NHL Draft: 5 Reasons To Fall In Love With Lucas Raymond

<img class="size-full wp-image-55323" src="https://pucksandpitchforks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/04/1140025865.jpeg" alt="New Jersey Devils

Jack Hughes

” width=”3200″ height=”2133″ /> Lucas Raymond (Photo credit should read ERIK MARTENSSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The New Jersey Devils better hope Lucas Raymond is available at seven.

The NHL Draft is less than a month away, and the New Jersey Devils are facing one of their most daunting tasks in team history. The Devils have been a laughing stock since Martin Brodeur left for the St. Louis Blues. He’s back in New Jersey, but the winning ways have not followed. Now, the Devils are looking to set themselves up for their future with three 1st-round picks.

One of those 1st-round picks has a chance to be a player that’s extremely special. The players seemingly available at number seven overall are somewhat insane. This mock draft by Chris Peters of ESPN has Marco Rossi, Alexander Holtz, and Lucas Raymond all available at seven. The Devils would be lucky to have any of those available in a normal draft, but to have the pick of three amazing talents like that is something that doesn’t happen very often.

Lucas Raymond is the best of the bunch. Honestly, he might be the third-best player in the draft. However, there are multiple mock drafts showing him available at seven. It’s Alexis Lafreniere at number one. Quinton Byfield (at least it should be) at number two. Then, it’s anybody’s ball game. Raymond has great talent on top of a refined game that still has a massive ceiling.

Raymond is unlike most top prospects in this year’s draft because he’s actually playing right now. The pandemic has caused some strange things to happen, but one of the top prospects having a game on his schedule the day after the draft ends might be one for the record books. Raymond is currently playing for Frolunda of the SHL. He’s been really good in the preseason, scoring goals and making huge plays. This could make it harder for the Devils to have a shot at taking him, but teams might be hard pressed to change their picks now.

So, with less than a month until the Devils actually make their pick, here’s five reasons to fall in love with Lucas Raymond.

4. Raymond Does Everything Well

This is said a lot about prospects, and most of the time you should take it with a grain of salt, but what we saw from Raymond in the World Junior Championships last season showed how well he can do every aspect of the game. He’s an old school five-tool player who still dominates the analytics. He can pass and score, which most top-ten prospects can do this year. However, he’s also a master at taking the puck away, he’s really good at positioning in all aspects of the game, and he can make a defender miss.

Need more? We’ve seen him making amazing plays to keep pucks in the offensive zone, get past defenders, and forcing them to take an unnecessary penalty. Raymond does everything right whether it gets on the score sheet or not.

This is insane growth for someone who was 17 at the time of the WJC. Usually, a player has a really good shot, or knows where to go, or can skate out of his skates. To have a player that can do this much at a high level is rare for someone not going first overall. Raymond could go first overall in some years, but because this draft is insane, Raymond could fall to the Devils.

3. Raymond Is Incredibly Aggressive Towards The Net

One of the more underrated aspects of Raymond’s game is his penchant for driving towards the net. He has a way about him that sneaks around the defense and ends up wide open five feet from the net. That’s a perfect spot to surprise a goalie, giving him the chance to be patient and see what opening he’s given.

The Devils don’t have a lot of players like that on the roster. Taylor Hall was the player that did those types of things for the Devils. He was extremely aggressive, and that’s what helped lead to his Hart Trophy win in 2018. Being able to drive to the net in traffic with and without the puck leads to a lot of goals in the National Hockey League.

It’s never smart to draft a player for the current needs. Signing a free agent to fill a need? Sure. Trade a player who fits what the team is looking for at the current moment? That also works. Drafting your future based on how your team is constructed currently? That’s a bad idea. However, if the best player available also fits one of the team’s long-term needs, then that’s a dream scenario.

That’s what the Devils would be facing if Raymond falls to seven; a dream scenario. He’s so good at multiple aspects of hockey the Devils struggle at, it just feels like the perfect fit.

2. Raymond Is A Power Play Dynamo

Again, the Devils shouldn’t ever draft for need, but Raymond fills a lot of needs while being the best player available. One of those weaknesses is his power-play skills. He had a ton of power-play chances at the World Junior Championships and ended up scoring one goal with the man advantage. His positioning on the power play is usually really good, which leads to a lot of high-danger chances.

He didn’t get a lot of opportunities in the SHL last season. The leader on Frolunda in PPG was Joel Lundqvist, who’s 37 years old. 30-year-old Simon Hjalmarsson was second on the team. The only player under 21 years old with a power-play goal was Samuel Fagemo. There just wasn’t the opportunity there. This season, that will change. He’s proven in other leagues he can dominate with the man advantage, and Frolunda would be smart to take advantage of that.

The Devils have ranked 21st with the man advantage in the past two seasons. Obviously, Hall was injured one season ago, and the Devils traded him away in the middle of this past season. Kyle Palmieri was the only player to score more than five goals with the man advantage. With Mark Recchi coming into coach the power play, things are expected to get better. Still, adding a future with Lucas Raymond will help the power play for years to come.

1. Raymond Has An Unlimited Ceiling

There is one reason to fall in love with Raymond. As good as he is already at just 18 years old, he’s going to get so much better. The fact that he’s already excelling at a two-way game will go a long way in getting him big minutes once he decides to come to the NHL. Having responsible young players leads to more ice team, which leads to more development, which leads to better players overall.

He’s playing way above his age level right now. It’s extremely rare to see prospects play full seasons in men’s leagues before the draft, even for top-ten picks. Kaapo Kakko played in the SM-Liiga, which is a step below the SHL but still a men’s league.

Since Raymond is sitting at under 10 minutes per game in a men’s league, he’s yet to unlock his true skill. He’s likely going to get more opportunities this season. Frolunda is going to take advantage of Raymond’s experience and his likely final year in Sweden.

Raymond has unlimited potential. Unlike other players who have potential in name only, Raymond has the talent to be the best winger in the NHL. Yes, even better than Lafreniere. We put Lafreniere ahead of him, obviously, but it wouldn’t be the craziest outcome if Raymond eventually passes him. Raymond is just so talented at so many aspects of the game already, once he improves on those aspects of his game he literally has greatness ahead of him.

Raymond is one of the few players in this draft that can reach unknown heights. It’s probably four players; Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Tim Stutzle, and Raymond. Those could be the first four picks, but there’s a lot of chatter Raymond is going to be available later than some might expect.