Utica wins game 1 6-3! Important to get up early because this round is only a best-of-5.
- vlongo4419

They’re large and block tons of shots.

I heard a rumor the devils would be trading thier first rounder for Kevin Fiala (on sxm radio). I’m not sure that was if it was the second pick tho lol have any of you heard that? Would you do that for fiala?

I heard a rumor the devils would be trading thier first rounder for Kevin Fiala (on sxm radio). I’m not sure that was if it was the second pick tho lol have any of you heard that? Would you do that for fiala?
- Slimtj100

Trading the pick for Fiala was being floated a lot before the lottery assuming it was in the 5-6 range. But 2nd overall seems like an overpayment now.

I heard a rumor the devils would be trading thier first rounder for Kevin Fiala (on sxm radio). I’m not sure that was if it was the second pick tho lol have any of you heard that? Would you do that for fiala?
- Slimtj100

That was before the lottery, and probably only an option if they moved down out of the top 5. Zero chance they move the #2 pick.

Why would you put this into the universe LOL
- vlongo4419

We will trade the second pick to drop back and grab him, he’s fitz’s guy for sure. And we’ll get two second round picks with it and they will draft two more busts.

We will trade our the second pick to drop back and grab him, he’s fitz’s guy for sure. And we’ll get two second round picks with it and they will draft two more busts.
- shvingter88

Trade everyone for more draft picks.

Pass on Cooley. We don't need another center here, especially not another small guy to get pushed around.

Slafkovsky is the best choice. A line of Slaf-Jack-Holtz is too good to pass on. Slaf would be the big man net front presence, Jack the elite playmaker and Holtz on snipe duty. That's a combo that should have every Devils fan salivating. Slaf is 6'4 and already ~220lbs of muscle, he has a man's body and can take a meaningful step into the NHL a lot faster.

I heard a rumor the devils would be trading thier first rounder for Kevin Fiala (on sxm radio). I’m not sure that was if it was the second pick tho lol have any of you heard that? Would you do that for fiala?
- Slimtj100

Hell NO! That would be a HORRIBLE trade for NJ

Slafkovsky is the way to go. We need the size upfront.

Pass on Cooley. We don't need another center here, especially not another small guy to get pushed around.

Slafkovsky is the best choice. A line of Slaf-Jack-Holtz is too good to pass on. Slaf would be the big man net front presence, Jack the elite playmaker and Holtz on snipe duty. That's a combo that should have every Devils fan salivating. Slaf is 6'4 and already ~220lbs of muscle, he has a man's body and can take a meaningful step into the NHL a lot faster.
- jtylerm

Or you can not worry about position and just draft the best player available lol, which is Cooley. Drafting specifically for need or a specific position is how you end up with Holtz over literally any of Rossi/Perfetti/Lundell/Jarvis. Or Zacha over Werenski/Rantanen/Meier. Or McLeod over McAvoy/Chychrun. Give me the playdriver and the guy who can do it himself over the passenger that needs someone to carry the puck in transition for him.

It's almost like you can play Cooley on wing with Jack or Nico, then Bratt with the other, and have 2 very good-to-elite playdrivers on each of the top two lines. What a horrible thing that would be!

If Cooley was 2 or 3 inches taller, he'd probably be the #1 pick and this conversation would be Wright or Slafkovsky instead.

Trade everyone for more draft busts .
- Banana_Hammock

Fixed

The 2nd to Columbus for Laine and the 6th

Or you can not worry about position and just draft the best player available lol, which is Cooley. Drafting specifically for need or a specific position is how you end up with Holtz over literally any of Rossi/Perfetti/Lundell/Jarvis. Or Zacha over Werenski/Rantanen/Meier. Or McLeod over McAvoy/Chychrun. Give me the playdriver and the guy who can do it himself over the passenger that needs someone to carry the puck in transition for him.

It's almost like you can play Cooley on wing with Jack or Nico, then Bratt with the other, and have 2 very good-to-elite playdrivers on each of the top two lines. What a horrible thing that would be!
- vlongo4419

First of all, it's easy to look back on past drafts and whine about who we could've gotten. At the time, they were just as likely to pan out as anyone else. These aren't even that good of examples of What Ifs. Rossi/Perfetti/Lundell haven't proven to be vastly better than Holtz, it's waaaaaay too early to make a call on Holtz anyway. We have Holtz in the AHL more than those other kids b/c our AHL team is BALLER this year and could actually go the distance. Chychrun is cool, but McAvoy is one of the most overrated d-men. I'll give you Zacha though, even at the time I wanted Rantanen or Barzal bad, but that doesn't change the other calls here.

Cooley has never played wing. That's a pretty big gamble to potentially waste a pick on a guy that may not be able to transition. Mercer is the perfect 3rd line center for us already. The center position is not a priority.

The "pick the best player" approach also led to drafting Heiskanen over Makar and Reinhart over Draisaitl. It's not a safer strategy.

The Devils are a soft team, we constantly are getting shoved around b/c we keep taking guys under 6' and weighing 150lbs. Adding a big guy that actually has speed, skill and a high hockey IQ to the mix, What a horrible thing that would be!

Or you can not worry about position and just draft the best player available lol, which is Cooley. Drafting specifically for need or a specific position is how you end up with Holtz over literally any of Rossi/Perfetti/Lundell/Jarvis. Or Zacha over Werenski/Rantanen/Meier. Or McLeod over McAvoy/Chychrun. Give me the playdriver and the guy who can do it himself over the passenger that needs someone to carry the puck in transition for him.

It's almost like you can play Cooley on wing with Jack or Nico, then Bratt with the other, and have 2 very good-to-elite playdrivers on each of the top two lines. What a horrible thing that would be!

If Cooley was 2 or 3 inches taller, he'd probably be the #1 pick and this conversation would be Wright or Slafkovsky instead.
- vlongo4419

The Zacha one stings

Holtz still looks good and too early to tell

But yes you go for BPA unless there is very little in it and for a position of need but we don't have that issue so you go for BPA which I think Cooley is the option

Yes slaf has the size and could be very good but he was producing at an ok rate for his team but had a great Olympics and that worries me a little that 1 great tournament elevated him so much, he is a very good prospect but think Cooley may be better

whatever happens, I have faith in Fitzy's decision making

First of all, it's easy to look back on past drafts and whine about who we could've gotten. At the time, they were just as likely to pan out as anyone else. These aren't even that good of examples of What Ifs. Rossi/Perfetti/Lundell haven't proven to be vastly better than Holtz, it's waaaaaay too early to make a call on Holtz anyway. We have Holtz in the AHL more than those other kids b/c our AHL team is BALLER this year and could actually go the distance. Chychrun is cool, but McAvoy is one of the most overrated d-men. I'll give you Zacha though, even at the time I wanted Rantanen or Barzal bad, but that doesn't change the other calls here.

Cooley has never played wing. That's a pretty big gamble to potentially waste a pick on a guy that may not be able to transition. Mercer is the perfect 3rd line center for us already. The center position is not a priority.

The "pick the best player" approach is also how teams get screwed into drafting Heiskanen over Makar and Reinhart over Draisaitl. It's not a safer strategy.

The Devils are a soft team, we constantly are getting shoved around b/c we keep taking guys under 6' and weighing 150lbs. Adding a big guy that actually has speed, skill and a high hockey IQ to the mix, What a horrible thing that would be!
- jtylerm

There is so much wrong with what you just said, its actually hilarious. I dont even know where to start here.

-None of what i am saying is in hindsight. I wanted all of those players over the one we actually drafted, and i was heavily pushing for it as well. Has nothing to do with "looking back and whining." Zachas biggest concern going into his draft and why i didnt want to draft him was that he was a lazy player at times and his offense didnt jump off the page for somebody going to be a top 10 pick with the big size advantage he had in juniors. Turns out to be correct. We picked him fully because we needed a center, literally no other reason.

-McLeod was just an awful pick as well. I wanted nothing to do with him because his offense in general was never going to be effective at the NHL level and it just felt like a wasted pick from the moment we made it. HUGE LOL at saying McAvoy is one of the most overrated D in the league, in fact hes probably the most underrated. The fact he hasnt won a Norris yet is actually crazy to me(its because points matter to voters and he doesnt light it up on the PP like others do) McAvoy is THE best 5v5 defenseman in the league, he is the definition of elite. What the (frank) are you talking about? Holy poop.

-Yes its too early to say that those guys are going to be better than Holtz but its a pretty good bet that they will be. And i agree its too early to make a call on Holtz but the concerns that everybody had on draft day are still there right now. Probably even more highlighted now that hes gotten NHL games under his belt. He is a full on passenger. He cannot carry a puck in transition and his foot speed is going to cause him big issues at trying to hit his ceiling. I still think Holtz can be a 30-35 goal scorer and an underrated playmaker playing with Hughes, but he NEEDS someone to carry the puck for him. It would not shock me at all if Holtz turns out to be 20-25 goal power play specialist because of these issues.

-Cooley has absolutely played wing. Multiple times. Hes a very versatile player. His main position is center obviously but his transition to wing would be an easy one.

-Devils need talent. End of discussion. Cooley far more talented than Slafkovsky, has a higher floor AND a higher ceiling. Slafkovsky has the biggest bust potential of any player thats going to go in the top 6-7. His skating is one of his biggest issues and as we have seen with Holtz so far, i can absolutely seeing that holding him back. On top of that, his production has been putrid outside of the Olympics(he has one of the worst D0 Liiga productions of any 1st round pick in the last 30 years.) So skating issues put aside, there is big concern about his offense translating to the NHL game. Sorry, but i dont want to draft a passenger over a playdriver again. Picks like that are what could truely hold this team back from taking the next step.

There is so much wrong with what you just said, its actually hilarious. I dont even know where to start here.

-None of what i am saying is in hindsight. I wanted all of those players over the one we actually drafted, and i was heavily pushing for it as well. Has nothing to do with "looking back and whining." Zachas biggest concern going into his draft and why i didnt want to draft him was that he was a lazy player at times and his offense didnt jump off the page for somebody going to be a top 10 pick with the big size advantage he had in juniors. Turns out to be correct. We picked him fully because we needed a center, literally no other reason.

-McLeod was just an awful pick as well. I wanted nothing to do with him because his offense in general was never going to be effective at the NHL level and it just felt like a wasted pick from the moment we made it. HUGE LOL at saying McAvoy is one of the most overrated D in the league, in fact hes probably the most underrated. The fact he hasnt won a Norris yet is actually crazy to me(its because points matter to voters and he doesnt light it up on the PP like others do) McAvoy is THE best 5v5 defenseman in the league, he is the definition of elite. What the (frank) are you talking about? Holy poop.

-Yes its too early to say that those guys are going to be better than Holtz but its a pretty good bet that they will be. And i agree its too early to make a call on Holtz but the concerns that everybody had on draft day are still there right now. Probably even more highlighted now that hes gotten NHL games under his belt. He is a full on passenger. He cannot carry a puck in transition and his foot speed is going to cause him big issues at trying to hit his ceiling. I still think Holtz can be a 30-35 goal scorer and an underrated playmaker playing with Hughes, but he NEEDS someone to carry the puck for him. It would not shock me at all if Holtz turns out to be 20-25 goal power play specialist because of these issues.

-Cooley has absolutely played wing. Multiple times. Hes a very versatile player. His main position is center obviously but his transition to wing would be an easy one.

-Devils need talent. End of discussion. Cooley far more talented than Slafkovsky, has a higher floor AND a higher ceiling. Slafkovsky has the biggest bust potential of any player thats going to go in the top 6-7. His skating is one of his biggest issues and as we have seen with Holtz so far, i can absolutely seeing that holding him back. On top of that, his production has been putrid outside of the Olympics(he has one of the worst D0 Liiga productions of any 1st round pick in the last 30 years.) So skating issues put aside, there is big concern about his offense translating to the NHL game. Sorry, but i dont want to draft a passenger over a playdriver again. Picks like that are what could truely hold this team back from taking the next step.
- vlongo4419

ok guy

ok guy
- jtylerm

Its okay to admit you literally only want Slaf because hes big. But to say to not draft Cooley because hes a center is just stupid.

Its okay to admit you literally only want Slaf because hes big. But to say to not draft Cooley because hes a center is just stupid.
- vlongo4419

Not what I said at all, but I'm getting bored talking to a high school dropout Jiffy Lube mechanic that can't handle seeing a different POV. Flame on all you want bro.

Not what I said at all, but I'm getting bored talking to a high school dropout Jiffy Lube mechanic that can't handle seeing a different POV. Flame on all you want bro.
- jtylerm

Good one bro. I'd be embarrassed too if i got called out for having an insanely idiotic take too.

Like i said prior, Slafkovsky would be a good pick. But hes not the BPA. If you actually gave information on why you thought we should pick Slaf over Cooley other than "Cooley is a small center and Slaf is big with a man's body" then i could get it.

If you said Slaf should be the pick because he plays a strong power game with elite board play, has a very good net front game, has a very high end cycle game, protects the puck with his body better than most, good on the forecheck, possesses a high end shot, and has the instincts to drive inside and get to the middle of the ice(which are all aspects of the game this team massively lacks) then that wouldve been a better argument for it. Theres pros to Slaf for sure, but theres far more cons/concerns with him than there is for Cooley imo.

I swear the people picking Slafkovsky have never seen the kid play in Liiga, let alone ever watched a Liiga game and just want him because of his size, He was good at the Olympics but average in Liiga, I get Kotkaniemi, Lawson Crouse, Pavel Zacha vibes from him.

I'm so jealous... you guys are quickly supplanting Buffalo and Oil as the top pickers ..

I swear the people picking Slafkovsky have never seen the kid play in Liiga, let alone ever watched a Liiga game and just want him because of his size, He was good at the Olympics but average in Liiga, I get Kotkaniemi, Lawson Crouse, Pavel Zacha vibes from him.
- cu45161

well we do need a guy to replace Zacha since we're probably shipping him to the first team that accepts the trade.

The 2nd to Columbus for Laine and the 6th
- SwedfishLars

I would do the 2nd OA plus Zacha and Smith for Laine.

I would do the 2nd OA plus hischier and Hughes for Laine.
- RubberBiscuitz

fixed it for you brother.