Most of the hype in hockey right now surrounds the vegas Golden Knights and the forthcoming expansion draft so that it’s easy to overlook another significant date on the NHL calendar — the 2017 entry draft.
Teams are going to have just two short days to get ready for the incoming class of NHL talent following their current rosters are sifted through by George McPhee and company but for teams that are picking ancient, it’s likely they know they wish to select and sometimes, that was reflected from the list of players declared that will be shielded from the grasp of the Golden Knights.
Making the first overall pick by way of an extremely fortunate lottery, the New Jersey Devils will have their choice of the litter on Friday and it looks like they will choose between Swiss centre Nico Hischier and Canadian pivot Nolan Patrick if they opt to hang on to the select.
The Devils might have been a year overdue on landing up a star the center, where they are in desperate need, but both of these guys have serious possible and overall manager Ray Shero would be foolish not to draft one of these as his first-line centerman of the future. Sports Interaction has a prop for who’ll go first between both and the odds imply they feel Patrick is the best choice.
As someone who’s followed Nico Hischier’s career carefully, however, I’m not so convinced. Ranked No. 2 by many specialists, the Swiss native played 57 games for the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL last year and that he racked up 86 points for a team that hardly got into the playoffs.
Where the 18-year-old really shone, however, was at the previous world junior championship tournament where he revealed his game-breaking ability to the hockey planet. He helped Switzerland to the quarterfinal round where they almost knocked off the eventual champs in a 3-2 loss to the U.S.A., improving over a campaign in which the Swiss won exactly zero games and were almost relegated in the tournament.
I’m not saying that one of Hischier or Patrick gets the nod from me but I’m saying that this is not as easy a choice for Devils direction as it may appear on its surface. There is no question how well Patrick and his multiplayer drama would’ve fit from the older Lou Lamoriello system and he would’ve become the obvious alternative if Toronto’s boss was still in charge in Jersey. There is some feeling, though, the New Jersey’s requirement for this kind of participant was filled by the selection of Pavel Zacha and the Devils’ 28th-ranked offense could use the enthusiasm and creativity that Hischier brings to the table.
Given that analysis, Hischier’s +150 lineup are the first overall selection seems like good price and I believe that it’s one that has to be considered heading in to this week’s festivities.
Read more here: https://tinnhadat24h.info/2019/10/19/tyson-fury-interrupts-wwe-event-and-is-restrained-by-security/