Prospects thread 2022-2023

[MB3]

1 hour ago, SterioDesign said:

Man i'm still relieved we didn't draft Shane Wright. I was not feeling him AT ALL before the draft (basically like i was not feeling Holtz at all unfortunately). Wanted Slaf, Nemec or Cooley before him or trade the pick instead of drafting him

And then the draft happened and many teams passed over him. Then he's not even sticking in the NHL.

Then i watched him play last night. He should be DOMINATING the world juniors. And he was barely visible. 

The only thing he did was scoring in his own net lol and it was not one of those deflecting off of him or wtv. He was literally in the corner with the puck and shot it directly into his goalie's skates and it went in lol

Very relieved we didn't draft him

Brandt Clarke though. I still really really like him but im obviously glad we got Luke. Who was also really good but he didn't play that much yesterday. The US had 8 Dmen and 13 forwards playing in the game. So i assume they wanted to figure out exactly who their bottom pairing and extras would be. But also Luke got injured early in the tournament last year so i assume they didn't want to risk that in a landslide win.

I mean there are obviously concerns with him, teams passing up on him etc. but "not even sticking in the NHL" is a pretty stupid one. There's only one guy who's played more NHL games so far than Wright, and that's Slaf. Neither Nemec nor Cooley are in the NHL. 

He had the exact same stat-line as Connor Bedard -- 0G 2A 2P +3. Is it a red flag that Bedard isn't DOMINATING the world juniors? 

[SterioDesign]

49 minutes ago, MB3 said:

I mean there are obviously concerns with him, teams passing up on him etc. but "not even sticking in the NHL" is a pretty stupid one. There's only one guy who's played more NHL games so far than Wright, and that's Slaf. Neither Nemec nor Cooley are in the NHL. 

He had the exact same stat-line as Connor Bedard -- 0G 2A 2P +3. Is it a red flag that Bedard isn't DOMINATING the world juniors? 

It's only stupid if you ignore context. Which you will obviously do since you're replying to me

We all followed everything there was to know about that draft and top prospect i know that you know. He was projected first overall and NHL ready. For over a year. He dropped multiple spot and was sent down. That's all i meant. 

As for Bedard he was noticeable all game. and he's a year younger than Wright. At that age that one extra years makes a huge difference, it's mostly older guys already drafted dominating the world juniors. Lafreniere did but its a bit more rare. Like Luke should dominate this year

Edited December 22, 2022 by SterioDesign

[vadvlfan]

On 12/21/2022 at 11:40 AM, devlman said:

Thank you. Prospects aren’t developed solely to be first line all stars. You need them to develop into depth pieces, as well. These pieces are the guys on minimal contracts that help you on the ice and help you stay cap compliant when you’re in your cup window.

That's the criticism Zacha had here. He was never going to live up to the hype that followed him being drafted 6th overall. Choosing him 6th was all Lou, as he always made size a priority.  He'll be a decent 3rd line player, but that's about it. But a serviceable player. 

[Nicomo]

 

[Nicomo]

 

[Guadana]

On 12/22/2022 at 8:27 PM, SterioDesign said:

Man i'm still relieved we didn't draft Shane Wright. I was not feeling him AT ALL before the draft (basically like i was not feeling Holtz at all unfortunately). Wanted Slaf, Nemec or Cooley before him or trade the pick instead of drafting him

And then the draft happened and many teams passed over him. Then he's not even sticking in the NHL.

Then i watched him play last night. He should be DOMINATING the world juniors. And he was barely visible. 

The only thing he did was scoring in his own net lol and it was not one of those deflecting off of him or wtv. He was literally in the corner with the puck and shot it directly into his goalie's skates and it went in lol

Very relieved we didn't draft him

Brandt Clarke though. I still really really like him but im obviously glad we got Luke. Who was also really good but he didn't play that much yesterday. The US had 8 Dmen and 13 forwards playing in the game. So i assume they wanted to figure out exactly who their bottom pairing and extras would be. But also Luke got injured early in the tournament last year so i assume they didn't want to risk that in a landslide win.

Wasn`t a fan of drafting him too. Nemec is very good this year on a bad team. 
But I still think Wright will turn into a very good NHL player. I just don`t think NJD is a good place for him. I really don`t like his board game, I think he can be productive winger but I don`t think he will be good two way winger, center spot is a better spot for him, he isn`t as fast and really good skater to be be really good skater, but his skills help him to be a good center. As many young players in modern era, he needs time. 

Look at Byfield, he isn`t NHL regular player still/

Edited December 24, 2022 by Guadana

[Guadana]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:29 PM, vadvlfan said:

That's the criticism Zacha had here. He was never going to live up to the hype that followed him being drafted 6th overall. Choosing him 6th was all Lou, as he always made size a priority.  He'll be a decent 3rd line player, but that's about it. But a serviceable player. 

It was on OHL scout. I don`t know is it was the same guy who drafted Mcleod, Smith and Stillman. but he was fired some time ago.

[MadDog2020]

https://teamusa.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1252745-second-world-junior-championship-appearance-highlights-a-busy-schedule-for-luke-hughes?fbclid=IwAR3YUJlROgNt3LCtZbl1WBUtmFC1E4IpZftdFvz6zaEtChq18i6kptc1P88&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

[SterioDesign]

On 12/24/2022 at 6:07 PM, Guadana said:

It was on OHL scout. I don`t know is it was the same guy who drafted Mcleod, Smith and Stillman. but he was fired some time ago.

For the Devils you mean? David Conte was let go in 2015 (and it was long long long long long long long long long overdue) so zacha was the last first round pick he got.

He got Bratt though. So we can give him credits for that but then when i look back at over a decade of bad drafting... its very little credit that ill give him lol 

[Lateralous]

4 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

 

He got Bratt though. So we can give him credits for that but then when i look back at over a decade of bad drafting... its very little credit that ill give him lol 

You can’t even give him that.   Bratt was in the McLeod draft in 2016.  
 

Conte basically jumped the shark the moment he made the Adrian Foster pick yet inexplicably retained his job for another 15 years based on what he did in the 90s

Edited December 26, 2022 by Lateralous

[SterioDesign]

5 hours ago, Lateralous said:

You can’t even give him that.   Bratt was in the McLeod draft in 2016.  
 

Conte basically jumped the shark the moment he made the Adrian Foster pick yet inexplicably retained his job for another 15 years based on what he did in the 90s

oh yeah thats right! i take it right back then!

[MadDog2020]

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/air-canada-gives-canada-a-major-advantage-on-day-1-of-world-junior-championship?fbclid=IwAR1q7F7YMsjJJ06G7DFVcC0Byf4CpLxcDiAD58bzv-af0S9v09yxAUp-4q0&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

[Puckbuster]

On 12/23/2022 at 9:29 AM, vadvlfan said:

That's the criticism Zacha had here. He was never going to live up to the hype that followed him being drafted 6th overall. Choosing him 6th was all Lou, as he always made size a priority.  He'll be a decent 3rd line player, but that's about it. But a serviceable player. 

Zacha is playing in the second line for the Bruins and if the response is, look who he is playing with, it doesn’t matter.  If the Devils second line is as good, then he should have had success.  Personally, I still think it’s the system and coaching and he wasn’t liked by management.  As was said in the prior post, not all prospects are drafted to be top line stars.  The Haula trade is a busted, unless you think Jack’s personal face off guy was crucial to winning games.  Then again, Zacha was over 50% in faceoffs for his last two seasons as a Devils.

[Nicomo]

USA won 5-2. 

[mfitz804]

3 minutes ago, Nicomo said:

USA won 5-2. 

That was a pretty nasty shot. 

[Nicomo]

2 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

That was a pretty nasty shot. 

The clang was loud as hell. 

[NJDevils1214]

Overall not a bad game. Luke had a bad second period, but the team overall struggled defensively until the 3rd. Latvia didn't have many shots but the shots they did get were dangerous or had a lot of traffic in front.

[MB3]

oh no canada baby what is u doin 

[SterioDesign]

as some of you know i was at that game. It was weird. First the crowd for whatever reason really got behind Latvia and were chanting LATVIAAA most of the game lol Not sure if it came through on the feed.

I don't know if it's an underdog thing or them rooting against the US cause they are probably the biggest threat to Canada. I dunno.

The US had decent chances but didn't play an amazing game overall even though they had a lot of shots. Luke i thought didn't play badly but he wasn't dominating or dictating the play like i know he can or should. He had a bad fall into the boards at some point and appeared to be in pain on the bench for a bit and i just stared at him didn't blink or flinched until he got back on the ice and knew he was okay lol 

I was funny though, he scored his goal by the end of the game and i was on that side so i saw it pretty well. But some guys got up right away and went "fvcking Luke Hughes" and left lol 

 

Also for wtv weird reasons. I just have a feeling we'll draft Stramel this year.

 

Also we went to a bar to watch the canada game and that was not great haha For context the games from group B are in Moncton where i live so im going to every US and Slovakia game and going to both quarterfinals we're getting but Group A are in Halifax. Which is in 2 different provinces / a 3 hours drive away. And all the rest of the quarter / semi and finals are in halifax.

Edited December 27, 2022 by SterioDesign

[vadvlfan]

18 hours ago, Puckbuster said:

Zacha is playing in the second line for the Bruins and if the response is, look who he is playing with, it doesn’t matter.  If the Devils second line is as good, then he should have had success.  Personally, I still think it’s the system and coaching and he wasn’t liked by management.  As was said in the prior post, not all prospects are drafted to be top line stars.  The Haula trade is a busted, unless you think Jack’s personal face off guy was crucial to winning games.  Then again, Zacha was over 50% in faceoffs for his last two seasons as a Devils.

I was never a Zacha hater. I think & always will think he's a serviceable fw. Decent on face-offs did great on PK. Scoring? unreliable. (but you can say that about many players) A few folks here thought he sucked. Now, he's Boston's problem. I think he's happy to be there. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

17 minutes ago, vadvlfan said:

I was never a Zacha hater. I think & always will think he's a serviceable fw. Decent on face-offs did great on PK. Scoring? unreliable. (but you can say that about many players) A few folks here thought he sucked. Now, he's Boston's problem. I think he's happy to be there. 

Zacha has three goals this season (none in his last 16) and has a whopping four points in his last 10 GP.  Overall he's having a pretty good season (given expectations) but it's not like he's lighting it up there.  He's on a good team where others are doing the heavy lifting and all he has to do is blend.

I find Haula as frustrating when it comes to finding ways not to finish as much as anyone, but I gotta remind myself that Plan A NEVER called for him to be getting consistent top line minutes...he's being put in a position to disappoint (if not outright fail).  Hopefully Palat will be back soon and Haula can go back to being the 3rd-line vet that he was supposed to be.       

[SterioDesign]

Vilen had a nice assist on the last powerplay goal for Finland. Hes not flashy but he’s not making many mistakes

[Puckbuster]

13 hours ago, vadvlfan said:

I was never a Zacha hater. I think & always will think he's a serviceable fw. Decent on face-offs did great on PK. Scoring? unreliable. (but you can say that about many players) A few folks here thought he sucked. Now, he's Boston's problem. I think he's happy to be there. 

I know he’s happy here.  I’ve seen more than a few games living near Boston and I have to say he looks comfortable and is engaged.  The goals aren’t there, but he makes plays and I think that is what he is and admits to it in his interviews.  Anyway, we have Haula and he does bring some intensity with his game.  I just think he is not in a position to succeed the way he is used.  We’ll see how things go once Palat returns.  What is more unfortunate are the Marino, Graves and Bastian injuries.  I hope they are back soon.

[Nicomo]

49 minutes ago, Puckbuster said:

Anyway, we have Haula and he does bring some intensity with his game.  I just think he is not in a position to succeed the way he is used.  We’ll see how things go once Palat returns.  What is more unfortunate are the Marino, Graves and Bastian injuries.  I hope they are back soon.

Playing him primarily on a line with the best player on the team is not putting him in a position to succeed? 

[Guadana]

On 12/26/2022 at 9:20 AM, SterioDesign said:

For the Devils you mean? David Conte was let go in 2015 (and it was long long long long long long long long long overdue) so zacha was the last first round pick he got.

He got Bratt though. So we can give him credits for that but then when i look back at over a decade of bad drafting... its very little credit that ill give him lol 

 No, I was telling about our previous ohl scout, who worked with Castron and was fired before 2022 draft.