Prospect Info: The 2015 NHL Draft Thread VII

[Unknown Caller]

Surprised to see Sprong going 17 in that mock. I love his game but also am coming to the realization he won't be there at 36. I am however fully on the Barzal boat. We NEED to draft him if Marner is gone. I'd even take him over Strome.

No way should we take Barzal over Strome. Barzal reminds me in a lot of ways of Hunter Shinkaruk who everyone wanted with the 9th(?) pick when we traded for Schneider. He had elite skill, scoring, hands, speed, etc. He's been a complete bust and hasn't been able to translate his game to the pros. I still like Barzal a lot and would take him, just not over guys like Strome and Marner.

 

[Devils1029]

Will gladly take one of Strome, Marner, Barzal, Provorov, or Zacha - preference in that order.

Would be disappointed if we selected Crouse or Rantannen.

Not considering McEichel and Hanifin as I suspect they're gone before #6.

Anyone else at #6 and I will not be a happy camper as I don't see anyone else as being close enough to warrant #6.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Surprised to see Sprong going 17 in that mock. I love his game but also am coming to the realization he won't be there at 36. I am however fully on the Barzal boat. We NEED to draft him if Marner is gone. I'd even take him over Strome.

Sprong went 22 in a mock I am doing.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Will gladly take one of Strome, Marner, Barzal, Provorov, or Zacha - preference in that order.

Would be disappointed if we selected Crouse or Rantannen.

Not considering McEichel and Hanifin as I suspect they're gone before #6.

Anyone else at #6 and I will not be a happy camper as I don't see anyone else as being close enough to warrant #6.

Rantanen is just as good, if not better, than Barzal or Zacha... don't know why you'd be disappointed with him.

 

[Devil X]

Rantanen is just as good, if not better, than Barzal or Zacha... don't know why you'd be disappointed with him.

My guess is because Barzal and Zacha will still be there and they are his preferred choice. So we would be skipping over his 2 guys for Rantanen.

But i agree people are sleeping on Rantanen.

As the draft gets closer i feel like our 6 is coming down to Marner, Barzal, Provorov, and Crouse (He isnt going away). Guys like Rantanen and Zacha are going to be in the 8-12 area. Its nothing against them i like them both and i really like Rantanen. But it seems like everything i read Barzal stock is rising to the point of almost joining that second tier of top players (Strome, Marner, Hanifin).

 

[Devils1029]

Rantanen is just as good, if not better, than Barzal or Zacha... don't know why you'd be disappointed with him.

Don't know enough about him but from what I've read, I'm a little concerned about his overall upside...

By disappointed, I just mean in not in that they wouldn't be good players for NJ as they very well could be. The disappointment is just that I'd prefer on of the others based upon what I know of them, have read, or have seen.....

I'm admittedly leery on Euro prospects and what their potential ceiling is since our last 3 (besides Larsson who was more of a slam dunk, no brainer pick) don't look like they're going to hit them (Bergfors, Tedenby, Josefson).

 

[Cheddabombs]

My guess is because Barzal and Zacha will still be there and they are his preferred choice. So we would be skipping over his 2 guys for Rantanen.

But i agree people are sleeping on Rantanen.

As the draft gets closer i feel like our 6 is coming down to Marner, Barzal, Provorov, and Crouse (He isnt going away). Guys like Rantanen and Zacha are going to be in the 8-12 area. Its nothing against them i like them both and i really like Rantanen. But it seems like everything i read Barzal stock is rising to the point of almost joining that second tier of top players (Strome, Marner, Hanifin).

Understandable, everyone has their own opinions. It's just I really think Rantanen has shown enough to warrant being in the exact same category as Barzal and Zacha. And the only reason he's not there is because he doesn't play in North America.

Don't know enough about him but from what I've read, I'm a little concerned about his overall upside...

By disappointed, I just mean in not in that they wouldn't be good players for NJ as they very well could be. The disappointment is just that I'd prefer on of the others based upon what I know of them, have read, or have seen.....

I'm admittedly leery on Euro prospects and what their potential ceiling is since our last 3 (besides Larsson who was more of a slam dunk, no brainer pick) don't look like they're going to hit them (Bergfors, Tedenby, Josefson).

By all accounts his skill level and ceiling is at the very least equal to Zacha's, and not much lower than Barzal's. Again, understandable that you have your preferences but at the same time Rantanen should at least be in the category of "acceptable" picks.

I think if Rantanen played in North America he'd be looked at in much higher regard. Obviously that's not the case and there is some fog around him, and while somewhat warranted it shouldn't be a deterrent.

 

[Devil X]

Understandable, everyone has their own opinions. It's just I really think Rantanen has shown enough to warrant being in the exact same category as Barzal and Zacha. And the only reason he's not there is because he doesn't play in North America.



By all accounts his skill level and ceiling is at the very least equal to Zacha's, and not much lower than Barzal's. Again, understandable that you have your preferences but at the same time Rantanen should at least be in the category of "acceptable" picks.

I think if Rantanen played in North America he'd be looked at in much higher regard. Obviously that's not the case and there is some fog around him, and while somewhat warranted it shouldn't be a deterrent.

Rantanen is the only guy that played against men and did damn well for a 17 y/o. He should get getting much more attention then he is.

 

[Comparison Ford]

Rantanen is the only guy that played against men and did damn well for a 17 y/o. He should get getting much more attention then he is.

Lets also note that if Crouse had the WJC Rantanen had (4g in 5 games) then we would probably be discussing him as a lock for the top 5.

 

[Brodeur]

No way should we take Barzal over Strome. Barzal reminds me in a lot of ways of Hunter Shinkaruk who everyone wanted with the 9th(?) pick when we traded for Schneider. He had elite skill, scoring, hands, speed, etc. He's been a complete bust and hasn't been able to translate his game to the pros. I still like Barzal a lot and would take him, just not over guys like Strome and Marner.

While I would take Strome/Marner before Barzal, I'm not sure the Shinkaruk comparison is apt. Barzal's been on the radar for a few years and I would comfortably say that he's better at this point than Shinkaruk. Their trajectories are different as well. Just before the draft, we started hearing more negative things about Shinkaruk; I remember an Edmonton radio segment where it was said that they didn't think Shinkaruk was as good as Tyler Ennis at the same stage. Whereas Barzal had a solid 2nd half in the WHL and had a good showing at the U18.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Understandable, everyone has their own opinions. It's just I really think Rantanen has shown enough to warrant being in the exact same category as Barzal and Zacha. And the only reason he's not there is because he doesn't play in North America.



By all accounts his skill level and ceiling is at the very least equal to Zacha's, and not much lower than Barzal's. Again, understandable that you have your preferences but at the same time Rantanen should at least be in the category of "acceptable" picks.

I think if Rantanen played in North America he'd be looked at in much higher regard. Obviously that's not the case and there is some fog around him, and while somewhat warranted it shouldn't be a deterrent.

Definitely not a deterrent, but with the plethora of options available it might be wiser to just avoid any fog at all.

The one good thing is we have the luxury of being picky here. We have access to the entire 2nd tier of prospects after the obvious top 4 (which isn't a knock. Many of these "2nd tier" guys would go top 5 in most other drafts).

 

[Oneiro]

Do we know anything about the leadership qualities / personalities of some of these kids?

In the end, I advocate BPA, but it would be nice to get someone with a Toews, Landeskog, Giroux mentality too. The guy who would bulldoze his grandparents to win.

 

[Tretyak 20]

Do we know anything about the leadership qualities / personalities of some of these kids?

In the end, I advocate BPA, but it would be nice to get someone with a Toews, Landeskog, Giroux mentality too. The guy who would bulldoze his grandparents to win.

The only one I've consistently heard high praise of for character and work ethic is Zacha. None of them have any character issues, though.

 

[Unknown Caller]

While I would take Strome/Marner before Barzal, I'm not sure the Shinkaruk comparison is apt. Barzal's been on the radar for a few years and I would comfortably say that he's better at this point than Shinkaruk. Their trajectories are different as well. Just before the draft, we started hearing more negative things about Shinkaruk; I remember an Edmonton radio segment where it was said that they didn't think Shinkaruk was as good as Tyler Ennis at the same stage. Whereas Barzal had a solid 2nd half in the WHL and had a good showing at the U18.

As a reference point, Corey Pronman just put together draft rankings for all of the past 3 years combined. He tried to do so without any hindsight (what the player has accomplished since the draft), and just evaluated them based on their status as a prospect. Shinkaruk is ranked above Barzal.

 

[Zippy316]

Do we know anything about the leadership qualities / personalities of some of these kids?

In the end, I advocate BPA, but it would be nice to get someone with a Toews, Landeskog, Giroux mentality too. The guy who would bulldoze his grandparents to win.

I don't think Giroux should be mentioned anywhere near Landeskog and Toews in terms of character and leadership.

Giroux is more like Crosby then he ever will be like Toews. I just remember watching him during the Devils Flyers series and he whined the entire series. Then he would do stupid stuff out of frustration, which culminated in his elbow of Zubrus. He buckled under pressure during that series when the Flyers had no answer for the Devils, when as their star player he should have done the opposite. It was kind of upsetting for me because I actually really liked Giroux as a player prior to that.

 

[Brodeur]

As a reference point, Corey Pronman just put together draft rankings for all of the past 3 years combined. He tried to do so without any hindsight (what the player has accomplished since the draft), and just evaluated them based on their status as a prospect. Shinkaruk is ranked above Barzal.

That's an interesting exercise by Pronman. Tried to track down his 2013 list; Not sure if it was his final one, but his May 2013 list had Jonathan Drouin ahead of Nathan MacKinnon: http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/puck/article.php?articleid=1522

I still remember Shinkaruk's stock falling a bit leading to his Draft. McKeen's had him #22 and ISS had him #13. Bob McKenzie's survey had him #14: http://www2.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=9421

Just seems like Barzal is a top 10 guy in a better than average draft while Shinkaruk was a borderline top 10 leading up to an average draft.

 

[HughJazz3dg]

My friend is a scout for ISS, and they have a software where it shows any scouting report they've done. He says that 29 teams in the NHL have bought this software and use it, guess which NHL team doesn't use their software..

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

My friend is a scout for ISS, and they have a software where it shows any scouting report they've done. He says that 29 teams in the NHL have bought this software and use it, guess which NHL team doesn't use their software..

if thats true, thats actually hilarious

 

[HBK27]

My friend is a scout for ISS, and they have a software where it shows any scouting report they've done. He says that 29 teams in the NHL have bought this software and use it, guess which NHL team doesn't use their software..

Given that the new owners were quite insistent on the Devils having an analytics department, it would seem odd the Devils would be the only holdout.

 

[Brodeur]

Not directly prospect related, but Marty said he's been taking part with the Blues' draft prep and that he'd be at their draft table if they invite him. Coincidentally it's Jeremy and William's draft year, although it doesn't look likely that either would be selected (could have said the same about Anthony in 2013).

 

[Devils1029]

if thats true, thats actually hilarious

Conte and Company: Still in the Fred Flintstone age of scouting...I believe that they still used "Claude Carrier" pigeons to deliver their scouting reports back to Conte. (see what I did there?)

What I wouldn't give to get an insiders view into the Devils draft strategy session...like we did when Paul Holmgrom challenged his scouts who had Samuel Morin ranked above Sean Monahan....

 

[Devils1029]

Maybe it's good that we don't have it too because ISS has Crouse ranked 4th overall...

 

[Devils Dominion]

Conte and Company: Still in the Fred Flintstone age of scouting...I believe that they still used "Claude Carrier" pigeons to deliver their scouting reports back to Conte. (see what I did there?)

What I wouldn't give to get an insiders view into the Devils draft strategy session...like we did when Paul Holmgrom challenged his scouts who had Samuel Morin ranked above Sean Monahan....

Some could call them ahead of the curve, others would say well behind it.

 

[Devils Dominion]

My friend is a scout for ISS, and they have a software where it shows any scouting report they've done. He says that 29 teams in the NHL have bought this software and use it, guess which NHL team doesn't use their software..

I'd prefer not to have anyone in our scouting dept go anywhere near the ISS "reports" to be honest.

 

[Unknown Caller]

Amazing to me how many services have Crouse over Marner. It's almost universal across the board from the major scouting services (ISS, NHL Central Scouting, etc.)