New Jersey Devils First Round Offensive Draft Targets

Vitali Kravtsov C/W Russia

Kravtsov is one of the few players I believe the Devils should actually take if he falls to 17.  At the same time he’s been projected to fall out of the 1st round in certain mock drafts.  These projections are likely because teams are still fearful when drafting Russians out of the KHL, but Kravtsov is only under contract in the KHL for one more year.  The reality is, spending a year playing full time in the KHL is better for his development.

He’s 6’2” 180 pounds and can play all three forward positions, but has primarily played RW.  The Devils have solid LW depth currently with Taylor Hall, Marcus Johansson, Miles Wood, John Quenneville, Blake Coleman, Jesper Bratt, and Jesper Boqvist.

Whoever the Devils draft at 17 will likely take at least a year to develop. If Kravtsov comes over after a year in the KHL, he’ll likely be ready to step directly into a top 6 role.

Kravtsov wasn’t great in the KHL regular season, posting just seven points. However, he had 6 goals and 5 assists in 16 playoff games as his team Traktor Chelyabinsk made the conference finals.  He’s a high end forward that could fill the Devils need for a shooter in the top six down the line.