Too bad for the Devil's there is no superstar this year. That only happens when the Penguins or a Canadian team has #1. Looking forward to seeing who the Rangers pick tonight. Gonna miss Stepan.
That's what I meant by a "Canadian" team.
That was what I hoped for as well. Historically, the Devils never go for the flashier player. I'm glad they did this time. Plus, my 15 year old daughter took one look at him and asked if I could get his jersey for her.
Not a rangers fan but cant criticize the pick too much. A bit of a reach for sure but the numbers he put up were in a mens league not a major junior league so its comparing apples to oranges in thay regard. Not saying he will be all world but he may be ready to contribute faster than other prospects with a similar skill set and draft position.
You clearly don't follow hockey at all. You may like Patrick better but to call the pick awful makes you look clueless. Most major scouting sites and insider mocks have Nico and Nolan some combination of 1 and 2. That is the consensus period.
I agree we need defenseman but don't reach for need when best player available is there. Many projected 2ND round defenseman went mid to late first. Devils cant afford to waste a pick on need. Devils lack speed and talent across the board. This is a major rebuild and we did trade for a young puck moving defenseman Mueller before the draft so Shero is aware. He may have other trades in mind or signings. Shattenkirk maybe? Devils are bad offensively also keep in mind. We did draft Reilly in the 3rd round also.
Mrs. Shero? Is that you? Clearly you don't know an awful lot about hockey, that's for sure. Yes, what your husband has done IS incredible. He protected the absolute worst player statistically on the team in John Moore, gave up a 2nd rounder and downgraded from a 4th to a 5th to get and protect Mueller, who is so INCREDIBLE that he spent all but four games in the minors this season, and in this process lost Merrill for nothing.
He seems good, but I've watched too many of these kids over the years so I can't get too excited yet. We'll see how these drafts pan out in five years or so, I guess.
I agree John Moore sucks and the Mueller trade seemed an odd use of assets upon first glance but he is Swiss and was probably brought in to help Hischier assimilate better. The European comment makes little sense though. Do you just not like european players? The average player drafted was 6 foot which is about league average. Popugaev is a beast at 6'5 or 6'6 depending on the source. We have been a slow unexciting team for a while so I for one welcome "speedy" anything. Shero is not perfect but he is sticking to a plan of rebuilding with youth. As great as Lou was pre lockout his and Contes drafting and player development was brutal for about 10 years. They rarely took flyers on talented europeans in later rounds instead focusing on low ceiling safe north American players with little to no upside.
My feeling on European kids is that generally the North American style of play and the smaller ice surface make for a big adjustment, especially the ones that are still playing in Europe when drafted. There are many great NHL'ers from Europe, don't get me wrong, but to draft seven of your ten skaters from Europe seems excessive.
About half of the Europeans the Devils drafted this year have been playing in North America for at least a full year now. Zetterlund hasn't, but at the 2016 World U17 Hockey Challenge, which is played on North American rinks, he was among the top scorers on the gold medal-winning Swedish team despite being the third youngest player on the roster. I know tournaments are a small sample size, but still worth noting I think if you're concerned about adapting to North American hockey.