New Jersey Devils Preseason Top 25 Prospect Rankings

Nathan Bastian is a prospect that has been plummeting down this list, but it’s more because of the talent that’s being added over what he was doing himself. There was a time two seasons ago where Bastian looked like a future mainstay, but he had a fine enough season not to lose confidence last year. However, going from three goals in his first seven NHL games to dropping his goal numbers last season in more games. He did get a lot more assists, so his priorities likely changed. Bastian is still a decent prospect, but there’s not much of a chance that he becomes a fixture in the NHL next year.

Fabian Zetterlund is a prospect we were very, very high on, but things just seemed to have petered out. He was ranked sixth in our last rankings. Now he’s ranked 14th. It’s quite the fall, but we learned a lot more about the prospects the Devils got in various trades, and it’s clear Zetterlund is behind them. He’s another player that lost a lot of momentum to a knee injury. It feels like he’s always a year away from being a year away. This is a very important year for Zetterlund. Like Talvitie, it won’t be a big surprise if he puts it together this season. He’s going to be healthy (hopefully) going into next season and has the physical tools to be an NHL contributor. He just needs to get more experience as an offensive force in a lesser league before making a move to the NHL.

Nick Merkley was an underrated piece in the Taylor Hall trade. Many were excited for Kevin Bahl and obviously that 1st-round pick (which ended up being a home run), but Merkley has a weird spark about him. He’s one of the top scorers for Assat in the top Finnish league (six points in eight games). Once he left Tuscon, and the Arizona Coyotes organization, he was ready to thrive again. He’s a former 1st-round pick that’s still only 23 years old. This is a year where he can prove why he was such a highly-touted prospect. He’s two years removed from scoring a point per game with Tuscon in the AHL. He likely got frustrated where he was, and now a change of scenery will give him a shot to excel.

He’s the pick that has Devils fandom split. Some are absolutely appalled by the fact the Devils used the pick they got for Blake Coleman on a complete flier. Others are enthralled by the skills a 6’4 defenseman from Russia can actually show. Someone with his skating and that insane slap shot is going to turn heads. The issue is what can he actually do in a full hockey game. Back in December, The Sporting News ranked him 20th, but that was before a disastrous World Juniors. It was too big a moment for him at the time. However, it looks like he learned from it. He’s played well when asked to take on top minutes for Ufa, who’s been dealing with a lot of injuries and sicknesses. Mukhamadulin showed he can at least compete in the KHL. That will likely lead to confidence and something to build off of later.

Kevin Bahl is tall. That’s probably what a lot of people know most about him as a prospect. He’s 6’7 and 240 lbs. As the kids like to say, you can’t teach that. He’s more than that, obviously. How much more is still up in the air, which is why he’s not yet a top-10 prospect for the Devils even though he might make the team. There is a lot of like so far. He was voted the best defensive defenseman in the OHL. He’s a really good body checker (also voted 3rd best in the OHL in last season’s coaches poll). His offense was up and down last season, but he didn’t need to show that off. He played on the 67’s and with Team Canada at the World Juniors. Neither needed offensive help from a guy of Bahl’s play style. He was much better as a defender first. He can get a nice offense going, but he’d need some seasons in the AHL to work on it.