DRAFT: ESPN's Chris Peters Breaks Down Prospects

With three first-round picks in this year's 2020 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils will have an opportunity to add some incredible talent to their organization. Who might they take in the first round? ESPN's Chris Peters joined the
Speak of the Devils podcast
to break down some of the top names in the draft and how he believes they could fit in the Devils franchise.

Matt Loughlin: "Where do you see New Jersey picking at number seven, who they'll be picking and what possibilities do you see of players maybe moving or sliding a bit?"
Chris Peters: The Devils are in a really interesting position here because there's really not a huge consensus after number one. I think everybody agrees Alexis Lafreniere is going to go number one to the Rangers or you know, unless that pick gets moved or whatever, he's going to be the number one pick. So then it goes, 'okay, who comes next?' And now you're going to see those guys kind of slide and Ottawa holds a lot of the keys to the remainder of the draft. They have the third and fifth picks, they could go forward, defenseman. They could go two forwards. It really changes the dynamic of how the rest of the things go."
"So spoiler for the ESPN+ piece, I had Lucas Raymond, who is actually my fourth ranked prospect, falling to the Devils at seven. The interesting thing there is that there's not a huge consensus, so it could happen where a Lucas Raymond is available in that range. I think what you have with him is a highly talented wing, very skilled creative player, played for Frolunda in the SHL, which is one of the best developmental teams in the entire Swedish Federation essentially…Didn't get quite the minutes of some of the more experienced players but was a huge player there. Was a superstar at last year's Under-18 World Championship where he scored a hat trick in the gold medal game to beat Russia."
"So he's a fascinating player to me. I think he's exactly the kind of player that the Devils need. Now, he's not a huge guy, I think that it'd be nice if there was a bigger player, and maybe that means you'll like Alexander Holtz better than Lucas Raymond, who's bigger. He's a goal scorer. [Holtz] would fit really nicely with let's say a Jack Hughes, put him with a playmaker."
"And then you think is maybe Cole Perfetti, a more dynamic kind of Patrick Kane type wing, where he can slow the game down, he can make plays, he can gain the zone. He's probably got some of the best hands, if not the best hands in the draft. Again, he's not a huge guy, he's a pretty average sized player."
"Then you look at defensemen…there are so many good options, but you've got Jake Sanderson, Jamie Drysdale. One of those two guys could very well be there. And then you have a decision to make because there are elite defensemen…There's a lot of factors to consider there, but those are the types of names that you're going to be hearing."
Chris Wescott: "I want to hear a little bit more about Rossi…what are your thoughts on him and how quickly he could be ready to be an impact player in the NHL or at least be able to hold his own?"
CP: "Marco Rossi, he's not tall, but he's incredibly strong. His lower body is incredibly strong and explosive. He's not necessarily the fastest skater, but he is so solid on his skates and he engages physically and he gets after pucks and he has kind of like a bulldog mentality."
"I don't think there are many players in this draft that could play right away outside of Lafreniere, but Rossi is one of those guys where you bring him in camp and he is going to try and force his way onto that roster. He's dominated at the junior level. I don't think there's a lot more that he could do there."
"He's a really intriguing player and you know, I think I ended up having him eight on my mock draft and he's just one of those guys where he could go just about anywhere. It wouldn't surprise me because opinions are all over the map on him right now."
ML: "What separates Jamie Drysdale from Jake Sanderson?"
CP: "The difference for me, the separating factor is that Jake Sanderson is a much better defender, a much more well-rounded defender. He's physical. He has incredible gap control. Where Drysdale is a dynamic skater, Sanderson is a powerful speed skater where he can just absolutely close gaps, he gets back quickly."
"There's been some doubt about [Sanderson's] offensive game, but one of the last events he played in, was a Five Nations tournament in February, just before everything kind of went kaput. He tied for the tournament lead in scoring there, was dynamic on the power play, made a lot of great shots…If you're looking for a guy that can be on your blue line for years and years and years, I feel more comfortable projecting Jake Sanderson as a top pairing defenseman than I do Drysdale."
ML: How different is this year in terms of evaluation? Season ended early, Europe is starting up, so another look at some of those guys. How crazy is this and how certain can scouts and GMs be of what they're going to do in October?"
CP: "There's a huge emphasis on the video scouting now, and there are some great companies that have really been on the forefront of providing that content to teams and making sure that they have the ability to watch these players shift by shift, or full games…So you have to use what's available to you."
CW: "What about the mental side too? [With] socialization with the player, what's missing in terms of the scouts?"
CP: "There are a couple of things. The first is that person to person interaction, I think it's different. The good news is that hopefully they've had area scouts that have met a good chunk of these guys before everything got shut down. And that helps, but that's not the GM meeting that player, that's relying on someone else's opinion. And so that's something that's missing is that the GM is typically going to be most involved in the combine process, where they are the ones that can kind of conduct the interview and really get down to the player."
"I think one of the most important things missing from the combine, it's not the physical testing, it's the medical testing and not having a centralized medical testing situation where it's an independent doctor."
"I think the interviews and the medical part are the most important things [missing from this year]."