NHL Draft Round 1 Thread

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The New Jersey Devils have made their first of (potentially) three picks on the night, taking sniper Alexander Holtz with the 7th pick.

Holtz is perhaps the best pure goal scorer in this draft class. He has a very quick release and true power behind his shots. He can pick corners or simply blow the puck past opposing goaltenders.

Beyond finishing plays, which is by far his best trait, I think Holtz is a capable playmaker and has underrated ability to make plays in tight spaces and along the wall. I don’t consider him a high-end skater. He can definitely move, though, and I don’t envision it being an issue with him.

My concerns with Holtz are in transition and without the puck in the defensive zone. In my viewings he wasn’t as involved through the neutral zone as I’d like and needed his linemates to do a lot of the heavy lifting driving up ice. Defensively, he can zone out from time-to-time.

The good news is the Devils have high-end centers like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes to do the bulk of the transition work and create shooting opportunities for Holtz. That was no doubt a factor in GM Tom Fitzgerald settling on Holtz with so many quality players – such as Marco Rossi *cries* – still up for grabs.

In all, I don’t think Holtz was a bad pick. He has a very high offensive ceiling and addresses needs in terms of position (wing) and traits (goal scoring).

I just think Rossi was the best player and, thus, the better pick.

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The Devils grabbed another forward with the 18th overall pick, taking Chicoutmi forward Dawson Mercer.

Mercer, in some ways, reminds me of former Devils captain Zach Parise. He is really smart. The motor is non-stop. He has good hands. He’s great around the net and, despite a somewhat slim stature, is not afraid to go there on a consistent basis. He puts as much effort in at the offensive end as the defensive. While he is not a burner, his skating is alright and his work ethic helps compensate for any issues.

Mercer doesn’t have A-level tools but he is pretty well rounded across the board. I think his ceiling is probably that of a 2nd liner who can contribute in all areas of the game and help drag his teammates into the game.

I like this pick.

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With the consensus top remaining defender, Braden Schneider, going a pick in front of the Devils – although I’m not a big Schneider fan – the Devils went with a bit of a wild card in Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Mukhamadullin is a big, rangy defender who is capable of ending attacks before they become dangerous. His positioning and size make him very difficult to get around, and he moves around the ice pretty well for a guy of his stature.

The knock on Mukhamadullin is, outside of a powerful shot, he doesn’t bring a lot to the table offensively. His point potential comes from making a simple pass up to the team’s skilled forwards and hoping they can do the rest. I’m not sure he has the skill to do a whole lot more.

In recent years the Devils have added a lot of defense-first defenders who aren’t afraid to get involved physically (Nikita Okhotyuk, Kevin Bahl, Daniil Misyul, etc.) and that trend continued with Mukhamadullin.

I do think the Devils left some value on the table here but perhaps they were worried that, with the big-name defenders already gone, there’d be a team out there equally interested and they’d lose him.

I admittedly am not a big fan of this pick but I’ll be reaching out to some front office members more familiar with his game before planting my flag in the ground.