Jon Merrill Signed, To Play In Albany

[Claudi27]

"@TSNBobMcKenzie: Univ Of Michigan D Jon Merrill has decided to leave school and has signed with NJD. Reporting to AHL, presumably for balance of season."

Per @TSNBOBMCKENZIE

 

[CerebralGenesis]

woo

how many games left this season?

 

[njdss4]

I think that's what most of us expected. I hope he can reach his potential and put his disciplinary problems behind him.

woo

how many games left this season?

Looks like 13, though I doubt he'll be in the lineup for tonight's game.

 

[Lou is God]

Awesome news, can't wait to watch this kid develop.

 

[Nick0930]

Sweet. Let's see what he's got against some better competition.

 

[Cowbell232]

What a great experience and learning opportunity for this kid. See what the big time is going to be like and get prepared.

 

[BrodeursCups]

He has a lot to work on, but this is the right (and expected) move. Will be interesting to see how he handles the transition.

Maybe he can bunk with Burlon. Lol

 

[aboriginal]

yessssss

 

[Rhodes 81]

Good, now we can get a bit better of a grasp on where he stands. I think he's a little more long term than we would like to believe right now, unfortunately. Missing most of two seasons is just tough

 

[Zubrus Coffee Maker]

He's still pretty far away, but its good that we can watch him develop in the A. i can't wait for Albany to play the Marlies so i can watch this kid live

 

[Semak]

Barring any injuries on the big club or a monster start to his AHL career, I hope he stays all season in the A next year. At this point Urbom, Gelinas and possibly Burlon are ahead of him.

 

[MartyOwns]

excellent. i'd like to see him compete for a job in NJ in the next 1-2 years

 

[Cheddabombs]

Some great news to wake up to! I'll definitely be catching some of the A. Devils games the rest of the season to see this kid in action.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Barring any injuries on the big club or a monster start to his AHL career, I hope he stays all season in the A next year. At this point Urbom, Gelinas and possibly Burlon are ahead of him.

I don't see how he would crack our roster next year when we have Gélinas who's been real solid in the AHL for the past couple of years.

The last I want to do is to rush a youngster for no apparent reason. We have about 5 or 6 d-men who are all under contract for next year anyways, so I doubt we see Merrill with the big club next year and if there's a call-up, Gélinas will get a shot before Merrill IMO.

 

[rrekaj13]

I think I would rather he have stayed at UM. Slightly (and I mean really slightly) because I may end up there next year for school. More so because he hasn't played a full season of college hockey for a competitive team, and when he returned this year he was really overshadowed by Trouba.

I don't know if Trouba is just THAT good (I think it's possible) or if JM just isn't that spectacular, but Merrill wasn't playing the big minutes I'd hope from one of our top prospects. It's also possible that, like some of the commentators and others here have mentioned, he doesn't play a flashy, overly offensive/defensive game; just solid on both ends.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Nice!! Really wanna see what this kid can do. Would be pretty awesome if we had new group of homegrown studs a la Rafalski, Niedermayer, and Daneyko.

 

[AfroThunder396]

That good stuff, it's really good stuff.

 

[PlamsUnlimited]

Awesome. Excited to see him

 

[Nevertheless]

I think I would rather he have stayed at UM. Slightly (and I mean really slightly) because I may end up there next year for school. More so because he hasn't played a full season of college hockey for a competitive team, and when he returned this year he was really overshadowed by Trouba.

I don't know if Trouba is just THAT good (I think it's possible) or if JM just isn't that spectacular, but Merrill wasn't playing the big minutes I'd hope from one of our top prospects. It's also possible that, like some of the commentators and others here have mentioned, he doesn't play a flashy, overly offensive/defensive game; just solid on both ends.

I could see Merrill kind of being a "bust" and instead of being a real offensive force, he's more like Tallinder in his prime. 20 points on average year in year out with solid defense and mobile enough (like Tallinder was)

 

[Devils Trap]

I could see Merrill kind of being a "bust" and instead of being a real offensive force, he's more like Tallinder in his prime. 20 points on average year in year out with solid defense and mobile enough (like Tallinder was)

If Merrill turns out to be like Tallinder, that is far from a bust

 

[Mustangs]

I think that Merrill needs pro competition to further his development. Asuming he has his head on straight This will benefit him and the devils. I love the Defensive depth on this team. All the NHL depth and the Prospects.

 

[Nevertheless]

If Merrill turns out to be like Tallinder, that is far from a bust

Agreed but "becoming another tallinder"might be lower than some people's expectations which is why i said "bust".

If Merrill can be phenomenal on the PK or at least a 2nd PP pairing guy, be a mobile with 20+ points a year and good transition game out from behind Marty (Or someone else ), that would be awesome and far from a bust.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

gently down the stream,
life is but a dream.

See you in 2 years kid.

 

[Cowbell232]

Forget his on-ice abilities or potential, the kid needs a year in the minors to get used to living on his own and being a professional day in, day out and prove he deserves a shot to show his on-ice talents.

He's got a road ahead of him, but it's not impossible.

 

[Brodeur]

Forget his on-ice abilities or potential, the kid needs a year in the minors to get used to living on his own and being a professional day in, day out and prove he deserves a shot to show his on-ice talents.

He's got a road ahead of him, but it's not impossible.

This is always a forgotten aspect of development. Years ago, I was in college and I saw an interview with Jason Arnott where he admitted that he had no idea how to take care of himself in Edmonton. He would eat fast food all the time (meanwhile, I was probably eating another burger as I was watching TV) and wasn't particularly diligent off the ice in working out. That led to him being sluggish. After he got traded, he lived with Scott Stevens and he started eating/training better.

Hopefully there are a few willing mentors down in Albany.

I think I would rather he have stayed at UM. Slightly (and I mean really slightly) because I may end up there next year for school. More so because he hasn't played a full season of college hockey for a competitive team, and when he returned this year he was really overshadowed by Trouba.

I don't know if Trouba is just THAT good (I think it's possible) or if JM just isn't that spectacular, but Merrill wasn't playing the big minutes I'd hope from one of our top prospects. It's also possible that, like some of the commentators and others here have mentioned, he doesn't play a flashy, overly offensive/defensive game; just solid on both ends.

Merrill plays a more subtle game than Trouba. Merrill will play more of a contain game defensively and make a quick pass to start the breakout. Trouba will use his body whenever possible and will rush the puck up himself. It's too bad that Michigan didn't get more than 20 games with them together. I don't think it's a coincidence that Michigan went 9-1 down the stretch with all of their D finally healthy.

I only visited UM for a weekend last year, but those 3 days completely made me regret my choice in schools. Albeit, it was different visiting as a tourist rather than living out years as a student. The Michigan/Michigan State hockey game might have been the most pure fun I've had at a sporting event ever. And it helped that it was 65 degrees that weekend. The friend I stayed with was complaining about it snowing last week.