New Jersey Devils: 5 Possibilities With 6th-Overall Pick In NHL Draft
By Nick Villano
Jamie Drysdale
The Devils need a game-breaking defenseman after passing on Bowen Byram and Miro Heiskanen/Cale Makar in 2017. Now, it’s not like the Devils got bad players with the number-one overall pick. They went with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, which at the end of the day could provide a bigger impact in the long run. Still, that left a hole on the blue line that P.K. Subban could not fill.
Jamie Drysdale is the best defenseman in the 2020 NHL Draft, and it’s not particularly close. He’s slightly undersized, which is very concerning. He stands at 5’11 and 170 lbs. The Devils currently have Subban (6’0, 210), Will Butcher (5’10, 190), Damon Severson (6’2, 210) and next year they’ll have Ty Smith (5’11, 175). Only one of the defenseman on the Devils is taller than six feet on next year’s team, so adding another smaller defenseman could put them at a disadvantage overall.
Still, he was a driving force for Team Canada’s win at the World Junior Championship. He played on the bottom line, at times with Devils prospect Kevin Bahl. It was a stacked Canadian defense, with Smith and Byram running the show as older players.
He’s an absolute workhorse, playing more than 25 minutes on most nights. He had 47 points in 49 games despite dealing with an injury. His recovery time is really good, which will help with how often the Devils give up a 2-on-1.
Drysdale likely won’t make it to the sixth pick, but he could. It would be near impossible for the Devils to let him go if he’s available. However, if he does fall to them, they will have to focus on size when it comes to signings in the future on defense.