Is Steve Santini A Possible Trade Piece For The New Jersey Devils?
With the New Jersey Devils’ 2014-15 season slipping away at an alarming rate, one possible route the could go is to become buyers at the NHL Trade Deadline and make a big run to the playoffs. To acquire such a difference-maker, the Devils are going to have to unload quite the amount of talent. Steve Santini is a possible choice for such a trade.
Background
Steve Santini is from Mahopac, New York. Santini started to become noticed by prospects as he participated on the United States Under-17 team as well as serving time on the U.S. Developmental Team in 2011-12. The next season, he continued to become noticed through Team USA as he graduated to the USA Under-18 team and played in 7 Under-18 World Junior Championship games in 2012-13.
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The Devils then selected him in the 2013 NHL Draft in the second round, 42nd overall. Last season, Santini participated on the USA Under-20 team and scored a goal in five games during last year’s Under-20 World Junior Championships. He also played his freshman season with highly touted Boston College in the NCAA. In 35 games, Santini registered three goals and eight assists.
This season, he was selected to the Under-20 USA squad for the World Championships that will begin in a couple of weeks, but the injury that he sustained will likely keep him out of it. In just four games in sophomore season at BC, Santini has one goal in four games.
Style of Play
The general consensus on Santini is that he is a “shutdown defenseman” with “limited offensive skills” according to Hockey’s Future.
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Santini’s skill set will bring more physicality to a New Jersey defensive unit that boasts more offense than defense. Since Santini is only in his second season at Boston College out of four, there is still a lot of time for Steve to develop. This year was his last opportunity to be on Team USA for the World Junior’s, but there is plenty of time for him to potentially make a splash on Team USA for the senior team. That would obviously be far down the road, but Santini has come up through the system and will definitely be on their radar in the future.
His defense-first attitude can be greatly valued on a team that can be balanced between Eric Gelinas, Jon Merrill and Damon Severson offensively, along with Seth Helgeson defensively.
His Value
Santini’s value isn’t high enough to pull in a big star alone or with a single draft pick. He can still pull his weight in a trade, however, and can be a valuable asset to trade. Of course, it also depends on who the Devils will ultimately trade for, but there is still time for him to become even more valuable as he serves his time in the NCAA with such a prestigious hockey school as Boston College.
Bottom Line
I’m not saying the Devils should definitely trade Steve Santini. I’m merely saying he can be of great value in a trade that involves a few pieces. Santini has a terrific upside as he is yet another fine addition to a strong defensive prospect pool. If the Devils aren’t looking to trade the likes of Gelinas, Severson, Merrill or Helgeson, Santini can be a possible trade piece.
Do you think the Devils could use Steve Santini as a valuable trade piece down the road? There isn’t a black or white answer to this. There’s a lot of gray area involved in trades so we would like to hear what you think in the comments below, as well as on Twitter or Facebook.