Buried in an article is an update on Reilly Walsh to the New Jersey Devils.
This week, The Athletic’s Corey Masisak put together a really interesting piece where he talks with New Jersey Devils‘ general manager Tom Fitzgerald about the Devils top prospects. We hear his takes on players like Nolan Foote, Janne Kuokkanen, and Ty Smith, however, the most newsworthy part is what he said about Reilly Walsh. You can read the full article here.
"“Yeah, there’s a chance (we could sign him),” Fitzgerald said. “ I’ve been in touch with Reilly and his agent, just to walk through what’s going on and try to help him understand what the next step for him could be without pressuring him. The world has changed since March, and we acknowledge that. All that we want is what’s best for Reilly and we need him to be comfortable.” via The Athletic."
The Devils were told that Walsh wants to finish his senior season with Harvard, and the Devils claimed they were on board with that plan. That seems unlikely, since it would allow Walsh to become a free agent at the end of next season. Either way, the Devils made it sound like it was best for his growth, and Fitzgerald still seems to feel that way. Risking losing him for nothing so he can grow one more year at Harvard seems like a strange strategy.
That might not matter. If the Devils are interested in signing Walsh, it makes a lot of sense for him to put his name on the dotted line. There’s a non-zero chance that Harvard just punts on all sports this season after the Ivy League already canceled the fall sports season. Harvard is more focused on academics obviously.
If fall sports are already off the docket, winter sports might be right behind them. That has pushed some Crimson players to turn pro early themselves. Henry Bowlby signed with the Florida Panthers on his entry-level deal, while Jack Drury decided to give the Swedish Hockey League a try. Jack Rathbone signed with the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the offseason.
It’s clearly a very different world in college hockey, and Harvard might be one of the first to give up on the season. That could make a decision for Walsh very easy. Or, if he is looking to make it to free agency, he does have some other options, including just taking the year off from hockey and getting his Harvard degree.
Walsh would be a huge addition to the Binghamton Devils. While an unfinished product, his offensive game is very polished for a player his age. The Devils could use any help they can get on the blue line in the AHL, and adding Walsh and possibly Nikita Ohktyuk would be huge. There’s still a lot of be worked out here, but this is the first good news we’ve gotten on the Walsh front in a long time. After it looked like a foregone conclusion he was a goner, now things are looking like we could see Walsh wear a different version of red in his hockey career.