New Jersey Devils: 5 Possible 2nd-Round Picks In NHL Draft

Tobias Björnfot

Going defense in the 2nd round is an interesting proposition. There are very few stars who fall out of the 1st round on the blue line, but every so often one falls through the cracks. Usually, those are overseas players, because it’s hard to tell what they are with such different rules and different ice sheets.

Tobias Björnfot is all over the map when it comes to draft projections. I saw one place that predicted he could crack the top ten. He’s not going to crack the top ten, nowhere near it actually.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie has him going around 45. He’s been falling down draft boards, but it’s not really sure why. It’s hard to judge a defenseman based on the points he scored, since so much is out of their hands, but he did score 11 goals in the SuperElit league. That’s not bad for a guy on the blue line.

Björnfot has been performing at an elite level since he was 16 years old. Almost every single one of those players is taken very, very high in the draft, especially defensemen. However, people were freaked out by the fact his point total was the same year over year. Most players make a major jump in points in the year they become draft eligible. I implore you, this could be a very good defenseman, and if the Devils were somehow able to get him with the 54th pick, we need to celebrate.

Even if the Devils get Bowen Byram in the 1st round, they should still take Bjornfot if he falls to them at the Predators pick. His upside is stupendous, and he could be a career NHLer one year after the draft.