Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 1 minute ago, beekay414 said: I'm not overly worried about it. He's not buried on their DC or anything, so he'll get continuous burn. I think he was last year. The DI guys talked about how they kept jerking around his ice time and all that. obviously, as he gets older there will be less of that, so maybe it's not an issue moving forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Just now, Forge said: I think he was last year. The DI guys talked about how they kept jerking around his ice time and all that. obviously, as he gets older there will be less of that, so maybe it's not an issue moving forward. Didn't he get a lot of burn in the playoffs or something? I don't think it'll be an issue as he gets older tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Just now, beekay414 said: Didn't he get a lot of burn in the playoffs or something? I don't think it'll be an issue as he gets older tbh. When he was 18 he was called up to the KHL for their playoffs and weirdly played an important top 4 role, I believe. And then they followed that up by kind of jerking him around the lineup, pulling him in and out his next year. I really just didn't want to wait another year to get him here. I feel like he could have been one who went straight from the KHL to the NHL and been input into the line up. I don't have a lot of faith in guys like Vukojevich or Okhotyuk being competent nhlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 14 minutes ago, Forge said: When he was 18 he was called up to the KHL for their playoffs and weirdly played an important top 4 role, I believe. And then they followed that up by kind of jerking him around the lineup, pulling him in and out his next year. I really just didn't want to wait another year to get him here. I feel like he could have been one who went straight from the KHL to the NHL and been input into the line up. I don't have a lot of faith in guys like Vukojevich or Okhotyuk being competent nhlers. I'm not worried about Okhotyuk at all. Vukojevich is fine and will likely be a solid fill in 7th dman as well. There may even be an NHL opt out or something in that extension as well. He might have done it with the uncertainty around the NHL going forward due to the pandemic (and how the US has handled it), so I don't blame him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 1 minute ago, beekay414 said: I'm not worried about Okhotyuk at all. Vukojevich is fine and will likely be a solid fill in 7th dman as well. There may even be an NHL opt out or something in that extension as well. He might have done it with the uncertainty around the NHL going forward due to the pandemic (and how the US has handled it), so I don't blame him. You think he's good? Personally, I don't see the skating for that at all. I think he's at best a third pairing guy and I actually don't have him in my top 10 devils prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Forge said: You think he's good? Personally, I don't see the skating for that at all. I think he's at best a third pairing guy and I actually don't have him in my top 10 devils prospects. Yes, I do. His skating may be average at best but his IQ is off the charts and we'd never ask him to be an offensive player so it's less of an issue. He knows where to be almost instinctively and is a force on the ice. He may only be a 3rd pairing player but he's an NHLer. He's no worse than Nikita Zadorov. Edited September 1, 2020 by beekay414 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 minutes ago, beekay414 said: Yes, I do. His skating may be average at best but his IQ is off the charts and we'd never ask him to be an offensive player so it's less of an issue. He knows where to be almost instinctively and is a force on the ice. He may only be a 3rd pairing player but he's an NHLer. He's no worse than Nikita Zadorov. The team really likes him, so we will see him sooner rather than later, tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Forge said: The team really likes him, so we will see him sooner rather than later, tbh. I think it's funny that you question his skating but Craig Button said the following; Quote “He’s an excellent skater who has a really strong territorial competitive edge. He’s not going to put up big numbers offensively, but you’re going to get a defenseman who is really, really effective in terms of making sure opponents don’t get space and time, that they don’t get the ability to operate comfortably. “He’s ready to take opponents out of their space and get the play going the other way. Those are really important elements for a team to have those types of players, and Nikita is real, sharp defenseman. He’s not going to be a top three defenseman, but he can easily be a No. 4 or a No. 5. That’s the type of defenseman he is. They never put up big numbers, but he could be a real functional player.” So it honestly seems like you're out on a limb here, homie. I get it but I like the kid too. I feel he's an easy NHLer. Edited September 1, 2020 by beekay414 Limb, not limp lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 And, obviously, we've got STI's take on our defense... Quote Ty Smith certainly has top pairing potential. I think he gets overlooked a bit because he lacks a singular dynamic trait outside of outlet passing, which is probably the most under-appreciated defensive skill. Bahl could be a first-pairing defenseman, but this depends on your definition of a first-pairing defenseman. The fact is, he's a behemoth back there and skates well with very good puck skills. I could see him being a Parayko-type down the road, but without the cannon-blast from the point. Misyul I would say projects to a two-way, bottom-four type D. He's very good at a lot of things, but again we're talking about a player lacking the dynamic talent we have come to expect from a first-pairing defenseman. We also can't discuss the Devils LD without mentioning Okhotyuk and Vukojevic. Both of these kids are extremely physical, potential shut-down D with good enough skating and smarts to be terrific NHL contributors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 2 minutes ago, beekay414 said: I think it's funny that you question his skating but Craig Button said the following; So it honestly seems like you're out on a limp here, homie. I get it but I like the kid too. I feel he's an easy NHLer. That is literally the only time I have ever seen him labeled as "an excellent skater". I think of an "excellent skater" as being someone who is good in all facets. He moves well enough in a phone booth, good balance and change of direction, but he has no long game there and I don't think that he has any sort of real top end speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 FWIW, I agree with the IQ part. I do think that he's smart and disciplined (particularly given how physical he is). Just no upside there in my opinion. 3rd line pairing, and as you said, it's like having Z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 1 minute ago, Forge said: That is literally the only time I have ever seen him labeled as "an excellent skater". I think of an "excellent skater" as being someone who is good in all facets. He moves well enough in a phone booth, good balance and change of direction, but he has no long game there and I don't think that he has any sort of real top end speed. I don't think he needs a long game and top end speed to be an effective shut down type defenseman tho. You have to look at it from the view of what his role would be and see why it's really not much of an issue. He's never going to be deep in the other team's zone so the long range speed doesn't matter that much. I dunno. I think he will be fine. He looks good on tape even with the lack of top end speed so I'm not sure I'm one to question his NHL success expectancy. He's a big, bruising guy with good enough skating to play his game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 Just now, Forge said: FWIW, I agree with the IQ part. I do think that he's smart and disciplined. Just no upside there in my opinion. 3rd line pairing, and as you said, it's like having Z. That's fine. We need those types, homie. Otherwise we're stuck trotting out clueless players like Mueller and Carrick on our third line lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 10 minutes ago, beekay414 said: And, obviously, we've got STI's take on our defense... I love STI and what he does...but he's also insaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanely nice about prospects lol, which he readily admits to. Even when he criticizes them, he does it in the nicest way possible and still uses generally favorable adjectives to describe them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, Forge said: I love STI and what he does...but he's also insaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanely nice about prospects lol, which he readily admits to. Even when he criticizes them, he does it in the nicest way possible and still uses generally favorable adjectives to describe them. Oh, I know. But I think you get the point. I think Nikita is an easy 3rd pairing dman and Vuko is an easy 7th dman, on a good team, who fills in admirably when called upon, and a consistent, stable bottom pairing player how we're currently constructed. I'm not expecting either to be top 4 guys so I'm happy with them considering their roles. Edited September 1, 2020 by beekay414 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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