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MCDevils
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Well I was drafting this a few days ago, but Uncle Lou beat me to the punch.
With Zajac's injury, I figured that Adam Henrique, our highest rated non-NHL center, was going to be the most crucial player to watch going into camp.
However, Lou's quotes indicate that Henqiue is pretty much a shoe-in. Right now we have only 2 actual centers penciled into the lineup: JJ, Steckel. Let's assume that Elias is forced to switch to center because of Zajac's injury. That still leaves us short a 3rd/4th line center. We have 6 "offensive" wingers read to play this season (Kovalchuk, Parise, Zubrus, Tedenby, Clarkson, Palmieri) This would indicate that the Devils are going to need another "offensive" center for the third line. Steckel isn't exactly offensive (per his time last year) So Henrique might have a really legit shot to crack one of the top 3 center spots.
In fact Lou even went as far as calling Henrique our "best prospect" last years camp going in, but for some reason he didn't perform well. Lou assumed it was back to back memorial cup runs + scoring a goal per game in the second one and being MVP.
Henrique also scored 25 goals for Albany, something that a legit prospect hasn't done down there for a long time. Parise only scored 18. AND Henrique got off to a horrendous start in the AHL last season. He would easily have scored 30 if it weren't for his exhaustion.
Furthermore, he's supposed to be good in all ends, so slotting him in between Clarkson and and Zubrus seems like a great fit.
=====
Larsson
I honestly think that he's going to have to lose this spot just based on his stature. TG points out that 4 spots are guaranteed to regulars.
Mark Fayne also deserves one of those IMO because if you watched last seasons second half, he was totally off the charts great. In fact, he was probably even better than Tallinder who was ridiculously good.
Where that leaves us is the following debacle.. If Larsson doesn't seem like he's going to be higher than a 5/6 should he be in NJ? Realistically, I think the answer is no. He's probably better off playing in the AHL or SEL to start the year where we know he's going to play enormous minutes versus 10 as a 5/6. A kid with potential needs to be playing to develop, we'll see what happens. After all, Parise didn't need the extra playing time in his rookie season.
With Zajac's injury, I figured that Adam Henrique, our highest rated non-NHL center, was going to be the most crucial player to watch going into camp.
However, Lou's quotes indicate that Henqiue is pretty much a shoe-in. Right now we have only 2 actual centers penciled into the lineup: JJ, Steckel. Let's assume that Elias is forced to switch to center because of Zajac's injury. That still leaves us short a 3rd/4th line center. We have 6 "offensive" wingers read to play this season (Kovalchuk, Parise, Zubrus, Tedenby, Clarkson, Palmieri) This would indicate that the Devils are going to need another "offensive" center for the third line. Steckel isn't exactly offensive (per his time last year) So Henrique might have a really legit shot to crack one of the top 3 center spots.
In fact Lou even went as far as calling Henrique our "best prospect" last years camp going in, but for some reason he didn't perform well. Lou assumed it was back to back memorial cup runs + scoring a goal per game in the second one and being MVP.
Henrique also scored 25 goals for Albany, something that a legit prospect hasn't done down there for a long time. Parise only scored 18. AND Henrique got off to a horrendous start in the AHL last season. He would easily have scored 30 if it weren't for his exhaustion.
Furthermore, he's supposed to be good in all ends, so slotting him in between Clarkson and and Zubrus seems like a great fit.
=====
Larsson
I honestly think that he's going to have to lose this spot just based on his stature. TG points out that 4 spots are guaranteed to regulars.
Mark Fayne also deserves one of those IMO because if you watched last seasons second half, he was totally off the charts great. In fact, he was probably even better than Tallinder who was ridiculously good.
Where that leaves us is the following debacle.. If Larsson doesn't seem like he's going to be higher than a 5/6 should he be in NJ? Realistically, I think the answer is no. He's probably better off playing in the AHL or SEL to start the year where we know he's going to play enormous minutes versus 10 as a 5/6. A kid with potential needs to be playing to develop, we'll see what happens. After all, Parise didn't need the extra playing time in his rookie season.
