The 2019 New Jersey Devils Development Camp has come and gone. Fans were able to see some of the bright young prospects within the organization bring a sense of excitement back to the club. This years camp roster had a vast majority of players hand selected by Ray Shero and Paul Castron.
The last draft to have any sort of trace of Lou Lamoriello and David Conte was the 2015 draft. Only 3 of the players from that draft taken by the Devils were on the roster this year in Blake Speers, Brett Seney, and Colton White. Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood did not participate even though he was eligible to participate, while Pavel Zacha has far surpassed his “prospect” moniker.
The prospect list that Shero and Castron has been able to put together far surpasses anything Lamoriello and Conte were able to for quite some time. The Devils reaped the rewards of drafting well during their Stanley Cup winning years, but dove into a state of mediocrity by not drafting well the decade after. Lamoriello and Conte were known for finding diamonds in the rough or picking the right guys, but that touch vanished seemingly overnight, or over a lockout year. Shero and Castron have been left to pick up the pieces and completely overhaul the pipeline. In three years, they have done that in spades.
They would not have had the opportunity of drafting well if their predecessors had not failed at the NHL Draft. These are the top five worth New Jersey Devils draft classes since they last won the Stanley Cup back in 2003. Excluded will be 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 because those prospects are still unknown as to how they will pan out. The way that these classes were ranked were who the Devils selected, where they were selected, who was taken by another team shortly after the Devils pick, how many games they played with the Devils, and who was taken by another team with a Devils draft pick. Strap in and take a trip down a depressing memory lane.