The New Jersey Devils could use some young players in their lineup a lot in 2020-21.
The 2020-21 New Jersey Devils are a hard team to read. Some players are locks to be in the lineup, but the depth roles could still be earned. They have a deep prospect pool and a lot of them might be ready to make that jump to the NHL. They have future stars like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Mackenzie Blackwood ready to take the next step but there are so many roster spots still available.
They might use some of their young prospects to fill out that lineup which is really exciting. Corey Crawford and Mackenzie Blackwood are going to be the two goaltenders but every other position has a few spots available for these kids to try and grab. There are a few of them that are years away from being used at the NHL level but some of them are ready now.
They began to fill out their roster again by acquiring guys like Andreas Johnsson and Ryan Murray but that isn’t enough. This is the year that some more young players step up and grab full-time roles. We have been waiting for Ty Smith to make the Opening Night roster for three years now and this feels like the year where he will get his chance.
There are also a few guys who have tasted the NHL that want full-time roles. Names like Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, and Janne Kuokkanen come to mind first and they should all get their chance. They have all made impacts at the AHL level so making the jump is the next step. There are also some new names like Reilly Walsh and Nolan Foote who may get a chance throughout the year.
The names could change throughout the year but the point of it is that they might start to use these guys instead of place holders like Drew Stafford, Kevin Rooney, or John Hayden. As a rebuilding team, it would be much smarter to see what you have in your young players who look NHL ready. It will also make a lot of games that much more fun to watch.
Winning the Stanley Cup many years down the line would be so much more fun after seeing all of these guys slowly start to trickle in. It might be a year or two before we see guys like Alex Holtz or Dawson Mercer but they aren’t far behind some of the previously mentioned players. Prospects and young players are the keys to the future and hopefully, we see more of them in 2020-21.