they shouldn't have jobs come July.

My reality of what he is lines up more realistically than him being an option for us at #2. LIS, he'd be on our radar had we stayed at 5 because, at that point, safe is fine. He's not on our radar at #2. Paul Castron can find his skillset throughout the draft, he's proven that. You don't just randomly find Juraj Slafkovsky's in the 5th round.

Nothing pops when you scout Cooley. Anybody telling you he's the #1 prospect is lying or smoke screening. You can argue that he's a better prospect than Slaf, fine but I vehemently disagree, but he's not even in Wright's stratosphere.

I don’t think he’s a better prospect than Slafkovsky or Wright. You’re completely missing the point. This isn’t about yours or my opinion. I’ve been pushing for Slafkovsky harder than anyone on here.

Cooley has been talked about as a top 2 or even one pick in the scouting community for months now.

In Bob Mckenzies recent draft poll which is easily the most accurate.
One of the 9 NHL head scouts had Cooley at 1. There’s hundreds of NHL scouts out there and it’s a fair bet that there’s more out there that have him at 1 and certainly quite a few that have him at 2 ahead of Slafkovsky.
I hope it’s not the case but there is a very simple reality that it is possible the Devils like Cooley more and could take him because of that.

 

[beekay414]

I don’t think he’s a better prospect than Slafkovsky or Wright. You’re completely missing the point. This isn’t about yours or my opinion. I’ve been pushing for Slafkovsky harder than anyone on here.

Cooley has been talked about as a top 2 or even one pick in the scouting community for months now.

In Bob Mckenzies recent draft poll which is easily the most accurate.
One of the 9 NHL head scouts had Cooley at 1. There’s hundreds of NHL scouts out there and it’s a fair bet that there’s more out there that have him at 1 and certainly quite a few that have him at 2 ahead of Slafkovsky.
I hope it’s not the case but there is a very simple reality that it is possible the Devils like Cooley more and could take him because of that.

I'm not missing anything. I know exactly what you're saying. I just think it's GM speak at best. Cooley's not on our board barring a trade back. LIS, we'll do our due diligence, as any team will do, but Cooley absolutely is not in consideration for #2. We can leave it at that.

 

[Guttersniped]

Because there's nothing that Cooley has that makes him the #2 pick. He offers nothing we don't already have, his upside is marginal and there's a unicorn sitting there for the taking in Slafkovsky. Fitzgerald and Castron aren't idiots.

Copley’s upside is marginal? You’re really underrating his offense here.

 

[beekay414]

Copley’s upside is marginal? You’re really underrating his offense here.

I'm not. His shot isn't special and he's a boundary player. He very well could be Clayton Keller in the point scoring department. I don't buy him as a PPG guy. A lot of his scoring comes from soft USHL stuff. LIS before, nothing outside of his skating pops on tape. That's my issue.

Once again, Cooley would be a fine pick had we stayed at #5 or fallen back to 6 or 7. At 2? No. Just no.

 

[Saugus]

Cooley is certainly a good prospect, and most other teams picking at #2 would definitely consider him if Wright is picked #1 as expected.

But given our needs, and the fact that Slafkovsky has impressed of late and will probably be available, I have a hard time believing that Cooley would be our pick.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Because there's nothing that Cooley has that makes him the #2 pick. He offers nothing we don't already have, his upside is marginal and there's a unicorn sitting there for the taking in Slafkovsky. Fitzgerald and Castron aren't idiots.

Cooley has outstanding upside, it's just not to the level of Slafkovsky. I think he'll be great in Arizona -- coming up through the system with a stud winger like Dylan Guenther.

 

[beekay414]

Cooley has outstanding upside, it's just not to the level of Slafkovsky. I think he'll be great in Arizona -- coming up through the system with a stud winger like Dylan Guenther.

Cooley's a fine player. I'm not arguing that. He'd be a fine pick had we stayed at 5. I'm just saying, IRT the 2nd pick, his upside isn't what you're looking for. I don't believe in his shot. I think he's safe but unexciting, for lack of a better word.

I may sound harsh on the kid but I'm not trying to knock him.

 

[McDuffz88]

We will never know because he will possibly end up in zona and will never amount to anything there. What’s a player like hughes? How does he get shut down but nico wouldn’t get shut down? So your saying nico is the true 1c on this team?

There's a big difference in playstyle between Hughes & Nico. Hughes might put up more points but when you get into the playoffs it's a different animal. I love Hughes, he's a great talent but he is horrible at face offs & lacks the defensive awareness right now. Nico wins those faceoffs & wins the board battles. Those are key in the playoffs. Until Hughes improves in those skills right now Nico is the center you throw out on the ice if your defending a lead or need to win a key face-off. Hughes ain't that guy.

 

[Guttersniped]

Nico didn’t come into the NHL winning face-offs, he improved from 42.9% (his rookie season) to 56.2% (2020-21)/ 52.1% (2021-22).

Hughes hasn’t improved his FO% yet but the last two seasons had unique circumstances that have made it tougher. His second season was the weird COVID season with the compacted schedule and he had the shoulder injury this year.

He’s still going to be a more offensive center but I do expect the FO % to improve assuming he plays a full season (knock on wood).

 

[Lou Bloom]

I'm not. His shot isn't special and he's a boundary player. He very well could be Clayton Keller in the point scoring department. I don't buy him as a PPG guy. A lot of his scoring comes from soft USHL stuff. LIS before, nothing outside of his skating pops on tape. That's my issue.

Once again, Cooley would be a fine pick had we stayed at #5 or fallen back to 6 or 7. At 2? No. Just no.

What makes Cooley a boundary player? He's constantly using his skating and stick handling to try to get close to the net and create dangerous scoring chances and while he's not the biggest player he doesn't shy away from contact. How can you say nothing but his skating pops on tape? His stick handling and vision are towards the top of this class and I can't think of a more creative player in terms of creating angles for passing lanes.

Also how can you say his scoring just comes from soft USHL stuff when he was well over a PPG vs college teams on USNTDP and looked just as dynamic at the U18s?

 

[Captain3rdLine]

I'm not missing anything. I know exactly what you're saying. I just think it's GM speak at best. Cooley's not on our board barring a trade back. LIS, we'll do our due diligence, as any team will do, but Cooley absolutely is not in consideration for #2. We can leave it at that.

No it isn’t. It’s the reality. You can ignore that facts in front of you all you want.
You’re saying things like they’re facts but you have yet to provide anything that would actually back your statements up.

What are you basing that off of.
Other than your own personal assessment of Cooley’s game? Which means absolutely nothing to this discussion.

Give me something other than unbacked claims and your own personal evaluation of the player.

 

[Oneiro]

Guys, we're definitely taking Jiricek.

Why? Because I said so. That's absolutely the reality. Taking Slaf is just not gonna happen. Money to the bank. It won't happen. We already have wingers in the system, we don't need another one, especially one that plays in such a weak league. He's big and his skating stride is super awkward - not even one spinaroma in the tournament! - and he doesn't use his slapshot at all, plus PK will be gone and can't give him pointers. He's got size, but you can find guys with size elsewhere in the draft. He's definitely not on our board, Castron is my landlord and said as much without saying as much while we locked eyes in the driveway. We'll interview the kid for the purposes of fooling the Deep State (aka Kraken) but really David's the guy, I mean how he cannot be. He's big, RHD, he's got a slapper (YES) and he's Czech just like Patty. Where else are you gonna find that in the draft? Get your heads out of your asses, stop talking about Slaf. Like at all. I bet you my 1998 Fallingwater LEGO set in mint condition, unopened, that David Jiricek is a Devil on draft day.

 

[MartyOwns]

we’re not taking cooley at 2 lol come on

 

[NJDevs26]

I just hope Cooley isn't the guy we all scoff at being a potential top selection that does turn out to be the stud of the draft (i.e. Makar)

 

[Nubmer6]

I just hope Cooley isn't the guy we all scoff at being a potential top selection that does turn out to be the stud of the draft (i.e. Makar)

Actually, I could imagine Wright - Cooley being similar to a Hischier - Petersson situation. If anyone becomes the Makar of this draft I think it'll be Slafkovsky.

 

[glenwo2]

Saying he projects as their future 3rd line center is just a lazy way to handwave a player that most would agree should be in discussion for the pick. Cooley is considered by most to be a top 3 prospect in this draft class and if the Devils agree with this evaluation then they'll definitely consider him.

The chances of Cooley getting picked at #2 are equal to the chances of me winning the Powerball Jackpot.


It's either going to be Slaf or (if the Habs have a brain-fart) Wright.

And Cooley more than likely ends up in Arizona.