New Jersey Devils Preseason Top 25 Prospect Rankings

The New Jersey Devils prospect pool is quickly becoming one of the best in the league.

It’s been quite the year for the New Jersey Devils. After going “all in” the last offseason to put together a contender, the Devils ended up being massive sellers at the trade deadline, fired their head coach and GM, and just hit the reset button on the franchise in general. It has some Devils fans feeling down about the franchise as a whole, but there’s one indisputable thing. The prospect pool for the Devils is as good as it’s ever been thanks to some shrewd moves by current Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald.

The prospect pool was already in the top half of the league, and some could argue they had a top-10 prospect group. However, the pieces added by the Taylor Hall, Sami Vatanen, and Blake Coleman trades completely revamped the future of this franchise. Listing the top 25 prospects is harder now because of the sheer talent across the board. When in years past there was forced hope for a talented player with major flaws like Nikita Popugaev, this year those types of players don’t even get considered for this list.

This month’s NHL Draft brought eight prospects, including three 1st-round picks. This adds to 10 2019 draft picks that are still eligible for this list (Jack Hughes is not eligible for what it’s worth). Between the five major prospects the Devils got in trades last year, two really good drafts in a row, a lot of intriguing development, and a young roster full of opportunity, the list of prospects may never be as important to the Devils as it is this season.

A couple of rules before we begin. To be considered a prospect, the player has to be under 24 years old (sorry Brett Seney), cannot be guaranteed a roster spot (this is what disqualifies Hughes), and has to still have his rights owned by the Devils (so players like Mitchell Hoelscher and Xavier Bernard are no longer considered). Players are ranked based on how we think their careers will play out. It has nothing to do with how close they are to the NHL, but what’s most important is the long-term impact of the player.

There are really good prospects who will be left off. It’s just too early on a lot of them, but that’s how stacked the Devils pool is. Starting with 25, any of the players on this list (and a select few off of it) have a chance to one day don the NJ crest while playing for the Devils.