All these fans angry about the pick have probably not watched any of these guys play more than a few highlights. We're all contributing to the group-think rankings, with extremely limited knowledge of the players. I'll trust the NJD scouts who have hit on 1st round picks recently (minus Stillman?) and brought us late-round gems like Bratt and Sharangovich.
The Devils were pretty bare at RHD in this system and this fills a big whole. Disappointed that we couldn’t get Slafkovsky, but this kid had done some things that are unprecedented for an U18 d-man in Slovakia and at the World Championships and strengthens an organizational weakness. To get a kid with this upside as an RHD is tough to do outside of the draft, so let’s see how this kid transitions to the North American game before we judge this pick.
I gotta say, i've never really watched the draft live before, but this draft was a lot of fun to watch. watching juraj get picked by Montreal was NUTS, and you knew then that things could get wild. then watching the devils skip over wright and go with Nemec!? Wild stuff! then wright gets picked over again for Cooley!? MOnteal fans booing Bettman relentlessly and then hearing that he has trades to announce involving the Habs. Really entertaining stuff.
Who the F&%§ knows how these players will turn out? No one. but I cant get mad at Fitz for a)trying to land Matthew T with the 2OA, and then b) taking a player at a position of need when they clearly see these top 4 prospects as having similar ceilings. I also have no problem with Fitz passing on Debrincat considering the money he would have to pay out soon and the lack of leverage he would have in that negotiation (he was pretty clear in the presser about wanting to have control of any players they acquire via trade). Our 40 goal scorer needs to be Holtz (not to mention I think Hughes will get there as soon as next season).
I am confident that in the next week Fitz will land us a goalie (hopefully Husso or Kuemper, and not Campbell), and will try to upgrade our forward group with one of Nichushkin, Marchment or Gudreau. Honestly though, I'm not really worried about our forward group either way, with Holtz, Zetterland, and Foote on their way up, Hughes and Hischier about to pop, and Yegor, Bratt and Mercer already producing. This team put up the most 7 spots last season since 2001. and I think it is only going to get better.
This really seems like drafting for a need over best player available. That already burned us with zacha, but I'll patiently wait to compare the play of Wright and Cooley to the impact of nemec and hope they prove me wrong.
If we wanted Nemec at #2 wouldn't we think another team wants him at #2? We just lost Slafkovsky & then take a chance at trading back which could result in losing the 2 guys we had ranked at the top of our board? Plus ithere has to be someone willing to pay what it's worth to us to move back 1 or 2 spots. It's not just all the public scouts say we can move back to this spot & we could still get him.
If three professional organizations passed on him, it's fair to say they know more than us YouTube watchers. Perhaps reputation driven by exceptional status was a greater driver than who is really was on/off the ice?
I don't disagree. I'm not mad with the pick, just shocked with how things turned out. I'm confident with Fitz and our scouts. We've done a pretty good job over the last several years. Hischier > Patrick. Hughes > Kakko
Admittedly I’m not qualified to evaluate or differentiate these players. I wanted Slafkovsky bc of his potential to be the power winger I think we desperately need. With Slaf gone, the other top forwards are centers and not really power players, seems that a RHD who has a comparable grade seems like a pretty solid pick.
There must be big flags on Wright if he slide to 4. Franky, a lot of the buzz on him in recent weeks has been red flags like - “Well, the numbers don’t love him but look at his IQ and his positioning!” I’m big time bummed that Slaf was gone but without him, I like this pick more than Wright.
I'm super happy with the pick. I've been the only 1 screaming defense defense defense. Felt like MTL punched me in the face taking Slafkovsky. I'm a huge Romonov fan so it felt like they punched me in the face again by trading him to a rival plus we didn't get him. I really really hated not getting McDonagh.
I absolutely love what Tampa did with Hedman McDonagh Sergachev on their left. I hope we do the same with Dougie Severson Nemec. If this turns into trading or not extending Severson it was a waste of the #2 pick. Siegenthaler Dougie Severson Luke Nemec is a Cup caliber D.
No Slafkovsky or Wright means the pressure is definitely on for Fitzy to land some high end right now fwd's. Can't wait to see what we look like a week from now
I'm not sure if there was a trade to be made, it takes a team willing to give something up to make that move. I wasn't hoping for a D man but reading a couple of scouting reports made me feel better about taking him.
NJ's need is quite apparent. The two teams in front of them are smart enough to know that. Why would they give up an asset when they are confident NJ isn't taking "their guy"?
Does this mean Severson is a goner? Do you draft someone at 2OA to play 3rd pairing minutes? I don’t think so, I’d expect Severson to be traded rather than extended
I could see it having an effect on Severson's future here, if Nemec looks like he can slot into a top 4 role in a year or two. Maybe we are less likely to give severson a long deal or more moneys (we're already locked into Hamilton at 9m per). but i'm not sure I see Damon getting traded because of the pick, though. This team needs to compete for a playoff spot next year. if you loose severson at the end of the year, so be it.
Maybe you’re right. I just think if the Devils we’re looking to sign Severson prior to drafting Nemec, they were probably looking at a 5-6 year deal, around 5.5-6 mil and drafting an 18 year that still needs time to develop doesn’t change that. There were no slam dunk picks in this draft that were definitely NHL ready, especially defenseman. Both Nemec and Fitz mentioned the hope is to get him over here too play in the AHL next year and get used to the North American ice and maybe get in a couple NHL games. There isn’t the expectation that he’s gonna be a full time NHLer next year and It’s possible not even the year after that. We are in era of great young defensemen in the NHL and all of them (Makar, Fox, Hughes, Power)have stayed in college/junior/lower pro leagues for their 18 and 19 years. You see the Devils are doing the same with Luke. I don’t think the are going to rush Nemec and having Severson allows them to have the depth on the right side and not be forced to rush Nemec into the NHL and he’ll be on an ELC 3-4 years into Severson’s deal, so it’s not going to be a an issue.
Back on Saturday, I drank way too much at a 4th of July party and ended up waking up at 2 am and vomited multiple times within a 4 hour span.
That night was much better than tonight.
All these fans angry about the pick have probably not watched any of these guys play more than a few highlights. We're all contributing to the group-think rankings, with extremely limited knowledge of the players. I'll trust the NJD scouts who have hit on 1st round picks recently (minus Stillman?) and brought us late-round gems like Bratt and Sharangovich.
Amen
The Devils were pretty bare at RHD in this system and this fills a big whole. Disappointed that we couldn’t get Slafkovsky, but this kid had done some things that are unprecedented for an U18 d-man in Slovakia and at the World Championships and strengthens an organizational weakness. To get a kid with this upside as an RHD is tough to do outside of the draft, so let’s see how this kid transitions to the North American game before we judge this pick.
I gotta say, i've never really watched the draft live before, but this draft was a lot of fun to watch. watching juraj get picked by Montreal was NUTS, and you knew then that things could get wild. then watching the devils skip over wright and go with Nemec!? Wild stuff! then wright gets picked over again for Cooley!? MOnteal fans booing Bettman relentlessly and then hearing that he has trades to announce involving the Habs. Really entertaining stuff.
Who the F&%§ knows how these players will turn out? No one. but I cant get mad at Fitz for a)trying to land Matthew T with the 2OA, and then b) taking a player at a position of need when they clearly see these top 4 prospects as having similar ceilings. I also have no problem with Fitz passing on Debrincat considering the money he would have to pay out soon and the lack of leverage he would have in that negotiation (he was pretty clear in the presser about wanting to have control of any players they acquire via trade). Our 40 goal scorer needs to be Holtz (not to mention I think Hughes will get there as soon as next season).
I am confident that in the next week Fitz will land us a goalie (hopefully Husso or Kuemper, and not Campbell), and will try to upgrade our forward group with one of Nichushkin, Marchment or Gudreau. Honestly though, I'm not really worried about our forward group either way, with Holtz, Zetterland, and Foote on their way up, Hughes and Hischier about to pop, and Yegor, Bratt and Mercer already producing. This team put up the most 7 spots last season since 2001. and I think it is only going to get better.
This really seems like drafting for a need over best player available. That already burned us with zacha, but I'll patiently wait to compare the play of Wright and Cooley to the impact of nemec and hope they prove me wrong.
Why not trade down then???
I think Seattle wanted Nemec. Realistically, might've only been able to drop one spot if they wanted Nemec.
If we wanted Nemec at #2 wouldn't we think another team wants him at #2? We just lost Slafkovsky & then take a chance at trading back which could result in losing the 2 guys we had ranked at the top of our board? Plus ithere has to be someone willing to pay what it's worth to us to move back 1 or 2 spots. It's not just all the public scouts say we can move back to this spot & we could still get him.
I don't know how to feel about this. I understand we don't need another center but how do you pass on Wright?
If three professional organizations passed on him, it's fair to say they know more than us YouTube watchers. Perhaps reputation driven by exceptional status was a greater driver than who is really was on/off the ice?
I don't disagree. I'm not mad with the pick, just shocked with how things turned out. I'm confident with Fitz and our scouts. We've done a pretty good job over the last several years. Hischier > Patrick. Hughes > Kakko
Hughes over Kakko wasn’t a hard decision
Admittedly I’m not qualified to evaluate or differentiate these players. I wanted Slafkovsky bc of his potential to be the power winger I think we desperately need. With Slaf gone, the other top forwards are centers and not really power players, seems that a RHD who has a comparable grade seems like a pretty solid pick.
There must be big flags on Wright if he slide to 4. Franky, a lot of the buzz on him in recent weeks has been red flags like - “Well, the numbers don’t love him but look at his IQ and his positioning!” I’m big time bummed that Slaf was gone but without him, I like this pick more than Wright.
*slid
Ok, it'll be a big, big nail in Fitz's coffin if this kid doesn't turn into something special.
The shock is wearing off, but the anger if he busts will be huge. Hopefully he manages to be a sick point producing d-man
Why didn’t they consider how much I loved Wright?
I'm super happy with the pick. I've been the only 1 screaming defense defense defense. Felt like MTL punched me in the face taking Slafkovsky. I'm a huge Romonov fan so it felt like they punched me in the face again by trading him to a rival plus we didn't get him. I really really hated not getting McDonagh.
I absolutely love what Tampa did with Hedman McDonagh Sergachev on their left. I hope we do the same with Dougie Severson Nemec. If this turns into trading or not extending Severson it was a waste of the #2 pick. Siegenthaler Dougie Severson Luke Nemec is a Cup caliber D.
No Slafkovsky or Wright means the pressure is definitely on for Fitzy to land some high end right now fwd's. Can't wait to see what we look like a week from now
I'm not sure if there was a trade to be made, it takes a team willing to give something up to make that move. I wasn't hoping for a D man but reading a couple of scouting reports made me feel better about taking him.
https://twitter.com/Thibaud_Chatel/status/1545190441293066242
https://twitter.com/TopDownHockey/status/1545190192235020289
Why wouldn’t they trade down a spot or two, get another asset and then still get their guy.
NJ's need is quite apparent. The two teams in front of them are smart enough to know that. Why would they give up an asset when they are confident NJ isn't taking "their guy"?
Does this mean Severson is a goner? Do you draft someone at 2OA to play 3rd pairing minutes? I don’t think so, I’d expect Severson to be traded rather than extended
This pick has no effect on Severson’s future.
I could see it having an effect on Severson's future here, if Nemec looks like he can slot into a top 4 role in a year or two. Maybe we are less likely to give severson a long deal or more moneys (we're already locked into Hamilton at 9m per). but i'm not sure I see Damon getting traded because of the pick, though. This team needs to compete for a playoff spot next year. if you loose severson at the end of the year, so be it.
Maybe you’re right. I just think if the Devils we’re looking to sign Severson prior to drafting Nemec, they were probably looking at a 5-6 year deal, around 5.5-6 mil and drafting an 18 year that still needs time to develop doesn’t change that. There were no slam dunk picks in this draft that were definitely NHL ready, especially defenseman. Both Nemec and Fitz mentioned the hope is to get him over here too play in the AHL next year and get used to the North American ice and maybe get in a couple NHL games. There isn’t the expectation that he’s gonna be a full time NHLer next year and It’s possible not even the year after that. We are in era of great young defensemen in the NHL and all of them (Makar, Fox, Hughes, Power)have stayed in college/junior/lower pro leagues for their 18 and 19 years. You see the Devils are doing the same with Luke. I don’t think the are going to rush Nemec and having Severson allows them to have the depth on the right side and not be forced to rush Nemec into the NHL and he’ll be on an ELC 3-4 years into Severson’s deal, so it’s not going to be a an issue.