With the Devils defeated in the first round, it’s time to look at some positional needs in the Devils prospect pool ahead of the draft.
If I only had one word to sum up the Devils needs in its prospect pool it would be one word: centers. If I could have a few more words, it would be offensive forwards.
Despite a bit of a depletion due to trades, the Devils pool is still pretty stacked on the back end with Seamus Casey, Simon Nemec, Anton Silayev, and to a lesser extent Topias Vilen, Daniil Orlov, Ethan Edwards and to an even lesser extent some potential developing longer shots in Daniil Karpovich and Chase Cheslock. If there is any criticism in the pool, it’s perhaps the Devils could use another right-handed shot or two with NHL potential. Simon Nemec is likely going to graduate from the pool full time to the NHL next season highlighting that weakness in the pool on the right side sooner rather than later.
Similarly, the Devils have some quality goaltenders in their pool for the first time in a long time. While there was some hype around Akira Schmid and Nico Daws, neither have stuck at the higher levels yet. Both goaltenders put up terrific numbers in the NHL this year in limited starts. Schmid, for the Vegas Golden Knights, finished the season 2-0-1 with a 1.26 GAA and .944 SV% in limited action. Nico Daws, on the other hand, put up very similar numbers with a 3-1-0 record, 1.60 GAA and .939 SV%. Oddly, both goaltenders struggled in the AHL this year for two subpar teams, Schmid for the Henderson Silver Knights and Daws for the Utica Comets.
The Devils no longer have Schmid and Daws will have a one-way contract for the Devils next season. Jakub Malek will likely contend for the backup Devils role with Daws after a season as one of the best goalies in the Liiga. The emergence of Mikhail Yegorov at Boston University gives the Devils system someone to look forward to growing into their net years down the road. After that, Veeti Louhivaara is probably the strongest, albeit very raw prospect in net, putting up respectable, but not overwhelming numbers for JYP’s U20 team in 19 games. Tyler Brennan has one more year left on his contract, but has struggled in the ECHL, platooning with Jeremy Brodeur, who has been the stronger of the two netminders.
There is nothing wrong with additional goalie depth and the position is a fickle one, which is very difficult to project. That said, I would prefer if the Devils grabbed a goalie later in the draft and not used a 2nd round pick on one as they have done many times in recent drafts. This assumes that Joshua Ravensbergen is long gone by the time the Devils make their first selection. If someone like him falls, you take him as best player available.
That brings us to the forwards. Center depth is notorious non-existent the pool. The Utica Comets signed Matyas Melovsky to a one-year-deal. Melovsky exploded in the QMJHL this year with 83 points in 57 games. After Melovsky, there’s Samu Salminen, another forward who also plays center and wing heading into his senior season at the University of Denver. That’s it for players of prospect age. Those two guys.
The scoring winger cupboard is a little bit better with two great prospects in Arseni Gritsyuk and Lenni Hameenaho. Gritsyuk will likely graduate from the pool once he signs his contract with the Devils and Hameenaho may not be much further behind. After that, two players showed great promise in their AHL debuts at the end of the season in Shane LaChance and Cam Squires. There’s a steep drop after that. Kasper Pikkarainen still has a shot to turn into something, but lost a year of development with an injury. Josh Filmon had a dreadful season and is trying to earn his way back to the Comets. Unless the Devils sign him soon, they are likely to lose Cole Brown, who has committed to the University of Notre Dame.
Recently, the Devils traded away useful forward prospects in Herman Traff, Zakhar Bardakov and Max Graham and those losses are starting to be felt in the pool. The Colorado Avalanche recently signed Bardakov to his one-year ELC starting next season. Bardakov is exactly the type of two-way, gritty, pesky, identity forward with offensive skills the Devils need in their bottom six. But hey, the Devils got Kurtis MacDermid for him, so there’s that.
All in all, if the draft board lines up, I would like the Devils to focus on refilling the forward cupboard, especially at center, snag a late round right-handed defenseman and throw a dart at a goalie in the fourth or fifth round. If they could find another Bardakov-esque player somewhere that would be swell. As the Devils currently do not have a first round pick, best player available is usually a range of similarly-flawed projects later in the draft, but of course, if someone falls who shouldn’t, you take him.