New Jersey Devils: Top 25 NHL Draft Picks Of All Time

The New Jersey Devils have been known for getting the most out of some of their early drafts to build a championship roster.

The New Jersey Devils built a franchise of winning thanks to the shrewd moves of general manager Lou Lamoriello. He used some of the best trades we’ve ever seen and a lot of negotiations that were borderline self-destructive to get one of the best rosters of the 90s and early 2000s. Getting Scott Stevens as compensation instead of Rod Brind’Amour and Curtis Joseph when the St. Louis Blues signed Brendan Shanahan in 1991.

That’s just one example of Lou changing the culture in New Jersey. It was that culture that kept players in the building for years. However, it was hard to get players into the building. Lamoriello wasn’t the best at getting free agents to come to the Garden State. They couldn’t bring in Brett Hull as Dallas did. Teemu Selanne refused to come to New Jersey, and instead signed with the Colorado Avalanche. The Devils also watched their biggest rivals sign all the big names right around them.

That means Lou had to draft extremely well to keep this team winning for a long time. In fact, it was his drafting that drove the Devils. When he was at his best, the Devils were a powerhouse. When he lost the ability to draft well towards the end of his career in New Jersey, it put the Devils in the position it is now where they are still rebuilding over seven years.

This New Jersey Devils team has a very important draft where they have three 1st-round picks for the first time in team history. So, to learn how to dominate this year’s draft, first, we want to learn about our history. We went deep in the well and we looked at the 25 best draft picks in team history.