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

[SteveCangialosi123]

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

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.

 

[DevilDog]

Picked Slaf as he seems to be BPA. Take the best RD on the board in the 2nd.

 

[Xirik]

If Columbus offered 6th, 12th and perhaps a small +would we have any interest?

Trying to think of possible Scenarios.

Might get lucky and get one of the RD's at 6th and be able to get Gauthier too. If were not lucky then Gauthier at 6th and..... Luneau at 13th?

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

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.

He is an excellent player but we would basically be paying the UFA price for him if we negotiate with him now. Sharp GMs need to be the ones trading for Buchnevich for a bag of pucks as opposed to trading Holtz or a top 10 pick for FIala.

Just a general comment. Paying players like 2021-22 was a normal season is going to get some GMs in trouble down the road, Quite a few players had jumps in production that I doubt could be sustained. With respect to Fials I would have to know what kind of cap hit he would have before I could really comment on his value.

 

[Saint Beaurivage]

Enough said.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

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.

The better question is whether Slfkovaky will be a better than .66 ppg player for his career by the time he’s 25. Odds say he will be. He’ll also be cheap for the near future, which will allow the Devils to add an additional quality player or two that they otherwise might not be able to.

The only player I’m trading the pick for who might plausibly be available is Matt Tkachuk.

 

[Xirik]

Enough said.View attachment 544333

I judge you for using the light theme on the forums.

 

[Lou Bloom]

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 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.

I feel like there's a lot of Mark stone in Slaf's game. Big, physical with slick hands and elite stick work. Mark Stone's probably one of the most underrated players in the NHL considering his impact in all zones and ability to do everything at a high level.

 

[StevenToddIves]

The best rule should be: whatever Byron Bader says, do the opposite. The guy is a moron. The funny thing here is he's actually disputing Cam Robinson, who actually watches the prospects and is one of the very best in the business.

Nemec is better *right now* than Jiricek, especially with Jiricek's knee injury marring his draft-eligible campaign. Since Bader is essentially an imbecile who only feeds numbers into an algorithm without context, he of course ranks Nemec higher.

However, Jiricek offers higher upside, both offensively and defensively, than Nemec. Since you are drafting the player for how they will be over the next 15 years instead of the prior year, Jiricek is probably the better choice.

Of course, this is subjective. I love both players, and if someone gave me a scouting argument why they thought Nemec was the better pick, I'd certainly listen. But please, for the love of everything holy -- no more Byron Bader. Let's cite reasonable and reliable sources, who year in and year out don't embarrass themselves with their prospect rankings.

 

[ChicksDigTheTrap]

The only player I’m trading the pick for who might plausibly be available is Matt Tkachuk.

The problem with that is that Tkachuk will not sign a long term deal until he gets a chance to hold out. We would need the 2023 or 2024 2nd pick if we want to trade the 2nd pick for an extended Tkachuk.

 

[devilsblood]

Slaffer's size is enticing, but the RD aspect of Jiricek is hard to ignore.

Though serious knee injury is not something you like to hear in a scouting report.

Think I'm going to hold off on making a call, check to see who else is in the mix, but Im leaning RD over big winger.

 

[devilsblood]

Picked Slaf as he seems to be BPA. Take the best RD on the board in the 2nd.

Despite the organizational dearth of RD, if we sign Sev's we are set in the top 4 for years. Thus a 2nd rounder potentially coming in as a #3rd a couple years from now does work out well.

Unless we think Jiricek can handle top 4 duties in a couple years, but I think that is more hopeful then realistic.

 

[StevenToddIves]

@StevenToddIves

I included all my scouting reports in the beginning of this post.

None of the three players -- Slafkovsky, Jiricek or Nemec -- are *elite* skaters. But they are all very good skaters. With Slafkovsky and Jiricek in particular, we have to factor in not only speed, but balance, edges and how strong they are on their skates. Slafkovsky and Jiricek are both pretty much immovable objects.

Will Slafkovsky be fast enough to be the driver in transition? No -- but the Devils won't want him to. He'll be linemates with an elite zone entry guy like Hughes or Bratt, and his job will be the force down low -- creating traffic in tight and creating more room up high for the skill guys to work their magic.

The most enticing aspect is that Slafkovsky also possesses elite puckhandling skills and passing vision. Once this guy wins the puck down low -- which he does an extraordinary percentage of the time -- he can use his size and hands to create room and space for himself, then possesses the vision to thread high-anticipatory passes on an elite level.

So, as @Jason MacIsaac correctly pointed out -- Slafkovsky is easily "fast enough". His speed isn't necessarily what he beats you with, but it plays up alongside his size/strength and can still beat you outside simply by pulling the puck off his body and holding you off with his free hand and enormous frame. He's also capable of bullying to the net front, especially against smaller and more-finesse-based defenders. If he is combined with Jack Hughes, they will create an abject mismatch every time they hit the ice together.

 

[StevenToddIves]

If Columbus offered 6th, 12th and perhaps a small +would we have any interest?

Trying to think of possible Scenarios.

Might get lucky and get one of the RD's at 6th and be able to get Gauthier too. If were not lucky then Gauthier at 6th and..... Luneau at 13th?

I don't see why Columbus would offer that, or why the Devils would take it.

Columbus has several needs in the top 6 F and top 4 D, and especially at C. Conor Geekie is exactly the type of player they like (See: Dubois) and should be there at #6. They then have another early pick to fill a huge need. I think they potentially make that offer for Shane Wright, but not for Logan Cooley. They're historically too hung up on size on draft day to hypothesize offering all that for Cooley.

As for the Devils, why trade anywhere? The two biggest prospect needs are a top 6, high-skill power F and a #1 all-situations RD. Why risk trading down? Take Slafkovsky or Jiricek -- whomever your scouts covet more -- and then run away laughing.

 

[devilsblood]

I included all my scouting reports in the beginning of this post.

None of the three players -- Slafkovsky, Jiricek or Nemec -- are *elite* skaters. But they are all very good skaters. With Slafkovsky and Jiricek in particular, we have to factor in not only speed, but balance, edges and how strong they are on their skates. Slafkovsky and Jiricek are both pretty much immovable objects.

Will Slafkovsky be fast enough to be the driver in transition? No -- but the Devils won't want him to. He'll be linemates with an elite zone entry guy like Hughes or Bratt, and his job will be the force down low -- creating traffic in tight and creating more room up high for the skill guys to work their magic.

The most enticing aspect is that Slafkovsky also possesses elite puckhandling skills and passing vision. Once this guy wins the puck down low -- which he does an extraordinary percentage of the time -- he can use his size and hands to create room and space for himself, then possesses the vision to thread high-anticipatory passes on an elite level.

So, as @Jason MacIsaac correctly pointed out -- Slafkovsky is easily "fast enough". His speed isn't necessarily what he beats you with, but it plays up alongside his size/strength and can still beat you outside simply by pulling the puck off his body and holding you off with his free hand and enormous frame. He's also capable of bullying to the net front, especially against smaller and more-finesse-based defenders. If he is combined with Jack Hughes, they will create an abject mismatch every time they hit the ice together.

Looked to me like Slaf had good acceleration in those clips. Maybe not as much top end? But the first few steps looked good.

 

[Hollywood Nosebleed]

Will Slafkovsky be fast enough to be the driver in transition? No -- but the Devils won't want him to. He'll be linemates with an elite zone entry guy like Hughes or Bratt, and his job will be the force down low -- creating traffic in tight and creating more room up high for the skill guys to work their magic.

This is why I want him. He may not outscore Wright, Cooley, or Sovie, but he creates space for our already elite players. Nico goes from 70pts to 90pts and Hughes goes from 90 to 110 if Slafkovsky hits his potential. So even if he tops off as a 60pt player he's more valuable to us. Granted I think his ceiling is much higher than that, but he complements our existing players. Same with Jiricek for Hughes. They'll unlock each other's abilities, and allow them to do what they're great at.

 

[Oneiro]

Given the incentives, the kind of players up front...I'm expecting Slafkovsky to be the pick.

Also think it's worth asking: if Jiricek was LHD, would we still like him this much? For me, the answer is yes but doubt that's true for others.

I could see both guys falling way short of expectations and I don't mean in a James Van Riemsdyk / Adam Larsson kind of way.

 

[Eggtimer]

People shouldn’t rule out Wright not going first overall. If he doesn’t, and Slafkovsky does, the Devils might make things real interesting. Ultimately they’d probably take Wright though. They’d almost have to and then don’t have to keep worrying if Hughes can be a top C, letting him just settle in on the wing.

Habs are taking the C . Do you really think the team that has been desperately searchimg for a top C for the last 20 years will pass in the consensus #1 pick that is a C ? No way a GM in that position passes on Wright at #1 . Plus the draft is in Montreal. There would be fans tryimg to set the building on fire if they reach at #1 .

 

[StevenToddIves]

This is why I want him. He may not outscore Wright, Cooley, or Sovie, but he creates space for our already elite players. Nico goes from 70pts to 90pts and Hughes goes from 90 to 110 if Slafkovsky hits his potential. So even if he tops off as a 60pt player he's more valuable to us. Granted I think his ceiling is much higher than that, but he complements our existing players. Same with Jiricek for Hughes. They'll unlock each other's abilities, and allow them to do what they're great at.

If healthy, Hughes might hit 110 points next year before Slafkovsky even makes the team.

I think Slafkovsky outscores Cooley and Savoie, but I'm not so sure about Wright. Then again, this is a tough class to predict -- I mean, 15 years from now, the top scorer from 2022 could be Nazar or Miroshnichenko. It's wide open.

 

[Lottery Lucky]

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

Lambert is definitely a strong inclusion while Cooley is an even stronger omission

Any particular reasons for Cooley or do you just prefer Lambert and Miroshnichenko?

 

[Eggtimer]

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.

We have a couple of studs like him already. What we don’t have is a elite power forward or a elite defensive stud physical beast RHD. Pass. Take Slavkovsky or Jiricek. Trade that for Fiala? Come on man.
Id rather trade Holtz for him before trading pick #2 .

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.

Fiala is a bery good young player but not what we need when we have more important roles to improve on first

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[My3Sons]

Who has the highest ceiling?

In my old house we had 11 foot ceilings in thr entry foyer and dining room.

 

[nugg]

There's plenty of examples of forwards making the leap to the NHL immediately with Sillinger, Stuetzle, Kakko, Dach, Svechnikov, Kotkaniemi, Tkachuk's x2, etc... None of which were 1st overall picks. That doesn't mean Slafkovsky is a lock to make the team but there's certainly a track record for forwards selected as high as #2 playing their D+1 season in the NHL.

True, plus Slaf might be the best prospect in the draft, and might have been the first pick if the Devils got that, (unless they would have traded down with Arizona). Slafkovski might be ranked #1 by some teams.

Yes Slafkovsky and then a RD in the early 2nd.

I'm hoping for a lot of sleeper RDs and at least one G with high upside. None of these crappy later picks like the last two drafts, okay Fitz?!

 

[Emperoreddy]

I do think if you are thinking trade, it's not wrong to see if you could score potentially bigger game then Fiala for 2nd overall then say 5th.

No idea who that could be,