Devils Prospects

Can you help me out with these 3 guys? Maybe rank them 1-3, who they compare to (high and low end), how close to the NHL they are, safest, riskiest...

Anything would be cool - thanks.

Tyler Eckford
Rod Pelley
Sean Zimmerman

Upside
Eckford- Could be a great weapon...has great size and great offensive skill, as he is a converted forward. Future PP QB and Rafalski-like point production is his ceiling.
Pelley- They said tonight that they Devils are grooming him for the "Madden Role". I'll believe that when I see it, but he looks promising, and it is Lou and Conte we're talking about here. Already has some NHL experience under his belt.
Zimmerman- Suprise addition to the U20 team, could be a reliable 5th-6th man that doesn't stand out, a la Lukowich. Plays alot like White only not as nasty. Basically a second version of Fraser.

Safest
Pelley- Already has NHL experience, will play for a few years on the 4th line at the least.
Eckford- He's shown no problem adjusting in college, but I've heard he still needs to iron out some small problems in his defensive game, being (as I mentioned before) that he is a converted forward. Those problems shouldn't hold him back and his offensive skills should earn him a decent look in the NHL.
Zimmerman- Will probably see AHL action next year, so we can get a better look at how good of a prospect he is. Fraser adjusted well so let's hope he does too.

Pelley is more likely to be a mainstay on the team, but Eckford could certainley contribute if he lives up to the hype.

Upside
Eckford- Could be a great weapon...has great size and great offensive skill, as he is a converted forward. Future PP QB and Rafalski-like point production is his ceiling.
Pelley- They said tonight that they Devils are grooming him for the "Madden Role". I'll believe that when I see it, but he looks promising, and it is Lou and Conte we're talking about here. Already has some NHL experience under his belt.
Zimmerman- Suprise addition to the U20 team, could be a reliable 5th-6th man that doesn't stand out, a la Lukowich. Plays alot like White only not as nasty. Basically a second version of Fraser.

Safest
Pelley- Already has NHL experience, will play for a few years on the 4th line at the least.
Eckford- He's shown no problem adjusting in college, but I've heard he still needs to iron out some small problems in his defensive game, being (as I mentioned before) that he is a converted forward. Those problems shouldn't hold him back and his offensive skills should earn him a decent look in the NHL.
Zimmerman- Will probably see AHL action next year, so we can get a better look at how good of a prospect he is. Fraser adjusted well so let's hope he does too.

Pelley is more likely to be a mainstay on the team, but Eckford could certainley contribute if he lives up to the hype.
Eckford is not safe, he will more then likely bust.

Eckford is not safe, he will more then likely bust.

Not sure how a 7th rounder can "bust"?......But there is more Upside in Eckford than half of the players in our top 10 list.

Have you seen him play? 6-3 220 Defenseman that can skate, has a good shot, some offensive flair and has a bit of nasty edge to his game has a ton of potential in my opinion.

Eckford is not safe, he will more then likely bust.

Yeah not sure how a 7th rounder can bust, but ok.

He's done nothing but get better since he came into college, but apparently that doesn't mean much.

Yeah not sure how a 7th rounder can bust, but ok.

He's done nothing but get better since he came into college, but apparently that doesn't mean much.
Because he can't play defense, there are many defensmen putting up better production then Eckford and he has a smooth -10.

Can you please add Tony Romano and Nathan Perkovich to the discussion, along with the previous players that I posted about?

Because he can't play defense, there are many defensmen putting up better production then Eckford and he has a smooth -10.

Are basing that on looking at Stats or seeing him play?

He plays on the 2nd worse team in the CCHA by the way.......Have you looked at the +/- of the entire team?

+1
-2
-9
-10
-10
-10
-7
-10
-7
-14
-13
-8
-12
0
-5
-8
-4
-2
-2
0
-8
0

Because he can't play defense, there are many defensmen putting up better production then Eckford and he has a smooth -10.

When your on a bad team, +\- is an overated stat. I think on a winning team, it's more accurate of performance IMO anyways. Look at the Bruins for example. Does anyone think Patrice Bergeron and Marco Sturm are bad players? They have horrid plus/minus ratings, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are good players. Eckford is defintely more oriented to an offensive style of game, but I think that when you are looking at the +/- stats of players on bad teams, I think poor minus numbers means that more often than not, that player is playing a lot and seeing lots of ice time, hence it's inevitable that they will be on the ice for goals.

Up for help on Romano and Perkovich - maybe ranking them as prospects compared to Pelley, Eckford, and Zimmerman.

Up for help on Romano and Perkovich - maybe ranking them as prospects compared to Pelley, Eckford, and Zimmerman.

Perkovich is huge with good hands...started out his college career on fire but cooled down alot as the season went on. Could be a sleeper but I doubt it.

Romano has a ton of upside but I've heard he even out-dekes himself sometimes and makes crappy decisions with the puck in his own end. He's a real flashy player but it remains to be seen if he can carry his offensive skill to the next level.

MacIsaac will probably correct me but that's just my opinion.

7th round picks are not "busts," they are long shots to ever play in the NHL when they are drafted that late, they either stay long shots or disappear.

Neil Brady was a bust. Lance Ward was a bust. David Hale and Tuomas Pihlman now qualify as busts.

Fine, I will fix my post. Eckford will not amount to anything because he is poor defensivly. I have seen him play twice this year and once last year, he is a poor mans Andy Delmore. His straight away speed is average. He is physical but his mobility and lateral movments are poor. Makes stupid plays with the puck in his own end and tends to lose coverage. He has a nice shot which is the only reason why he has points because his passing/creativity clearly isn't top notch.

You guys can like him if you want but I take Fayne, Fraser and Zimmerman over him in a heartbeat. Coach has criticized his play countless times this season

His straight away speed is average. He is physical but his mobility and lateral movments are poor.

McKeen's disagrees.

03/31/2005 - His progress has slowed since the start of the season, however, he remains a solid NHL prospect .. wears an A .. shows very good patience with the puck and has the ability to go end to end at a moment's notice .. at times he isn't able to use his teammates effectively as he pushes too deep and gets caught in no man's land with few opportunities left, but to dump the puck in or force a shot .. displayed some feistiness late in the period .. tried to "sell" the official on calling a penalty .. can hit with authority .. failed to finesse a breakaway pass over the stick of the last defender .. logs a ton of minutes in all situations.

10/26/2004 - Offensively gifted defenseman wears the A .. only his second season playing defense .. amazingly agile on his skates .. partnered with Brock Meadows .. made a forechecker miss at the point and used tremendous speed and strength to fend off a checker to go in unabated on the goalie beating him high on the stick side with a laser-like wrist shot .. delivered a number of tape-to-tape saucer passes .. seems to play every other shift .. flung an effortless wrist shot from the point and ringing it off the post and in for his third straight powerplay goal of the period .. later in the same period scored his fourth straight goal, also on the powerplay .. positionally sound .. will pinch in when opportunity presents itself .. makes the safe play to get it out of his zone, maybe too often .. sees the ice well .. must work on his defensive play in regards to learning to guide players away from the danger areas .. exceptional poise, looks like the Devils have found a real gem.

how long has Eckford been playing defense? if ever there was a case where an organization needs to be patient with a young player this is it. way too early to pass any kind of judgment on his long term potential.

does Patrick Davis have any NHL career?

how long has Eckford been playing defense? if ever there was a case where an organization needs to be patient with a young player this is it. way too early to pass any kind of judgment on his long term potential.

I'm pretty sure he converted sometime during his time in the BCHL. Not 100% sure on that though....He is someone that is going to need plenty of minor pro seasoning, but I think he could be someone that developed properly and not rushed, could turn into a decent player.

the next quesiton I have is would it be more beneficial for Eckford to join the Devils system (ie, Lowell) or will he get the help he needs with his NCAA team the next couple of years?

Pariseisgod,

Patrick Davis is compared to Barry Tallackson although he is not as highly rated and at best projects as a solid 3rd line winger according to reports, his numbers in his first season at Lowell are 5G, 13A, +1 rating in 41 Games.

the next quesiton I have is would it be more beneficial for Eckford to join the Devils system (ie, Lowell) or will he get the help he needs with his NCAA team the next couple of years?

Pariseisgod,

Patrick Davis is compared to Barry Tallackson although he is not as highly rated and at best projects as a solid 3rd line winger according to reports, his numbers in his first season at Lowell are 5G, 13A, +1 rating in 41 Games.

My opinion, with the defensive style of play that is employed throughout the organization in both New Jersey and Lowell, it might not be a horrible idea to get him to Lowell next year. Then again, I think it might be good for him to spend one more season at UAF....Tough call....

My opinion, with the defensive style of play that is employed throughout the organization in both New Jersey and Lowell, it might not be a horrible idea to get him to Lowell next year. Then again, I think it might be good for him to spend one more season at UAF....Tough call....
From what I seen of Davis I don't know if he has the hockey sense to be a 2nd line scorer, I think he could end up like Bates Bataglia or something along those lines.

I think he could end up like Bates Bataglia or something along those lines.

Ew

imho,if the devils give rod pelley the time to get his feet entrenched,the fans will be pleased with the results.pelley is a coaches dream player.if the coach says play simple and stay back ,he will and do nothing but.i'm confident he can be an nhl shutdown center.rod pelley the player though ,has always been a power forward center who scores a ton of goals,hits like a truck and generally wants to destroy the other team.if he has any shortcomings,i would say possibly advanced hockey sense[ala mike peca's ability to position himself defensively] but he has more heart than most players.