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New Jersey Devils: Evaluating NHL Draft Eligible Defensemen’s Ceiling And Floor

By Nick Villano

PLYMOUTH, MI - DECEMBER 11: Jake Sanderson #48 of the U.S. Nationals watches the action from the bench against the Slovakia Nationals during game two of day one of the 2018 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on December 11, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. USA defeated Slovakia 7-2. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images)
PLYMOUTH, MI - DECEMBER 11: Jake Sanderson #48 of the U.S. Nationals watches the action from the bench against the Slovakia Nationals during game two of day one of the 2018 Under-17 Four Nations Tournament game at USA Hockey Arena on December 11, 2018 in Plymouth, Michigan. USA defeated Slovakia 7-2. (Photo by Dave Reginek/Getty Images) /
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Jack Hughes – NHL Draft (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Jack Hughes – NHL Draft (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The New Jersey Devils have three 1st-round picks likely in the 2020 NHL Draft. Their biggest need is still on defense, and it’s likely they’ll use one of their picks to upgrade the back end.

When looking at the NHL Draft, we spend so much time on the prospects despite the fact there’s a chance they could do nothing in the NHL. Even the great 2016 NHL Draft still had eight 1st rounders that haven’t played 100 NHL games yet. That shows how important it is to hit on your picks, especially the first one. This season, the New Jersey Devils have three 1st-round picks at their disposal.

Some teams draft for need, other teams draft the best player available. There is a good chance those two factors could match up for the Devils. Their biggest need is on defense, and this year’s draft has a plethora of options. There is one defender that rules them all, a couple in tier two, then multiple others who are going wildly different depending on who’s mock draft you read.

We want to take a deep look at all of the defensemen that the Devils could take in the 1st round. Instead of just going through who could be good or bad, we want to see where each player’s ceiling and floor are.

To pick the right prospects, we took NHL.com’s mock draft. We chose all the players who one of the three-person panel chose in the top 25 picks. We see the Devils getting picks 6, 10, and 17 in the draft, and they could go off the reservation with the 17th pick if they so please. We go in the order of being mentioned on the list.

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