New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: A Smaller Pool Edition

We take a look at the status of the Devils prospect pool after the trade deadline.

Trade deadlines often involve trades. This one had some. This post is not to discuss the merits of those trades on the Devils playoff chances, but rather how this deadline affects the current the prospect pool.

IN

Shane LaChance

In what was arguably Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald’s best move of the trade deadline, the Devils acquired winger Shane LaChance to help facilitate the the Trent Frederic trade between the Bruins and the Oilers. LaChance is a 21-year-old towering 6’5’’, 218 pound power forward captaining the Boston University Terriers. Thus far this season, LaChance has 10 goals and 26 assists in 31 games.

While it’s doubtful LaChance will be the next Tage Thompson as this article by Brett Slawson of the Hockey Writer’s considers, power forwards tend to develop a little bit later and LaChance could very well develop into a scorer in the NHL one day. In short, far from a sure thing, LaChance has the potential to be a player should he put everything together and his arrival into the pool lessens the sting of losing another power forward prospect in Herman Traff (more on him below). Welcome to the pool, Shane LaChance.

It’s worth noting that the Devils acquired other AHL players who are over the prospect age in moves at the deadline, but given their ages, I left them out of the post. For more information on them, check out John’s update on the trade deadline here.

OUT

Herman Traff

Winger Herman Traff was the most-legitimate of the prospects the Devils lost at the trade deadline as part of the Brian Dumoulin trade. With 7 points in 25 SHL games this year, Dobber Prospects gives the 19-year-old power forward a PNHLe of 41, which is in line with the projection potential of a future 2nd line forward. Traff was also the only Devils prospect to play in the World Juniors this past year. Though still very much a work in progress, Traff is a decent prospect with legitimate potential and will be very much missed in the pool.

Max Graham

Forward Max Graham, known for his fisticuffs, was enjoying his best season in the WHL with 35 points in 34 games before a season-ending knee injury requiring surgery. The injury was a shame as the captain of the Kelowna Rockets was really starting to find his game. Should Graham fully recover, it’s not hard to envision the pesky forward playing the part of a two-way pest on a NHL 4th line someday. Graham departed the Devils prospect pool as part of the Cody Glass trade.

Chase Stillman

Also leaving the Devils pool as part of the Cody Glass trade is 21-year-old former first rounder Chase Stillman. The winger never really put it together offensively since his draft year and was languishing with 9 points in 46 games for the Comets this season. Hopefully, a change in scenery will help Stillman, who has the intangibles to help a NHL club if he can ever provide enough offensively in a bottom six role.

Adam Beckman

The Devils also traded Utica Comets forward Adam Beckman in a deal for 27-year-old journeyman defenseman Dennis Cholowski, who played for the Red Wings, Capitals, Kraken, and most recently 33 games for the Islanders this season. Beckman was having a strong season for the Comets with 35 points in 43 games, but his defensive play has prevented him from getting a call-up in New Jersey. If Beckman’s offense could be combined with the rest of Stillman’s game, they would be a very good prospect. Alas, as cloning hasn’t achieved that level yet, the players are who they are and Beckman will be moving on looking for his shot elsewhere.

Petr Hauser

Lastly, the Devils lost the rights to winger Petr Hauser to facilitate the Trent Frederic trade. The 21-year-old winger had struggled to stick in the top Czechia league until recent weeks, when he finally scored his first goal in the top league for HC Vitkovice and added two assists in another game. The recent offense aside, it has been clear for awhile that Petr Hauser’s pathway, if one still even exists, to the NHL was going to be a very uphill climb. We wish Hauser luck in his future endeavors.

Around the Pool

• Utica defeated Syracuse 4-1 on Friday night thanks to a monstrous four point (2 G, 2 A) game from Nathan Legare. Joe Gambardella also scored twice in a three point effort for the Comets. Nico Daws earned the win stopping 17 of 18 shots. Daws improved to 7-15-2 on the season to go along with a 3.26 GAA and .892 SV%. For comparison sake, platooning goaltender Isaac Poulter is 13-10-6 for the Comets this year with a 2.86 GAA and .900 SV%.
• Winger Lenni Hameenaho pots his 20th for Assat, his first 20 goal season in the Liiga, six more tallies than he had last year.

• Forward Kasper Pikkarainen has returned from injury a bit sooner than expected, even scoring his first goal for TPS U20 in the SM-Liiga. Pikkarainen had not played since opening night for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL and was expected to miss the season.
• Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov has started 12 straight games for Boston University, riding a 1.89 GAA and .935 SV% going into Saturday night. The kid needs to work on his celebrations, though.

• Lastly, Goaltender Jakub Malek still leads the Liiga with a 2.09 GAA, but not every play can be magic. He’d probably want this one back.

Your Take

Let us know your thoughts on this or any other prospects below.