New Jersey Devils Steal Nikita Popugaev During NHL Draft

The New Jersey Devils jumped on the doubts of 30 other teams to draft Nikita Popugaev in the fourth round of the NHL Draft. This steal could become the best player from the team’s draft outside of Nico Hischier.

Nikita Popugaev is one of the many overseas players the New Jersey Devils drafted this weekend, but he is completely different than every other prospect. His value plummeted. It was so bad, he was taken close to 80 picks after some mock draft projections. Teams decided to draft elsewhere for three full rounds. While the kid who was once ranked as the 16th best prospect in the draft by The Hockey Writers, something happened to cause him to fall.

Popugaev is clearly a very confident player. He told Sportsnet he compares himself to fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin. In that same article, hockey analyst Jeff Marek questioned whether he could bring “it” every night.

“There’s no denying the talent, but is the will there every night? A big, strong winger who can dominate games physically.”

He’s gigantic. It’s not everyday that you see a 6’6 left winger. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned how to use his physical presence to his advantage.

Questions about his effort are one main reason for Popugaev’s massive drop in the rankings. He also has some issues with his skating. His acceleration leaves much to be desired. There are real negatives to his game, but those can easily be fixed if he’s willing to work on them.

Coming into the draft, Popugaev’s stock already fell into the second round in most mock drafts. However, not many had him going past pick 50. The Devils passed on him with pick 36, 63 and 81. The team hopes that can be a wakeup call for him.

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There is a chance that Popugaev could completely flame out in the NHL and go back to the KHL before ever putting on a Devils sweater. There’s also the chance Popuchaev becomes motivated to the point that he works harder than ever. He could see time in the NHL as soon as 2018-19 if he refines his game throughout the season. His skills are that good.

The Devils made a great pick at 98. The upside on Popugaev is through the roof, and his downside is a fourth-round pick doesn’t make the league, which happens all the time. This may end up as Ray Shero’s best pick of his tenure.