Todd Cordell: Pavel Zacha's offensive game providing little room for optimism

Shero is in a very tough spot right now with no real help on the way in terms of prospects what does he do? The rebuild looks like it’s going to be a lot longer then expected and that’s a big problem we can pretty much say goodbye to Hall doubt he wants to stick around for that and what do we do with Johansson trade him at the deadline. How can that many 1st round picks turn out to be busts....

He only played 37 games in his draft year. Seemed like a risky pick at the time. Reminded me of the situation when Brett Connolly was drafted

He only played 37 games in his draft year. Seemed like a risky pick at the time. Reminded me of the situation when Brett Connolly was drafted
- Coburns_Nose

He was a risky pick- Provorov seemed like the obvious one there, and with Rantanen, Werenski and Meier going right after it’s not ideal. Bright side, at least he isn’t completely useless like some of our previous first rounders.

Apparently Detroit wants a 1st for Jimmy Howard. I say do it. We've proven as an organization that we have absolutely no idea how to draft in the first round anyway. Kind of pointless to even try.

McLeod
Zacha
Quennville
Matteau
Larson
Josefson
Tedenby
Corrente
Bergfors

Its like a graveyard of lost potential. Imagine if we had drafted wisely in even half of those years.

Apparently Detroit wants a 1st for Jimmy Howard. I say do it. We've proven as an organization that we have absolutely no idea how to draft in the first round anyway. Kind of pointless to even try.

McLeod
Zacha
Quennville
Matteau
Larson
Josefson
Tedenby
Corrente
Bergfors

Its like a graveyard of lost potential. Imagine if we had drafted wisely in even half of those years.
- WayneZ

wow are those really all first rounders? So little to show for all those picks, that's harsh

Shero is in a very tough spot right now with no real help on the way in terms of prospects what does he do? The rebuild looks like it’s going to be a lot longer then expected and that’s a big problem we can pretty much say goodbye to Hall doubt he wants to stick around for that and what do we do with Johansson trade him at the deadline. How can that many 1st round picks turn out to be busts....
- Devils314

I completely agree. Last year got people excited about the future and contention and what not, but there were a lot of guys that played over their head so maintaining that success seemed difficult. And while it's nice to have the cap room, the only way to rebuild and sustain is through the draft. Smith looks good, maybe Walsh as well, but the book is still out on Blackwood and I'm not even sure who the top prospect would be right now (Anderson, McLeod, Q?). This organization still has sizable holes.

wow are those really all first rounders? So little to show for all those picks, that's harsh
- Coburns_Nose

The biggest contributions out of that lot was Bergfors being part of the Kovy package, and Larsson landing us Hall. The rest of them........

And yeah i know McLeod, Q, and Zacha are all still young.... yadda yadda yadda. We'll just pretend there aren't players from each of those draft classes taken LONG after our guys that aren't already star caliber players and consistent performers.

Pretty sad list of first rounders and the big reason the Devils are where they are after the old guard started to move on.

I didn’t realize Zacha was called back up from the AHL

Zacha and Wood....our 2 huge disappointments!

At least Ty Smith looks promising and a top 5 pick is looking likely.

Pretty sad list of first rounders and the big reason the Devils are where they are after the old guard started to move on.
- devilspep

Most of those picks were made by LL and Conte. The old guard needed to move on. Unfortunately Shero hasn't had much luck at the draft table either. It is a lot harder when you're not selecting Crosby and Malkin.

jesper boqvist

If x percent of your first rounders are panning out, then everything is usual, but you have two contributing factors to consider:

1. the choice
2. the development

I'm starting to question the way this team is developing their prospects: you can't draft ALL failures; just by sheer chance, some of them should actually be good, but that almost none of them are churning out reminds me of Edmonton in their long failure. Team full of young players, and only one of them (Coleman) has taken a step forward? Something is wrong there.

Ray's also not done anything about the d situation, which is truly what is drowning the team and tilting the ice. NJ needs two more solid D prospects that are capable of playing big minutes, something I'm pretty convinced none of the D on this team are capable of doing right now to the level a winning team would have.

wow are those really all first rounders? So little to show for all those picks, that's harsh
- Coburns_Nose

I loved Corrente.

If x percent of your first rounders are panning out, then everything is usual, but you have two contributing factors to consider:

1. the choice
2. the development

I'm starting to question the way this team is developing their prospects: you can't draft ALL failures; just by sheer chance, some of them should actually be good, but that almost none of them are churning out reminds me of Edmonton in their long failure. Team full of young players, and only one of them (Coleman) has taken a step forward? Something is wrong there.

Ray's also not done anything about the d situation, which is truly what is drowning the team and tilting the ice. NJ needs two more solid D prospects that are capable of playing big minutes, something I'm pretty convinced none of the D on this team are capable of doing right now to the level a winning team would have.
- archromat

I was thinking something similar. It seems like all the young talent around the league are given the freedom to play as they want but the devils are stuck forcing people into roles that dont fit them. Thats how i see it. Could be wrong but like you said, hard to believe all our youngsters suck. There needs to be some common thread as to why.

It's all over but the crying.

Q didn’t do great during his cup of coffee in the bigs; but I hear he’s been great in the Bing since then. I wouldn’t write him off yet...

Zacha should be sent back down. This isn’t working.

Forfeit all remaining games so their stats can't get even worse.

It's all over but the crying.
- FAZOOL

Crying is OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaalwyFdtBQ

Ty Smith and Nico look like non-regrettable draft picks. But ya, Zacha is and will be a major bust. His ceiling in my opinion is 3C with PK responsibilites. He wasn't even 1ppg in the OHL during his draft year. Most OHL D men taken after him were over 1ppg in that draft. He was never an offensive force at any level, and will continue to develope into a solid 3C. Disappointing for 6th overall, especially in that draft class.

I didn’t realize Zacha was called back up from the AHL

Zacha and Wood....our 2 huge disappointments!
- Crushers68

Wood is cheap, drafted at 100th overall, and 19 goal season on the 3rd line. He was one of our better suprises. Certainly struggling this season, but even if he hits/fights/battles in the corner, he is still a solid player at 2.75 AAV. Zacha was a major mistake

Wood is cheap, drafted at 100th overall, and 19 goal season on the 3rd line. He was one of our better suprises. Certainly struggling this season, but even if he hits/fights/battles in the corner, he is still a solid player at 2.75 AAV. Zacha was a major mistake
- bikeguy99

Zacha has more points than Sean Couturier had in his first 2 years. He's 21. Everybody relax

Zacha has more points than Sean Couturier had in his first 2 years. He's 21. Everybody relax
- jtirri

Don't worry, not in a panic. Just my observations thus far. I have never seen that offensive spark that is required to be a top 6 come out of Zacha. Pros are he is a big kid, good skating and vision. Downside is, he is a cycling, defensive minded centre, who does not drive much offense. He certainly is an NHL player, just not seeing that potential the scouts saw in him when drafted. We would be praising the kid if he was a 5th round selection, but when you look at the other young guys drafted before and after him, it's hard not to jump to conclusions. Proverov, Werenski, Rantenan all taken after him in the top 10. Doubt any team would take Zacha and a 1st for one of those beasts.