5 New Jersey Devils Prospects Who Can Make A Major Jump In 2020-21

Mikhail Maltsev

It feels like forever since we saw Mikhail Maltsev score one of the most ridiculous goals of the preseason. Remember the Devils preseason, where Cory Schneider was dominant, chemistry felt like it was there, and the prospects were all contributing? Then, there was this Maltsev goal against the hated New York Rangers.

We thought this showed the Devils would not only have a bounce-back season in New Jersey, but Binghamton was in for a bounce back with how much talent was there as well. It didn’t turn out that way, the first three months of the AHL and NHL seasons were a disaster, and we questioned the talent across the Devils pool.

Maltsev went from a first-line talent to fighting his way back into the lineup. Looking at his stats, they were pathetic. He played 21 games from opening night to New Year’s Day. He put up five points.

Things turned around in a big way. Maltsev scored three goals in the first four games of 2020, and he ended the month with five goals. In the final stretch of the year before the pause, Maltsev had nine points in the last 11 games of the season, which coincides with the team’s big run to put themselves in a playoff position.

Maltsev will be able to take that production into next season, even if it comes after a longer-than-expected layoff. He’s shown that he’s figured out how to contribute in a professional setting. It was his first season away from the AHL rules, and it just took him some time to get used to the grind that is a North American ice sheet. Now, it seems like he’s on the right track, and we expect an explosion of stats in 2020-21.