Devils draft Alexander Command

      The New Jersey Devils held the twelfth selection in the first round of the NHL Draft and selected Alexander Command, a center from Sweden.

The eighteen-year-old Command is 6'1 and spent last season with Orebro of the Swedish Under 20 league, scoring seventeen goals and twenty-seven assists in thirty games.

 I've often written that I go by others in reviewing the NHL Draft, as I haven't seen enough of these players to form a knowledgeable opinion, but it seems that some see this as a mild surprise, as the Devils were mocked with several other players.

Command's offensive stats last season belie his reputation as an excellent two-way player, and known for physical play, which some compare to the Devils captain, Nico Hischier.

Command will likely return to Sweden for next season.

Boxing Challenge

   Boxing finally has a top-notch fight to discuss as Xander Zayas defends his WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles against former welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis in New York City.

Zayas has won his titles in his last two fights, winning the vacant WBO title over Jorge Perez and adding the WBA strap with a win over Abass Baraou.

Ennis knocked out Uisma Limia in one round in his first bout at the weight.

The difference to me seems to be that Zayas lacks the power to keep Ennis at bay and eventually would be worn down by the pop of Ennis.

The undercard features two prospects on the verge of the top ten in their divisions, with junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas facing Bryce Mills and light heavyweight Ben Whittaker meeting Richie Rivera.

Sunday, former champion Jose Valenzuela meets Edwin De Los Santos in a rematch of their 2022 where De Los Santos stopped Valenzuela in three rounds, handing him his first loss and establishing De Los Santos as a division contender.

Boxing Challenge

WBA and WBO Junior Middleweight Titles, 12 Rds

Xander Zayas vs Jaron "Boots" Ennis

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Ennis Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Zayas Split Decision

Junior Welterweights. 10 Rds

Emiliano Vargas vs Bryce Mills

R.L: Vargas KO 7

TRS: Vargas KO 4

V.S:  Mills Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Ben Whittaker vs Richie Rivera

All; Whittaker Unanimous Decision

Lightweights. 10 Rds

José Valenzuela vs Edwin De Los Santos

R.L: De Los Santos Unanimous Decision

TRS: De Los Santos Split Decision

V.S: Valenzuela Unanimous Decision

Devils add Chisholm and Lombardi

  No, not Shirley Chisholm or Vince Lombardi, but on the eve of the NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils have added two players who should compete for back spots on the roster and, at minimum, help the Devils AHL affiliate in Utica.

The Devils traded their fourth-rounder in this draft to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Amadeus Lombardi, and their fourth-rounder in the 2027 draft to the Washington Capitals for defenseman Declan Chisholm.

Chisholm (pictured) has played for three teams (Winnipeg, Minnesota, and Washington) and played in only twenty-six games, scoring one goal with six assists as the seventh defenseman.

Chisholm will compete for the six/seventh defenseman spot on the roster, but could also bring a veteran presence to a young defensive corps in Utica who could be called to the big club if injuries deem it necessary.

The more intriguing addition is Amadeus Lombardi, for reasons beyond an unusual name, as the twenty-three-year-old center has been very productive at the AHL level and might just need a chance to break through to the NHL.

Lombardi is reported to be a two-way player and has yet to make his NHL debut, having spent the past three seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Lombardi scored sixteen goals with twenty-six assists in forty-seven games for the Griffins and will compete for the center spot on the Devils' third or fourth lines.

Sometimes, a young player who is blocked by better players just needs a chance to prove themselves with another organization, and Lombardi might be one of those players.

Cavaliers select Meleek Thomas

    The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have made a strong move by trading out of the first round and dropping five spots into the second round after their opening draft night deal with the Sacramento Kings.

Cleveland's selection of Arkansas guard Meleek Thomas added one of the better shooters in the draft and one who, at nineteen, has the potential to eventually be a key contributor down the road.

The 6'5 Thomas played one season in college at Arkansas for John Calipari, averaging just under sixteen points per game, shooting forty-three percent from the floor and an impressive forty-one percent from three-point distance.

Thomas was a five-star recruit for Arkansas after playing his high school basketball in Pittsburgh and entering the draft. He was rated by most as a mid to late first-rounder, so on talent, Thomas would seem to be a steal in the second round.

Thomas is regarded as an excellent shooter, has been described as a "Gifted Scorer", and his offensive game made me think of Vinnie "The Microwave" Johnson, the Detroit Pistons sixth man in the late eighties and early nineties.

Thomas does have some flaws, as he's been noted to play out of control and needs major league work on the defensive end, but at only nineteen, Thomas's potential is worth taking in the second round.

I'd park him with the G-League's Cleveland Charge for as many games as possible and hope he can improve enough to be a key contributor and an offensive catalyst off the bench.

Cavaliers trade out of Round One

   The Cleveland Cavaliers were rumored to have been shopping their first-round pick during the first night of the NBA Draft, and I thought they would move the pick.

Not on any brilliance on my part, but because I was very tired, and usually in these situations, the result isn't worth staying awake.

And the Cavaliers didn't disappoint, trading the next-to-last choice in the first round (29th, originally the property of the San Antonio Spurs) to the Sacramento Kings for the 34th pick (the fourth pick in round two) and a "future second-rounder".

I bracketed those words because the pick wasn't specified, but was described to Cleveland.com as "in the distant future".

The deal is uninspiring, but it makes sense because a second-round choice isn't automatically tied to the team's salary structure as a first-round choice would be, and, given the Cavaliers' cap situation, they need to save wherever they can.

Interesting prospects available in round two include center Henri Veesaar of North Carolina, forward Isaiah Evans of Duke, and guards Maleek Thomas of Arkansas, Ryan Conwell of Louisville, and Bruce Thornton of Ohio State

Devils trade Nemec to Flames, add two number ones

      Days before the NHL Draft, the new general manager of the New Jersey Devils, Sunny Mehta, made his first trade, and it's a very interesting move that dealt from the team's deepest position with the bonus of adding future draft capital.

New Jersey traded defenseman Simon Nemec and winger Maxim Tsyplakov to the Calgary Flames for two future first-round draft picks, a second-rounder in Friday's draft, and minor league defenseman Etienne Morin.

Nemec is coming off his best season with New Jersey since being selected second overall by the Devils in the 2022 draft, scoring eleven goals with fifteen assists, and at only twenty-two, the Devils could be selling low on Nemec.

New Jersey has already spent money on locking up Luke Hughes in the defensive corps, and Nemec will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, so it does make sense that Nemec was the most valued member of the group.

New Jersey will also have their top pick in 2024, Anton Silayev, available for the upcoming season, so despite Nemec's talent, the Devils may have been smart to move him now.

Maxim Tsyplakov is a toss-in in the trade after splitting last season between the Islanders and Devils, scoring two goals with two assists in forty-nine combined games.

New Jersey will be receiving a first-round pick in 2027 (originally property of Las Vegas) and a first-round pick in 2028 (originally Colorado's) and the Islanders' second-rounder in this year's draft.

Both first-rounders are top-ten protected.

The Devils now own five first-rounders in the next three drafts, so Sunny Mehta could have some ammo to add a forward to their top six.

Etienne Morin scored one goal with six assists for the Calgary Wranglers, the Flames' AHL affiliate, last season, and at twenty-one, still can be considered a prospect. 

Boxing Challenge

  A quick catch-up to keep the challenge standings up to date

Chris Billam-Smith TKO 7 Ryan Rozicki

Masamichi Yabuki won a unanimous decision over Rene Calixto to retain his IBF Flyweight title.

Andrew Moloney won a majority decision over Willibaldo Garcia to win Garcia's IBF Junior Bantamweight title.

John Riel Casimero KO 4 Luis Nery in a battle of former bantamweight champions.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 62 Pts (4)

Ramon Malpica: 50 Pts (3)

Vince Samano: 42 Pts (2)