Your Newest New Jersey Devil: Pavel Zacha

Well Ray Shero, In your first major move as the General Manager of the New Jersey Devils I will give you a B. Yes, you drop a full letter grade because your name isn't Lou Lamoniello. Regardless, not too much to hate about this pick. Fast, physical player with a heavy shot and a high ceiling. Hell, looks good to me. Really the only thing that would have been disappointing here is if they went off the board or drafted a defenseman.  People can complain that they like this player better, or that player was a better fit, but at the end of the day 95% of hockey fans don't know shit about these guys other than a glorified 5 minute highlight reel. And yes, I include myself in that 95%. Shocking really that I don't dedicate a lot of time to overseas scouting. Pavel Zacha never let the smile leave his face, thought he aced the interview with New Jersey, and most importantly, he wants to be here. That's more than you can say for most of the cocksuckers that left this team when we were good. 

Hey, I don't want to pump anyone's tires, but the forward depth in this franchise just growth exponentially with one pick. When you have 0 blue chip prospects up front, drafting one makes all the difference in the world. Is it a possibility that Zacha goes back to play an another year in the OHL before being NHL ready? Eh, it's more like a probability, but here is the thing. You don't draft for next year. Especially when the cupboard is as bare as it currently is. Unless there is a host of moves in store during the rest of the offseason the Devils aren't in a 'win no' situation. You take the best player, or the player you think is the best player, and hope he develops into your number one center down the road. From the looks of things he has all the attributes you would want at the position. If it takes a year or two to come to fruition then so be it. Until then I am just glad to have a kid with a ton of potential that wants to be in New Jersey. Sometimes that seems like it's almost too much to ask. 

Zacha: "I can't describe how happy I am right now because I'm a New Jersey Devil. I was hoping I would be drafted there."

— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) June 27, 2015

Pavel Zacha has a picture with Patrik Elias from when he brought the Stanley Cup to the Czech Rep. Wants to get him to sign it.

— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) June 27, 2015

Call me the eternal optimist, but the way I read that was the Devils just drafted Ryan Getzlaf with a beautiful head of hair and a great sense of humor. One word: SOLD.

Zacha: "I like to play like Ryan Getzlaf because he's a two-way player. He's strong, big and has a really good shot."

— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) June 27, 2015

Zacha speaks English quite well. He learned it from watching U.S. movies with subtitles. One he watched repeatedly -- Dumb and Dumber.

— Tom Gulitti (@TGfireandice) June 27, 2015