Prospect Info: Ives 2022 Top 100 NHL Draft Rankings (Spring Edition, 2.0)

[StevenToddIves]

I wasn't naming those guys as targets for the Devils (or even players I'm particularly high on), just giving examples to the wide variance in rankings this year. Personally the potential "fallers" I'd be interested in are Chesley, Ostlund, Firkus, Gaucher, Trikokov, Perevalov and while not a faller I'm a big fan of Noah Warren as a guy who'll probably go higher than his rankings indicate. Like I said before I'd love to add another 2nd rounder in this draft and add someone like Warren along with a potential 1st round faller with both of those picks.

I agree with adding a 2nd rounder, maybe Zacha can get us that.

Chesley won't fall to the 2nd. The draft writers tend to over-value points in defensemen, but NHL teams love guys like Chesley, who is probably the best defensive defender in the 2022 class right now. Gaucher is another guy who NHL teams value more than draft-writers.

Ostlund, Firkus, Trikozov and Perevalov could all fall. I don't see how I could pass up Perevalov at #15, much less #37. That kid is just outstanding -- elite in every offensive category except skating, where he's still pretty darned good.

Warren is a guy I'd cross my fingers on for Round 3. I'm obviously a big fan, but couldn't see myself passing on a Perevalov or Trikozov for him.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I had a stray thought about why NJ is seemingly ignoring RD in recent drafts. It's that RD doesn't fit the NJ idea of draft value. RD are rare and ones with size and skating ability and IQ are rarer. Throw in the ability to create offense and they are almost unicorns. As such, they essentially have to be overdrafted to get them. Thus, they don't show as valuable as other positions. I think you've implicitly said this when we've discussed right shot defenders that might fall to the second and you've consistently suggested that a falling Russian forward with upside is probably a better pick. On some level, I think this applies almost every round. Beyond Jiricek and Nemec how many legit RD prospects are there in the draft? You've identified more than a handful, but hardly as many potential high upside RD as you've identified excellent mid to late round forwards. If you want a real RD prospect you probably have to suck it up and draft them one round higher than they really merit. I mean, was Morrow really looked at as a high second round pick headed into the draft last year? Maybe but I bet a number of teams saw a risky pick based on being older in a high school league. The smart team looked closely and said they'd roll the dice on the RD in the early second round and it was a good decision. Was it a value pick? Probably not at the time but it was the right pick. Tom's got to get away from the list (recall he mentioned that when drafting Mukhamadullin) or he's never going to pick a RD, or at least a RD that matters.

Sam Rinzel is the Scott Morrow-est RD for the 2022 class, and you'll have to take him at #37 because he won't fall to the 3rd.

Michael Fisher is the even more finger-crossy version of Rinzel. Another big kid with speed and intriguing offensive ability. You could possibly get him late as the 4th.

If Noah Warren is there in the 3rd, he's a great pick. Never going to produce much scoring, but he's 6'5, physical and mobile and can really become a sort of Parayko-type for your blueline if all goes well in development.

A couple outstanding, under-the radar RDs for the 4th round (or later) are Artyom Barabosha and Michael Mastrodomenico. Both big, physical, shut-down types who can skate and think the game very well.

 

[My3Sons]

Sam Rinzel is the Scott Morrow-est RD for the 2022 class, and you'll have to take him at #37 because he won't fall to the 3rd.

Michael Fisher is the even more finger-crossy version of Rinzel. Another big kid with speed and intriguing offensive ability. You could possibly get him late as the 4th.

If Noah Warren is there in the 3rd, he's a great pick. Never going to produce much scoring, but he's 6'5, physical and mobile and can really become a sort of Parayko-type for your blueline if all goes well in development.

A couple outstanding, under-the radar RDs for the 4th round (or later) are Artyom Barabosha and Michael Mastrodomenico. Both big, physical, shut-down types who can skate and think the game very well.

The issue is whether those guys even make it where you might realistically project them. My guess is the top guys you list are all on the NJ radar but if they have Rinzel as prospect 50 would they take him at 37 if prospect 35 on their list (presumably another forward) is there? My guess is that happens a fair amount and smart teams have figured out the proper adjustment for RD (if you have them at X on your list you have to move them up by Y spots so a regular prospect is just X but a RD is X-Y).

 

[Lou Bloom]

I agree with adding a 2nd rounder, maybe Zacha can get us that.

Chesley won't fall to the 2nd. The draft writers tend to over-value points in defensemen, but NHL teams love guys like Chesley, who is probably the best defensive defender in the 2022 class right now. Gaucher is another guy who NHL teams value more than draft-writers.

Ostlund, Firkus, Trikozov and Perevalov could all fall. I don't see how I could pass up Perevalov at #15, much less #37. That kid is just outstanding -- elite in every offensive category except skating, where he's still pretty darned good.

Warren is a guy I'd cross my fingers on for Round 3. I'm obviously a big fan, but couldn't see myself passing on a Perevalov or Trikozov for him.

I think it could go either way with Chesley and Gaucher and this is coming from someone who's higher on both of them than the general consensus. Chesley isn't the most tooled up player and it wouldn't surprise me if team's fall in love with guys like Mateychuk, Mintyukov, Korchinski, Pickering, Rinzel, Bischel, Odelius etc... over him. Add in interesting players like Casey, Nelson, Hutson, Lamoureux, Havelid, Salomonsson and you have quite a large pool of defenseman to choose from. Now obviously not all of those players are going over Chesley but all it takes is for a couple of teams to prefer a different defenseman for him to fall lower than he should.

As for Gaucher, while his profile (Big, Physical center who prioritizes defense) is very coveted he's still an older draftee that put up mediocre results in the QMJHL for a draft eligible and in the 1st round there's going to be teams that prefer upside over a player that is projected more into a bottom 6 shutdown role.

Warren probably wouldn't be my BPA on the board but I'd imagine he's the exact type of player that Fitz would covet and I think he's the type of player due to his size and skating that goes higher than his current rankings. I could see him becoming along the lines of a Brandon Carlo/Erik Cernak type if things break right and both of those guys went in the early 2nd round of their respective drafts and that certainly would be a pretty great outcome if he were to pan out.

 

[StevenToddIves]

The issue is whether those guys even make it where you might realistically project them. My guess is the top guys you list are all on the NJ radar but if they have Rinzel as prospect 50 would they take him at 37 if prospect 35 on their list (presumably another forward) is there? My guess is that happens a fair amount and smart teams have figured out the proper adjustment for RD (if you have them at X on your list you have to move them up by Y spots so a regular prospect is just X but a RD is X-Y).

If you have Rinzel as #50, you don't take him at #37, because someone you have around #20-range will inevitably slip to #37.

Like I keep saying, I'm doubting I would target a RD at #37 unless Luneau somehow falls. Because the draft is unpredictable and a high-upside or two F inevitably fall to the early second. I love Rinzel, but I can't justify taking him over Alex Perevalov or Owen Beck or Nathan Gaucher or Gleb Trikozov. And we're not even talking about the chances Ivan Miroshnichenko dips into the 2nd round.

In the 3rd round? Yeah, I'd start thinking about positional need a little bit. But not at #37. To wit, here's a list of guys who could've been taken at #37 in recent years:

2016: DeBrincat (#39)
2017: Jason Robertson (#39)
2018: Alex Romanov (#38)
2019: Nils Hoglander (#40)
2020: Marat Khusnutdinov (#37)
2021: Scott Morrow (#40)

That's a heckuva lot of talent on that list. I think we need to go Best Available Player until a bit later in the draft, where we need to address needs at RD, G and depth C.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I think it could go either way with Chesley and Gaucher and this is coming from someone who's higher on both of them than the general consensus. Chesley isn't the most tooled up player and it wouldn't surprise me if team's fall in love with guys like Mateychuk, Mintyukov, Korchinski, Pickering, Rinzel, Bischel, Odelius etc... over him. Add in interesting players like Casey, Nelson, Hutson, Lamoureux, Havelid, Salomonsson and you have quite a large pool of defenseman to choose from. Now obviously not all of those players are going over Chesley but all it takes is for a couple of teams to prefer a different defenseman for him to fall lower than he should.

As for Gaucher, while his profile (Big, Physical center who prioritizes defense) is very coveted he's still an older draftee that put up mediocre results in the QMJHL for a draft eligible and in the 1st round there's going to be teams that prefer upside over a player that is projected more into a bottom 6 shutdown role.

Warren probably wouldn't be my BPA on the board but I'd imagine he's the exact type of player that Fitz would covet and I think he's the type of player due to his size and skating that goes higher than his current rankings. I could see him becoming along the lines of a Brandon Carlo/Erik Cernak type if things break right and both of those guys went in the early 2nd round of their respective drafts and that certainly would be a pretty great outcome if he were to pan out.

I agree with everything you said except Salomonsson or Nelson being interesting, haha. If the Devils took either of them at #37 I might need an analyst and a Prozac prescription.

Hutson is extremely interesting, but I think he falls. I'd draft him in the 4th and try to convert him to F, where he should have been played all along. Let him play the point on the PP and run the transition game, but he's just not a natural defenseman.

 

[My3Sons]

If you have Rinzel as #50, you don't take him at #37, because someone you have around #20-range will inevitably slip to #37.

Like I keep saying, I'm doubting I would target a RD at #37 unless Luneau somehow falls. Because the draft is unpredictable and a high-upside or two F inevitably fall to the early second. I love Rinzel, but I can't justify taking him over Alex Perevalov or Owen Beck or Nathan Gaucher or Gleb Trikozov. And we're not even talking about the chances Ivan Miroshnichenko dips into the 2nd round.

In the 3rd round? Yeah, I'd start thinking about positional need a little bit. But not at #37. To wit, here's a list of guys who could've been taken at #37 in recent years:

2016: DeBrincat (#39)
2017: Jason Robertson (#39)
2018: Alex Romanov (#38)
2019: Nils Hoglander (#40)
2020: Marat Khusnutdinov (#37)
2021: Scott Morrow (#40)

That's a heckuva lot of talent on that list. I think we need to go Best Available Player until a bit later in the draft, where we need to address needs at RD, G and depth C.

I get it. That said, I have a hunch some teams uprate RD prospects to some extent. Just based on Yzerman's quote about Seider it makes sense to me. He talked about the rarity of a player that fits that profile. He didn't simply say they picked the BPA as would be expected.

 

[Lou Bloom]

I agree with everything you said except Salomonsson or Nelson being interesting, haha. If the Devils took either of them at #37 I might need an analyst and a Prozac prescription.

Hutson is extremely interesting, but I think he falls. I'd draft him in the 4th and try to convert him to F, where he should have been played all along. Let him play the point on the PP and run the transition game, but he's just not a natural defenseman.

I'm not a fan personally but there's plenty of writers who are high on them and there's always a few head scratching decisions on draft day from a couple of teams. Salomonsson in particular is an RHD with good size and high end skating. I don't think there's much else there but some teams love toolsy projects and think they can mold someone like him into a star.

 

[Guttersniped]

I agree with everything you said except Salomonsson or Nelson being interesting, haha. If the Devils took either of them at #37 I might need an analyst and a Prozac prescription.

Hutson is extremely interesting, but I think he falls. I'd draft him in the 4th and try to convert him to F, where he should have been played all along. Let him play the point on the PP and run the transition game, but he's just not a natural defenseman.

I wonder where Kasper Kulonummi falls, he would be nice middle round pick.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I'm not a fan personally but there's plenty of writers who are high on them and there's always a few head scratching decisions on draft day from a couple of teams. Salomonsson in particular is an RHD with good size and high end skating. I don't think there's much else there but some teams love toolsy projects and think they can mold someone like him into a star.

Low IQ players are gonna low IQ, and low compete players are gonna low compete. There's no changing that.

Sometimes a kid can grow up a bit and gain a sense of urgency and a more consistent approach, but I can't think of a single example of a player who completely turned these things around to become character guys.

Nelson processes the game extremely well, but he doesn't seem to understand the situation or score. I've seen him make high risk pinches and chances up one goal late on more than one occasion. No idea how a coach lets that fly at the OHL level. With Salomonsson -- well, he just doesn't process the game at all. His physical tool kit is better than Nemec, but one singular tool -- hockey IQ -- has Nemec as a top 5 pick and Salomonsson as a likely 2nd rounder who could conceivably fall to the 3rd. These aren't chances I'm willing to take with a pick as high as #37.

If I'm rolling the dice at #37, it's on a player like Jagger Firkus or Julian Lutz or Reid Schaefer -- a player who we can already envision the player they are capable of becoming while watching the player they already are.

This is as opposed to reaching for constant hypothetical fantasies, such as "if this great talent can just learn defensive positioning and gaps and how to choose his spots offensively and that team play is more important than individual stats etc. etc." so much that the player you're envisioning is completely a separate entity than what you see before you on the ice.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I wonder where Kasper Kulonummi falls, he would be nice middle round pick.

I also like Kulonummi. Because I can't see projecting him much above an NHL 3rd pairing role, I wouldn't draft him until maybe Rounds 4/5, but I think he's a high floor guy with a good chance of making the NHL in at least a depth role. Here's my write-up from March:

RD Kasper Kulonummi, Jokerit U20 Finland Jr.
Kasper Kulonummi is the consummate jack of all trades, master of none. This makes him both difficult to pinpoint for draft day and also difficult to easily define as a player. He's productive offensively, but not a big-chance taker or prototypical offensive defenseman. He's steady defensively, but not really physical or shut-down in that capacity. He's just an all-around solid kid with the ability to play in any role or situation. His coaches count on him for heavy, varietal minutes and have given him the responsibility of an 'A' on his jersey. He's produced quite well for a defenseman, with 29 points in 40 U20 games.

Kulonummi is neither big nor small at 6'0-175. He's a pretty good skater, but I would not call him exceptional in any respect of speed, balance more agility. Everything across the skill-board comes with a check for Kulonummi, but nothing gets a "plus". His finest assets are his calm with the puck and intelligence; Kulonummi plays a cool, composed game at both ends. If Kulonummi has a weakness its his shot, which lacks any discernible juice behind it and is easily reacted to by opposing netminders.

I'd say Kulonummi is advanced in terms of awareness and positioning in all three zones. He's kind of a coaches dream in that you just plug him out there and he does his job pretty quietly. If his ceiling is as a 3rd pairing defender at the NHL level, he is easily projectable as a very good one who does not make mistakes and efficiently keeps the puck going in the right direction. Though it's not "sexy", there is nothing wrong with this type of player.

I'd say Kulonummi's consensus ranking is anywhere from the mid-3rd round to the 5th round. If he slips past the 4th, he's a very good pick, as every team is always needing RD, perhaps more than any other skating position. Kasper Kulonummi is good at hockey, and there's no reason to think he will not get better.

 

[BurntToast]

I also like Kulonummi. Because I can't see projecting him much above an NHL 3rd pairing role, I wouldn't draft him until maybe Rounds 4/5, but I think he's a high floor guy with a good chance of making the NHL in at least a depth role. Here's my write-up from March:

RD Kasper Kulonummi, Jokerit U20 Finland Jr.
Kasper Kulonummi is the consummate jack of all trades, master of none. This makes him both difficult to pinpoint for draft day and also difficult to easily define as a player. He's productive offensively, but not a big-chance taker or prototypical offensive defenseman. He's steady defensively, but not really physical or shut-down in that capacity. He's just an all-around solid kid with the ability to play in any role or situation. His coaches count on him for heavy, varietal minutes and have given him the responsibility of an 'A' on his jersey. He's produced quite well for a defenseman, with 29 points in 40 U20 games.

Kulonummi is neither big nor small at 6'0-175. He's a pretty good skater, but I would not call him exceptional in any respect of speed, balance more agility. Everything across the skill-board comes with a check for Kulonummi, but nothing gets a "plus". His finest assets are his calm with the puck and intelligence; Kulonummi plays a cool, composed game at both ends. If Kulonummi has a weakness its his shot, which lacks any discernible juice behind it and is easily reacted to by opposing netminders.

I'd say Kulonummi is advanced in terms of awareness and positioning in all three zones. He's kind of a coaches dream in that you just plug him out there and he does his job pretty quietly. If his ceiling is as a 3rd pairing defender at the NHL level, he is easily projectable as a very good one who does not make mistakes and efficiently keeps the puck going in the right direction. Though it's not "sexy", there is nothing wrong with this type of player.

I'd say Kulonummi's consensus ranking is anywhere from the mid-3rd round to the 5th round. If he slips past the 4th, he's a very good pick, as every team is always needing RD, perhaps more than any other skating position. Kasper Kulonummi is good at hockey, and there's no reason to think he will not get better.

It’s better to draft boom bust talent with one elite skill at least that’s what I heard from @StevenToddIves. I know you give Shero a lot of late round credit (deserved) but it’s kinda a wash when his 1 rounders outside of 1OA are duds. ((#Sorry Mikey) (Hopefully Smith bounces back))..

 

[Guttersniped]

It’s better to draft boom bust talent with one elite skill at least that’s what I heard from @StevenToddIves. I know you Shero a lot of late round credit (deserved) but it’s kinda a wash when his 1 rounders outside of 1OA are duds. ((#Sorry Mikey) (Hopefully Smith bounces back))..

I actually think Kulonummi’s hockey sense is what makes him elite-ish (or at least potentially an NHL guy) but that’s a tough call. I also like his skating.

I just liked him at the U18, I guess. It depends on where he goes in the draft. I’m not that crazy about the some of the RHD after the big two. We have a insane lack of it but if we don’t get Chelsey, I would hate to force by drafting a guy way too earlier based on need. If there’s way better LHD and you do that, it’s kind of gross.

We should have drafted Brock Faber in 2020 and made all this way less complicated. But no, off the board oddball Russian LHD lol…

 

[TBF1972]

I had a stray thought about why NJ is seemingly ignoring RD in recent drafts. It's that RD doesn't fit the NJ idea of draft value. RD are rare and ones with size and skating ability and IQ are rarer. Throw in the ability to create offense and they are almost unicorns. As such, they essentially have to be overdrafted to get them. Thus, they don't show as valuable as other positions. I think you've implicitly said this when we've discussed right shot defenders that might fall to the second and you've consistently suggested that a falling Russian forward with upside is probably a better pick. On some level, I think this applies almost every round. Beyond Jiricek and Nemec how many legit RD prospects are there in the draft? You've identified more than a handful, but hardly as many potential high upside RD as you've identified excellent mid to late round forwards. If you want a real RD prospect you probably have to suck it up and draft them one round higher than they really merit. I mean, was Morrow really looked at as a high second round pick headed into the draft last year? Maybe but I bet a number of teams saw a risky pick based on being older in a high school league. The smart team looked closely and said they'd roll the dice on the RD in the early second round and it was a good decision. Was it a value pick? Probably not at the time but it was the right pick. Tom's got to get away from the list (recall he mentioned that when drafting Mukhamadullin) or he's never going to pick a RD, or at least a RD that matters.

good write up of my reasoning to draft jiricek.

or clarke last season.

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

With Douglas locked up and maybe a Sevs extension, plus Hughes in the pipeline, I think this is the year to take a chance on at least 2 defensive RD picks.

And by the way, The Toolsy Projects and the Hypothetical Fanatasies played a great show last night.

 

[StevenToddIves]

good write up of my reasoning to draft jiricek.

or clarke last season.

I'm a huge Jiricek booster, but right now it's just tough to see how the Devils could pass up on Slafkovsky. He's the best available player, and he also fills a huge need.

My strategy -- if I were in the NJ front office -- would be Slafkovsky at #2, best available player at #37 (with slight up-ranks given to the Devils big needs of RD and potential high-end 3C), then a focus on RD for the remainder of the draft.

There will be good RDs available in Rounds 3-5. Some possibilities include Noah Warren, Artyom Barabosha, Kasper Kulonummi, Michael Fisher and Michael Mastrodomenico. There should also be some intriguing bottom 6 center options in Rounds 3-5 like Brendan Morrison, Alex Kaskimaki, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Brennan Ali, Pano Fimis, Servac Petrovsky and Liam Arnsby. At some point, the Devils should also take a goalie, of course -- it helps that the Devils have a trio of 4th round picks and all their picks in Rounds 5-7.

But I think the Devils have to go quality over need with the #2 and #37 picks. At #2 Slafkovsky is just the perfect fit, to me. And at #37? Well, I'd love a RD here, but I'd find it really tough to pass on a high-end guy who could fall like Perevalov, Trikozov, Beck, Gaucher or Ostlund.

 

[StevenToddIves]

In OHL news, Windsor has eliminated Flint in 7 games, ending the Firebirds season. There was really one draft eligible for Flint I had a close eye on, which was RW Gavin Hayes. Someone asked me at some point if there is a Blake Coleman in the 2022 draft class, and this kid came up as one of the potential elite-3rd-line types for the class of 2022. I think he's a 3rd round pick, and as such probably won't be a NJ target, but he's definitely a strong sleeper for the upcoming draft and a kid worth paying attention to.

Here's my write-up from March:

RW Gavin Hayes, Flint OHL
Gavin Hayes is fortunate to be playing his OHL hockey in his home state of Michigan, but this is far from the reason he's an absolute fan favorite. Hayes is the definition of a player whose entire game is contingent upon an extraordinary compete level. There are few players who play with as much heart and hustle as this 6'1-175 winger, and as such he's an absolute menace on the forecheck and wins puck races and puck battles all over the ice. Despite being one of the younger players on his team with a mid-May '04 birthdate, Hayes is a regular in the Firebirds' top 6 and 4th on the team in scoring with a respectable 42 points in 55 games at the time of this write-up. This is no small feat on a Flint team headlined by a pair of Uber-prospects in Brennan Othmann and Dmitri Kuzmin. But repeated viewings show there is more to this player than just an amazing effort level, and as such he's a name to know for the 3rd round of the 2022 draft.

Hayes is willing to do absolutely anything to win. He'll battle anyone, he finishes his checks, he'll block shots, he shows tremendous courage in all the greasy areas. He's the first man back on the back check and he supports his teammates. That being said, he's a guy who energizes a line, he's not the type of Grade A talent to drive one. Still, this is not a kid without impressive skills. I'd say his top two are skating and puckhandling. Hayes is very fast and can reach high speeds quickly. This plays up even more due to his otherworldly effort level, and the result is a player who always looks like the fastest player on the ice even when there are more talented skaters in the game. Hayes can also dangle and deke at a top 6 level, and he does not lose this ability at high speed. So, all game long it's hard to take your eyes off the kid -- he's just go go go.

The caveat with Hayes is that his offensive ability is limited. He's an ok shooter and passer, sure, but these are functional tools. He's not a player who will generate offense in any degree except when creating turnovers due to his hustle and hard-hitting style of play. However, Hayes is a player who can compliment greater offensive talents, by always being in the right place and crashing the net and creating space and being heavy on the puck.

As previously mentioned, I feel Gavin Hayes will be taken in the 3rd round and I feel he's an excellent pick there. I'm not sure he has the upside to justify going in the first two rounds, but his enormous heart and high-speed style gives him a very high floor as a 4th liner, especially when combined with his physicality and size. I'd say his upside is as a very, very good traditional NHL 3rd line RW who can pop in a bit of offense and make the opposition's lives very difficult. This is an extremely likable player, and also a very good one. I am very excited to see him one day in the NHL, as I'm very confident his high motor will get him there.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Tonight starts the OHL and WHL final series.

The OHL pits Windsor up against Hamilton. As good as Windsor is, I give a strong edge to Hamilton, who is my favorite to win the Memorial Cup and has gone 12-0 through three playoff rounds. Here are the players to watch for the 2022 draft:

Windsor:
RD James Jodoin

Hamilton:
C Logan Morrison
RW Avery Hayes
LD Jorion Donovan

In the WHL, a stacked Edmonton squad will be a pretty solid favorite over an excellent Seattle team, but the T-Birds plays a physical, high-compete game which could give the Oil Kings fits. Here are the players to watch for the 2022 draft:

Seattle:
LW/C Jordan Gustafson
LW Reid Schaefer
LW/C Jared Davidson
LD Jeremy Hanzel
LD Kevin Korchinski

Edmonton:
RD Simon Kubicek

 

[BurntToast]

I am sorry, but Wright talks too fast and too short. Slaf feels the most like a Devil. I also can’t help but love Cutter. Savoie just doesn’t fit and Geekie is a space cadet (head in the clouds).

 

[OmNomNom]

I am sorry, but Wright talks too fast and too short. Slaf feels the most like a Devil. I also can’t help but love Cutter. Savoie is doesn’t fit and Geekie is a space cadet (head in the clouds).

apparently he sang karaoke live during an interview hahaha

 

[Guadana]

Wright and Gauthier are 18 yo humans =-D My God, such a joke. I believe their fathers could look younger.

 

[StevenToddIves]

I've been going over some more Logan Morrison film, and I have to say that I'm completely bothered by the fact he's still being completely overlooked in virtually every draft ranking except Craig Button's and my own. I'd say his passing ability and hockey IQ are both top 5 in the entire 2022 class. I get he's an over-ager, but I'd say he's already capable of a 2C role in the AHL next year.

Just a reminder that the last over-ager I wouldn't shut up about was Dmitri Rashevsky, who went in the 5th round last year and probably goes in the 1st round in a 2021 re-draft already.

Here's a small sample of what this kid is capable of:

 

[SKNJD9]

NHL Link • Loading...

link.nhl.com

 

[Xirik]

I'm happy that we did move up to 2nd overall but there is still a part of me that wishes we could draft Cutter Gauthier.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I'm happy that we did move up to 2nd overall but there is still a part of me that wishes we could draft Cutter Gauthier.

I’m getting a feeling we’re going to pick him somehow. Trade or just picking him outright. He’s been mentioned in most of the Devils draft content right with the other top names. He is a Fitz-type player. I would not be remotely surprised.