Here what's hockeysfuture says about our D:

Merrill: Merrill’s maturity has come into to question at times in his young career, but he has the multi-purpose skill set to eventually evolve into a top-pairing defenseman that can play in all situations. He has 40-50 point upside. Ryan Suter is a good comparable at the NHL level. Merrill will return to the Wolverines this fall for his junior season.

Severson: Severson doesn't project as a first pairing defender long-term, but he does possess the requisite skills and all-around game to flourish as an all-weather, second pairing rearguard who can contribute on special teams. He’ll return to the Rockets for his third season of junior this fall.

Urbom: Urbom is an above-average, two-way defense prospect at doesn’t appear to need much more minor league seasoning and could push for NHL duty as soon as this season. He’s a potential second-pairing defenseman who plays a style similar to that of fellow Swede and current Devils defenseman Henrik Tallinder.

Gelinas: Though not a finished product just yet, Gelinas made a seamless and somewhat surprisingly easy transition to the AHL last year. He put up some impressive offensive numbers as a first year pro. He could be in line for a cup-of-coffee at the NHL level as early as this season, but will likely spend most of the 2012-13 in the AHL with an eye towards pushing for a full-time NHL job in 2013-14. Gelinas has second-pairing upside and the skills to contribute on the power-play.

This also does not include Santini. My thought is, yeah, they're all prospects and you don't know what they're going to become. But the projections do appear promising.
- BarryB1124

Merrill reminds me more of Paul Martin than anyone (Suter is lofty expectations for any prospect.) Both are positionally sound defenders and mobile from the back. Merrill probably has about the same offensive potential in the NHL as Martin did, although Martin never consistently reached those expectations. Some differences between them would be Martin is a bit faster, while Merrill has the longer reach, harder shot, and probably a bit more physical.

Merrill reminds me more of Paul Martin than anyone (Suter is lofty expectations for any prospect.) Both are positionally sound defenders and mobile from the back. Merrill probably has about the same offensive potential in the NHL as Martin did, although Martin never consistently reached those expectations. Some differences between them would be Martin is a bit faster, while Merrill has the longer reach, harder shot, and probably a bit more physical.
- rmdevil313

Sorry i disagree, Merrill is much bigger than Martin and has more offensive upside. And for the troll Islander fan that said the Devils should be ranked lower than 28 in the prospect pool, your simply wrong. Read any prospect outlook, they all say the devils have one of the better defensive prospect pools in the game.

Sorry i disagree, Merrill is much bigger than Martin and has more offensive upside. And for the troll Islander fan that said the Devils should be ranked lower than 28 in the prospect pool, your simply wrong. Read any prospect outlook, they all say the devils have one of the better defensive prospect pools in the game.
- Chattis33

The size was kinda lumped in with his longer reach, and I don't think Merrill's offensive potential is huge. Martin had some good offensive potential coming out of college too he just never lived up to it. Which is what I was comparing it to (not sure if it was clear.)

Sorry i disagree, Merrill is much bigger than Martin and has more offensive upside. And for the troll Islander fan that said the Devils should be ranked lower than 28 in the prospect pool, your simply wrong. Read any prospect outlook, they all say the devils have one of the better defensive prospect pools in the game.
- Chattis33

http://www.hockeyprospect...rticle.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.

So little going on I have been watching draft interviews and rookie camp interviews, highlights, prospect reports. I think we might not have many great prospects the few we do have are really good character guys who work hard don't take short cuts. The type of players you an really build around. Funny That Kujawinski was a huge Stevens and talked about Henrique a lot he really looks up to him and just over all had a lot to ay about Henrique and Santini just seems like the perfect good attitude hard working kid that knows exactly what he is and is always searching to improve and better himself as a person.

http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.
- mighty13duck

You are an idiot if you even open anything from bleacher report

when was the last time a team in top 5 of these rankings won the cup? Made the playoffs on at least a semi regular basis?

So little going on I have been watching draft interviews and rookie camp interviews, highlights, prospect reports. I think we might not have many great prospects the few we do have are really good character guys who work hard don't take short cuts. The type of players you an really build around. Funny That Kujawinski was a huge Stevens and talked about Henrique a lot he really looks up to him and just over all had a lot to ay about Henrique and Santini just seems like the perfect good attitude hard working kid that knows exactly what he is and is always searching to improve and better himself as a person.
- blizzzard

They wouldn't make the isles ahl team if eligable coz they are so stacked and our prospects suck

mightyduck said so

http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.
- mighty13duck

One of those also has them 28th. Not valuing bleacher report too much but all these sites say positive things about the depth the Devils have in defense prospects.

I think that opposing teams' fans are seriously underestimating the Devils' cap situation. Two players on the entire roster are signed for more than 3 years. Another 3 have three year deals. Everyone else is 2 or less. While I am not a big fan of building teams through free agency, if the foundation of the team (goaltending, defense) has been acquired through trades or been homegrown, then you can add some scoring through free agency while maintaining the foundation of the team. I think the cap situation is an enormous positive in terms of the future.

Add in that guys who were considered higher-talent prospects are now with the Devils...or at least not considered "prospects" anymore. Larsson, Josefson, Tedenby. Granted that Josefson and Tedenby may not turn out to play up to their talent, but the Devils develop guys at the pace for which they are ready. I'm not counting them out. Sykora didn't score 20+ goals till his 4th season. It took Elias 5 seasons to score 20+, and when he did it he emerged into a star. Josefson and Tedenby are two high-talent players, no question about it. Too early to eliminate their potential to develop.

http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.
- mighty13duck

The bleacher report lists mike sislo as a good prospect but no mention of actually decent prospects like Gelinas or Urbom. That's a terrible start to the "article." Blake Coleman over someone like Pietila just confirms that the guy is either an idiot or has no clue what he's talking about.

The bleacher report lists mike sislo as a good prospect but no mention of actually decent prospects like Gelinas or Urbom. That's a terrible start to the "article." Blake Coleman over someone like Pietila just confirms that the guy is either an idiot or has no clue what he's talking about.
- rmdevil313

Mike. Sislo. Such a Lou pick, New England college kid

http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.
- mighty13duck

Philly ahead of Buffalo in the BR article Were you serious when using that as your "source"?

Mike. Sislo.
- TheJerseyDevil1

He's the future. Erik Rasmussen type star potential.

http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1553

http://bleacherreport.com...f-all-30-nhl-teams/page/2

??? I wasn't trying to troll, just some sites have them ranked dead last. So 28 was not so bad.
- mighty13duck

I said this earlier and its still true. Ranking prospect systems is plain stupid

That's trolling
- shvingter88

sorry to disappoint but TG said that the reason the devils ownership situation isnt changing so fast is because there is no chance the devils are moving (from an NHL sourse- TG didnt name) so they wont be going to hartford, and that the devils financials are no where near as bad as outsiders tried to make it seem, if so then there would be more urgency to get the ownership move done

I said this earlier and its still true. Ranking prospect systems is plain stupid
- bobert836

Really? I'd think hockeysfuture has the budget to finance scouts across all major professional and junior leagues in Europe, the AHL, ECHL, all CHL leagues, BCHL, OPJHL, all the D1 college leagues, and all the american junior legaues. Who'd have thought....

sorry to disappoint but TG said that the reason the devils ownership situation isnt changing so fast is because there is no chance the devils are moving (from an NHL sourse- TG didnt name) so they wont be going to hartford, and that the devils financials are no where near as bad as outsiders tried to make it seem, if so then there would be more urgency to get the ownership move done
- dmarsden2988

DAMN IT