Prospect Info: The 2015 NHL Draft Thread VII

[Devils Dominion]

This is absolutely the move to be making if possible. Our forward prospect pool can take a huge leap forward this draft.

This is a crucial draft for us in a pivotal offseason for the franchise.

I'm all for stock piling 2nd round picks if the right deal(s) present themselves.

But, I'm leery to move a few spots back & watch Barzal or Zacha absolutely hammer us for a decade with Philly.

 

[theoptimist]

Nope, just draft Zacha at #6 and move on

 

[Billdo]

If Hanifin falls and we can drop back a spot while picking up a second I'd do it. We'd still get Barzal if we drop one spot, maybe even two. Drop back, take Barzal and then either use 3 2nds on forwards or package two of them to move back into the first while still having another second.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

No way should we draft a forward who was sub a PPG at #6. Not saying Zacha won't become a good player a la Johansen, however I think it's difficult to take that risk at #6.

He might have had difficulty adjusting to NA ice, and might have been hampered by injuries. Or he might just not be that good. I wouldn't mind finding out at 15-20. But not #6.

 

[theoptimist]

No way should we draft a forward who was sub a PPG at #6. Not saying Zacha won't become a good player a la Johansen, however I think it's difficult to take that risk at #6.

He might have had difficulty adjusting to NA ice, and might have been hampered by injuries. Or he might just not be that good. I wouldn't mind finding out at 15-20. But not #6.

Wild guess: you want Barzal?

 

[HBK27]

Wonder if this may make some teams even more hesitant to draft Russian players...also very odd that Slava would be in favor of this, given everything he had to go through to come to the US.

http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/fetisov-wants-to-ban-young-russians-from-going-to-nhl-052215

Former Detroit Red Wings star Slava Fetisov has called for Russia to reintroduce Soviet-style restrictions to prevent promising young hockey players from moving to the NHL.

Fetisov, who is now a senator in Russia, tells Russia's R-Sport news agency that federal law should be used to stop Russian players from moving to North America before they turn 28.

The aim is to keep ''our most talented guys, the ones who the people come to see.''

 

[Missionhockey]

Wonder if this may make some teams even more hesitant to draft Russian players...also very odd that Slava would be in favor of this, given everything he had to go through to come to the US.

http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/fetisov-wants-to-ban-young-russians-from-going-to-nhl-052215

It does seem hypocritical doesn't it?

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

Wild guess: you want Barzal?

Yes. Barzal drove the bus when it came to his team's scoring and was involved on close to 50% of scoring plays when he was playing. I value point production and hockey sense above all else when looking at forwards in their draft year.

The amount of "toolsy" guys who get drafted in the top 15 without the commensurate production and bust/underperform is quite high (Sheppard, Beach, Gillies, Burmistrov, Kassian, Holland, Sutter in recent years). The amount of marginal production guys drafted in the top 15 who succeed is very slim (Johansen is really the only one in the last 10 years. Maybe Jordan Staal, but he was over a PPG and very young for his draft year.).

Yes, the Hamill's of the world exist, but when looking at how top NHL scorers did in juniors, it becomes apparent that 85% of them were very good scorers in their draft year.

That says a lot. You shouldn't draft strictly based on PPG in the draft year, but it should be a primary consideration. You take on more risk when drafting lower production guys, because being able to produce in your draft year says a lot about your ability to produce in the NHL.

 

[MichaelJ]

I wonder how Nicklas Backstrom, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak would've fared if the came to NA and played 30-some games during their draft years. We'll never know because they stayed in their home countries and scored less than a ppg in Europe.

 

[Tundra]

Wonder if this may make some teams even more hesitant to draft Russian players...also very odd that Slava would be in favor of this, given everything he had to go through to come to the US.

http://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/fetisov-wants-to-ban-young-russians-from-going-to-nhl-052215

That is a likely response to the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S.

 

[GhostofKenKlee]

Hey how about all of those offensive juggernauts that bust and don't go anywhere in the NHL from the QMJHL?

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

I wonder how Nicklas Backstrom, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak would've fared if the came to NA and played 30-some games during their draft years. We'll never know because they stayed in their home countries and scored less than a ppg in Europe.

But what we do know is that of the top 90 scoring forwards in the NHL in 14-15, 48 were drafted out of juniors. And 40 of them were above a PPG in their draft year. The average was 1.4 PPG.

Zacha could be great. I don't think the odds of it are high. There are far more Burmistrov's, Holland's and Sheppard's than Johansen's.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

I wonder how Nicklas Backstrom, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak would've fared if the came to NA and played 30-some games during their draft years. We'll never know because they stayed in their home countries and scored less than a ppg in Europe.

congrats, you found 3 examples. that is not the norm

draft the guy with the proven production every time if its close between 2 IMO.

 

[Feed Me A Stray Cat]

Hey how about all of those offensive juggernauts that bust and don't go anywhere in the NHL from the QMJHL?

First off, the Q actually has less goal scoring than the WHL and a similar amount to the OHL.

Secondly, I acknowledge that most good scorers in juniors don't end up being good scorers in the NHL. You're not proving anything by showing good scorers who have busted.

The relevant point is that good scorers in juniors bust LESS than marginal point scorers in juniors. This should be obvious, but if you need proof, look at the top scoring NHL players and how they did in juniors. Look at the top 15 picks of the last 10 drafts and how forwards under a PPG fared in the NHL.

 

[HobokenIrish]

It does seem hypocritical doesn't it?

Extremely!!! I just watched that 30for30 again. Can't believe he of all people would push for restricting what they can do

 

[Devils Dominion]

Slava is a reverse turncoat

 

[MichaelJ]

But what we do know is that of the top 90 scoring forwards in the NHL in 14-15, 48 were drafted out of juniors. And 40 of them were above a PPG in their draft year. The average was 1.4 PPG.

Zacha could be great. I don't think the odds of it are high. There are far more Burmistrov's, Holland's and Sheppard's than Johansen's.

I'm pretty sure Zacha would eat Holland's lunch for him.

 

[Brodeur]

Slava is a reverse turncoat

After having a couple of films made about his release from Russia, I found his statements surprising. Although I also feel like there's some political pressures now that he's a senator over there.

 

[SKNJD9]

More bad trade proposals.

Kadri and 24 for 6.

 

[MichaelJ]

But what we do know is that of the top 90 scoring forwards in the NHL in 14-15, 48 were drafted out of juniors. And 40 of them were above a PPG in their draft year. The average was 1.4 PPG.

Zacha could be great. I don't think the odds of it are high. There are far more Burmistrov's, Holland's and Sheppard's than Johansen's.

That doesn't really address the point of the Euro players. If Zacha has stayed overseas none of this arguing would be going on. We'd strictly be discussing size, speed, and skillset for his projectability.

 

[Brooklyndevil]

We may need to draft a defensemen after all. Santini to stay for his junior year. Do we need to start drafting Canadians only?

 

[MichaelJ]

Not to mention he was injured.

“You feel bad for the kid because I feel like it's just been such an up-and-down season as far as playing regularly,” Sting head coach Trevor Letowski said. “Every time he's just getting going, just feeling comfortable with a string of games, he's been set back.”

 

[MichaelJ]

We may need to draft a defensemen after all. Santini to stay for his junior year. Do we need to start drafting Canadians only?

We have the RHD duo of Raman Hrabarenka and Roman Graborenko coming up.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

We may need to draft a defensemen after all. Santini to stay for his junior year. Do we need to start drafting Canadians only?

I'm not sure why the hell that'd mean we have to draft defenseman any more than beforehand.

did you honestly expect him on the Devils next year? if you did, you need to reset your expectations.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

I wonder how Nicklas Backstrom, Mika Zibanejad, and David Pastrnak would've fared if the came to NA and played 30-some games during their draft years. We'll never know because they stayed in their home countries and scored less than a ppg in Europe.

Well, that's a pretty flimsy way to campaign for Zacha.

People are so ready to poke holes in Barzal's production ("But, but, but...goals!") and yet in the same breath make a litany of excuses for Zacha's lack of numbers. That in and of itself is a strike against Zacha. Too many questions for a top 10 pick, especially in our current position.