Why The Devils Are Better Than The Rangers

In yesterday's Daily News, Sherry Ross (who used to do the Devils play by play) wrote the following:

"Both the Rangers (at No. 12) and the Islanders (at No. 15) had chances to draft Zach Parise in 2003 before the Devils traded up to get him at No. 17, in case you're wondering why the best hockey organization in the tri-state area is the one in New Jersey." http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/story/500475p-422016c.html

That got me thinking about the hockey draft in a way that is typically reserved for football. By examining the draft of both the Rangers and the Devils, one begins to see why the Devils have been the far better franchise since the ealry 1990s.

The 1st Round

I think a good place to start is 1987. It is the earliest draft that you still find a significant number of currently active players. Plus, with the typical trajectory to the NHL, 1987 is probably the best draft to look at for players impact in the 1990s.

1987 - Devils drafted 3rd Selected Brendan Shanahan; Rangers drafted 10th selected Jason Moye. Shanahan is still an all-star, was once one of the top players in the game, and brought the Devils back Scott Stevens. Moye was a journeyman defenseman who stuck around the NHL for a long time.

1989 - Devils drafted 5th Selected Bill Guerin. Rangers drafted 20th selected Steven Rice. Guerin also was one of the best players in the league. Rice was a speedster whose game never matched. Guerin brought the Devils Jason Arnott in a trade. Arnott was the pivot between the Devils famous "A" line.

1990 - Probably the worst "mismatch" draft year. The Rangers select 13th take Michael Stewart who never played an NHL game. The Devils select 20th and take hall of famer and one of the top goalies ever, Martin Brodeur. To make matters worse, the Devils actually traded down to get Brodeur.

1991 - Devils select 3rd, take Scott Neidermayer, one of the best all around defensemen in the game today. Rangers select 15th, take the highly skilled Alexei Kovalev. Good pick by both teams.

1993 - Rangers select 8th, take Niklas Sundstrom, a productive defensive forward. Devils select 13th, take Dennis Pederson, who turns out to be the same.

1995 - Rangers traded away 1st round pick in previous years run to the Stanley Cup. Devils trade up and grab Petr Sykora. In parts of 7 seasons, Sykora would score almost 300 points for the Devils.

1998 - The Rangers have the 7th pick and select Manny Malhotra who has found his place in the NHL as a 3rd liner. Selected with the last 2 picks of the 1st round, the Devils select Mike Van Ryn, the effective defenseman who bolted the Devils by going to juniors, and with the last pick of the 1st round, the Devils select the electrifying Scott Gomez who is quite the Rangers killer today. This is where is starts to get really ugly.

1999 - Much is made of the Rangers 2 high draft picks, 4 and 9. They take Pavel Brendl and Jamie Lundmark. Neither is ever a factor for the Rangers. Lundmark is still bouncing around the NHL while Brendl is playing somewhere in Europe. By contrast, the Devils 2nd round Pick Mike Commodore won a cup with the Devils and is the leader of the Hurricanes.

2000 - A bad Rangers team trades away its 1st round pick. Selecting 22nd, the Devils take current NHLer David Hale.

2003 - The Rangers and Islanders pass on Zach Parise, the Devils gladly scoop him up. He is on pace to score about 40 goals this year.

2004 - The jury is still out. The Rangers had the 6th pick and take prospect goalie Al Montoya. Selecting 20th, the Devils take Travis Zajac, currently in his rookie year as the Devils 2nd line center.

The "Other" Draft Picks

For this section I am going to look
at current players on each teams roster that where drafted by that team in any round besides the first.

The Rangers - Petr Prucha was drafted in the 8th round and had a highly productive rookie year. His 2nd year, not so much. Fedor Tyutin was slected in the 2nd round. He is a solid defenseman with potential to get better. Ryan Hollweg is another 8th rounder. He is a tough 4th line player. Henrik Lundqvist is an 8th round pleasant surprise.

The Devils - 2nd rounder Patrik Elias is the Devils captain. 3rd Rounder Brian Gionta has a knack for finding the net. He had 48 last year and was leading the team this year before he hurt his groin. 2nd rounder Sergei Brylin is a plugger who has been a key part of 3 stanley cup winning teams. Paul Martin and his offensive defensive skills were a steal in the 2nd round. Another 2nd rounder, Jay Pandolfo is probably the best defensive forward in the NHL. He is the guy you put on Jaromir Jagr to stop him. And stop him he does. Colin White, a 2nd round pick, is the backbone of the Devils blueline. Mike Rupp was drafted by the Devils in the 3rd round after the Isles failed to sign him after they took him in the 1st round in 1998. Rupp has been dealt and brought back and brings size to the PP in addition to his role on the 4th line. Jim Dowd is back with the Devils after a long career. The 4th line forward was originally an 8th round pick in 1987. Cam Janssen, a 4th round pugilist, is one of the NHLs most willing fighters. In his 2nd season, he scored his first career goal against the Caps this weekend. My wife and I still can't believe it.

Thats a pretty significant mismatch.

The Undrafted Free Agents

Every team has players who, for whatever reason, did not sign professional contracts. Some were drafted but never signed, others went undrafted and developed later into NHL players.

For The Rangers that group includes plucky Jed Ortmeyer, and NHL defensemen Daniel Girardi and and Thomas Pock.

The Devils again blow the Rangers away in this category as their undrafted players include top NHL defenseman Brian Rafalski who the Devils stole from Finland after a productive career at the University of Wisconsin. John Madden's coach at the University of Michigan told undrafted John Madden he would never be an NHL player. Madden has scored 20 goals in a season, won the Selke trophy for best defensive forward, and is probably one of the best 3rd line centers in the entire league. The Devils have grabbed other undrafted college players as well, including defensemen Andy Greene and Alex Brooks, who are both with the Devils but injured, Forward Rod Pelley who has been with the Devils for 4 games this year and is rumored to be on the trading block, and even Scott Clemenson, the ever patient backup goalie, who won his first game against the Caps this weekend.

This does not address trades because they are too hard to assess. The Rangers brought in Jaromir Jagr, who is the most talented player on either team to be acquired by trade. However, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the Devils trade for unhrealded Jamie Langenbrunner was actually a better trade.

So, leaving trades aside, the Devils have done a better job scouting. They have done better in the 1st round regardless of where they have picked. They have had far more success in the later rounds and the heart and soul of the Devils was slected outside round 1 (Elias, Gionta, White and Pandolfo). And they have done a better job scouting and signing undrafted players.

One day, Lou Lamoriello will retire or leave the Devils and a whole bunch of NY Rangers fans will breathe a sigh of relief. Until then, the Rangers, with all their NY glitz and money, will always be looking up at the Devils in the standings.