Reilly Walsh signed his entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.
The New Jersey Devils‘ chances of signing Reilly Walsh seemed bleak when he announced that he would be returning to Harvard for another year. It felt like he was going to take himself to free agency after the season ended and sign somewhere else. New Jersey took him in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. It was not fun to think about him going across the river to play with his friend Adam Fox but we don’t have to think about that anymore.
Harvard (and the rest of the Ivy League schools) have postponed fall sports until at least January 1st and that wasn’t even guaranteed. Instead, he has changed his mind and is electing to join the New Jersey Devils now. We don’t know exactly how 2020-21 is going to work for the regular season but Walsh will be with the Devils whenever it starts.
Walsh, for one, is a very good hockey defenseman. Like Fox, he was brilliant at times on Harvard’s blue line. He can create offense and be a steady defender. The hope is that these skills are able to translate into the NHL and it feels possible as long as he is put in a position to succeed. There is plenty of opportunities available for him with this team as currently constructed. If he bloomed into the player we know he can in the NHL, this could become a decent blue line behind a nice group of forwards.
He had some really good numbers as he started to go through his college career. In his sophomore season, he had 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 33 games. He followed it up with eight goals and 19 assists in 30 games played in his COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 junior year. The sky was the limit for him in his senior year but he is coming to New Jersey instead.
Another note on Walsh is his tremendous leadership skills. The Devils are a very young team and adding Walsh makes them even younger but it is good to know that he is a good leader for a young guy. He might be just what the doctor ordered for this Devils team which is why they got him started with his three-year entry-level deal.