Holtz signs ELC

[NJDevils1214]

47 minutes ago, Chimaira_Devil_#9 said:

No I agree, I want a defenseman, I will take any of the ones slated to go in the top 5. But if we end up drafting further back and they all go and Ecklund is there, I think you make that move. 

I think it's cool that there are two opportunities to pick guys high in this draft that have direct strong relationships to players already in our system. 

[mfitz804]

As always I am hoping for the Russian prospect. We need someone dangerous, and nobody fits that description better than KHL sensation Kutcher Priykov. 

Edited April 20, 2021 by mfitz804

[Nicomo]

1 hour ago, NJDevils1214 said:

I think it's cool that there are two opportunities to pick guys high in this draft that have direct strong relationships to players already in our system. 

3 if you count Graham Clarke. I’ve seen a lot of people that like Brandt more than Luke Hughes for us, too. 

[vadvlfan]

i'm hoping we draft a large D man. Don't want to mention any names, but, OP, and the big Swedish guy?  I'm sure scouts are doing their homework.  No enthusiasm for Ecklund.  (Boqvist 2.0)

[SterioDesign]

3 hours ago, vadvlfan said:

i'm hoping we draft a large D man. Don't want to mention any names, but, OP, and the big Swedish guy?  I'm sure scouts are doing their homework.  No enthusiasm for Ecklund.  (Boqvist 2.0)

What sucks is that Ecklund is outproducing our Holtz while a year younger in a men's league. So if we feel Ecklund is not good enough then what does that say about Holtz? lol I know they are different kind of players but still, Holtz is supposed to be a point producer and it's not like Ecklund is the next McDavid or anything

Edited April 21, 2021 by SterioDesign

[Crisis]

29 minutes ago, SterioDesign said:

What sucks is that Ecklund is outproducing our Holtz while a year younger in a men's league. So if we feel Ecklund is not good enough then what does that say about Holtz? lol I know they are different kind of players but still, Holtz is supposed to be a point producer and it's not like Ecklund is the next McDavid or anything

Development isn't linear

[SterioDesign]

37 minutes ago, Crisis said:

Development isn't linear

No but when it comes to scorers / snipers. It's usually "he produced like crazy at every level he played so let's see if he can adjust to the NHL" like Caufield for example, but with Holtz we don't even have that at the moment, we just have expectations, scouting reports saying he's a crazy goal scorers and excuses as to why he's not producing as much.

I certainly hope there's a world juniors and that he's fvcking lighting it up this year or in the AHL cause if he can't light up against kids his own age / lesser competition, it's not that encouraging that he could become a threat in the NHL

Edited April 21, 2021 by SterioDesign

[Devils Pride 26]

I’ve got a bad feeling about Holtz. He’s going to come in raw off the puck on to a team that collectively sucks off the puck. The last thing this team needs is another lazy, clueless player in the defensive zone. 
 

We need to build a core that is strong in the two way game and add snipers for support. Throwing more players out there that cannot defend is not going to be a solution. That’s oilers level ineptitude. Throwing a bunch of specific skill set players out there.

Kouks and Sharangovich are a start. We need more of them. 

[titans04]

19 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

As always I am hoping for the Russian prospect. We need someone dangerous, and nobody fits that description better than KHL sensation Kutcher Priykov. 

hell if we want to pick somebody who could essentially end another teams season just go with Putin, he's still got it.

[mfitz804]

35 minutes ago, titans04 said:

hell if we want to pick somebody who could essentially end another teams season just go with Putin, he's still got it.

Best player in the country, according to everyone he tells that he is the best player in the country. 

[Nicomo]

Since I’ve seen Holtz compared to him, I decided to look up to see how Filip Forsberg did his final season in Sweden, and it makes me feel a little better about Holtz. Forsberg wasn’t even playing in the top SHL league. He scored 15 goals in 33 GP in HockeyAllsvenskan (2nd tier league). Holtz in the SHL scored 7 goals in 40 GP. Obviously not great, but if you take into account the difference in the level of play between the leagues (which I assume is at least fairly significant?), maybe it evens out a bit.

Holtz also had one more goal (and same amount of points) as Lucas Raymond, and I think Yzerman is one of the best GM’s in the league. So if our guy is about on par with his guy that also makes me hopeful. 

[NJDevils1214]

2 hours ago, Nicomo said:

Since I’ve seen Holtz compared to him, I decided to look up to see how Filip Forsberg did his final season in Sweden, and it makes me feel a little better about Holtz. Forsberg wasn’t even playing in the top SHL league. He scored 15 goals in 33 GP in HockeyAllsvenskan (2nd tier league). Holtz in the SHL scored 7 goals in 40 GP. Obviously not great, but if you take into account the difference in the level of play between the leagues (which I assume is at least fairly significant?), maybe it evens out a bit.

Holtz also had one more goal (and same amount of points) as Lucas Raymond, and I think Yzerman is one of the best GM’s in the league. So if our guy is about on par with his guy that also makes me hopeful. 

I'm not worried yet. This has been a tough year for a lot of people, athletes included. Holtz had a huge drop off after the WJC, something he admit.

Something must have happened aside of his linemates changing, like getting sick maybe. 

[Guadana]

Holtz was on COVID list, he had some back problems this year, he lost his center because of injury.

and he isn’t a player who can play solid 200-foot game. Devils have Hischier to create a space for him, and big boy Foote to score on rebounds. Zacha can play on the Hischier’ wing where he looks better than in center. He did play pretty good with the puck this year, win puck battles and board battles more often than less often.
We have a second option with Hughes. 

May be Zajac will return and help to develop him on NHL level like he did before a lot of times. Anyway devils should sign someone from the market. 
 

Devils has options to develope Holtz into a solid goal scorer in NHL. There are a lot of guys like Hischier, Sharkuannens, Foote, Mercer, Bratt who play or should play two way game. Scoring is still a problem for devils. as a defense. and the inappropriate whining of some fans.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Guadana

[mfitz804]

6 hours ago, NJDevils1214 said:

I'm not worried yet. This has been a tough year for a lot of people, athletes included. Holtz had a huge drop off after the WJC, something he admit.

Something must have happened aside of his linemates changing, like getting sick maybe. 

Kind of crazy to be worried before he even plays a single AHL or NHL shift, so I’m not worried. 

[NJDevils1214]

Holtz is playing right now for Bing. Paired with Thompson and Seney. He's getting some power play time too.

EDIT: Holtz and Thompson look pretty damn impressive together. Clarke is in the mix a lot too. Holtz easily stands out from the rest of the group on the ice. The rest of the team isn't looking terribly impressive.

Edited April 24, 2021 by NJDevils1214

[MadDog2020]

29 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Holtz is playing right now for Bing. Paired with Thompson and Seney. He's getting some power play time too.

EDIT: Holtz and Thompson look pretty damn impressive together. Clarke is in the mix a lot too. Holtz easily stands out from the rest of the group on the ice. The rest of the team isn't looking terribly impressive.

If Holtz is standing out in a good way, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

[nessus]

I've been tuning in for some of this game too. Holtz started settling in after a few shifts. Not that he's been able to create too much through one period, but you can tell his skill level is unmatched with the other players on the team. That release is looking great, and his passes are so crisp even while under pressure. I also agree about Clarke and Thompson looking pretty sharp. Clarke seems like a player who is on a slow development curve, but I could definitely see an NHL future for him. He's got the skills, and he seems like a smart enough player, but it hasn't yet translated to consistent production.

Zetterlund reminds me of Wood-lite, where he'll impress you every now and then, but also seems to have tunnel vision, and will drive straight for the net whenever he has the puck - regardless of what's in the way.

Okhotiuk looks solid on defense. He skates well and plays with a lot of confidence. I also like Vukojevic's game so far. Looking to see what Walsh can bring on the offensive side for the rest of this game. Bahl won't be ready next season, IMO. He's another guy that will take some time if he's going to be an NHL player, but he's getting good ice time to help him develop. I would be much more comfortable with Okhotiuk in NJ at this point.

Not much from Talvitie yet. I'm hoping he can find his game again. He looked like a future NHLer after he was drafted.

 

[NJDevils1214]

6 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

If Holtz is standing out in a good way, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

Holtz just had a partial breakaway but had the defender catch him. Mannnnnnn so close.

[MadDog2020]

5 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

Holtz just had a partial breakaway but had the defender catch him. Mannnnnnn so close.

Sounds like he’ll fit right in.

[NJDevils1214]

Just now, MadDog2020 said:

Sounds like he’ll fit right in.

Ha. Well LHV is absolutely controlling this game. The D is definitely Devils-esque and idk who this goalie is. 0-3 LHV right now.

[MadDog2020]

Just now, NJDevils1214 said:

Ha. Well LHV is absolutely controlling this game. The D is definitely Devils-esque and idk who this goalie is. 0-3 LHV right now.

Probably a preview of when the big club plays the Flyers, sadly. 

[NJDevils1214]

25 minutes ago, nessus said:

Not much from Talvitie yet. I'm hoping he can find his game again. He looked like a future NHLer after he was drafted.

He got his first pro goal this period. You post to his ears I guess.

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, NJDevils1214 said:

He got his first pro goal this period. You post to his ears I guess.

 

[nessus]

I didn't end up seeing the whole game, but I wasn't too worried about Holtz being anything other than the player we saw early in his SHL season. Looked comfortable, made some nice plays, and finished the game with 5 shots. 

[NJDevils1214]

42 minutes ago, nessus said:

I didn't end up seeing the whole game, but I wasn't too worried about Holtz being anything other than the player we saw early in his SHL season. Looked comfortable, made some nice plays, and finished the game with 5 shots. 

The B Devils did their best impression of NJD falling short on a comeback and controlling the 3rd period. He continued to look good for the rest of the game and the smaller ice didn't seem to affect him much as far as making crisp passes and getting shots off. If anything, the thing that surprised me the most was the B Devils struggle to gain the zone and maintain possession. It was really chippy and I imagine Holtz is more used to being able to gain the O zone with speed.

Edited April 25, 2021 by NJDevils1214