New Jersey Devils Prospect Pyramid Headed Into 2020-21

The New Jersey Devils Prospect Pyramid is out ahead of the 2020-21 season.

The New Jersey Devils are a very young organization. They have a few veterans there now but they are mostly loaded with young players that they hope lead them for a long time. They made two number one picks with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, have a young goalie in Mackenzie Blackwood, and some other young studs that have already impressed like Jesper Bratt. There are some young players that haven’t become full-time NHLers yet that are looking to make an impact at the NHL level.

The prospects are the key to this team taking the next step. We are fairly certain that the core they are building is going to take the next step at some point but they will need support. There are a lot of great players that are trying to develop into great NHL players. There are a lot of reasons to be excited about this team and the list of great prospects is one of them.

The Prospect Pyramid is a tool developed by Steve “Dangle” Glynn of Sportsnet where instead of ranking the prospects by number, they are put into six tiers on a pyramid. Each tier on the pyramid is ranked but the prospects in each tier come in no particular order.

Tier One

The New Jersey Devils no longer have a tier-one prospect. They have had one on two of the last three prospect pyramids, but this year is a year where there won’t be one. The spot is reserved for players that you are extremely confident will be good players right away. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier were both that for New Jersey.

Hughes struggled at times, but he absolutely belonged in the league at 18 years old, which is something almost no one in the world of hockey can say. This tier is for those prospects that have a very small chance of being busts. They might not always become superstars (they mostly do), but they will impact your lineup in a positive way in a short amount of time. If the Devils remain without a tier-one prospect for a while, that would mean that their other players have started to win a lot more.

Tier Two

Tier two is where you find most of the top prospects around the National Hockey League. Outside of the potential superstars, who has the next best chance to be a star player for your team? One can argue that on average, this is the most important tier. Most years, teams don’t have any tier one prospects, but those teams who continuously stock up on prospects like this are the ones who have sustained success.  These prospects that come up as tier two prospects could often if you are lucky/good at developing, become superstars.

The Devils tier two prospects are Ty Smith, Jesper Boqvist, and Alexander Holtz. Last season, only Boqvist and Smith made it as tier two prospects but Holtz is a fine addition. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Boqvist has made his NHL debut and played great in the AHL but the other two are still waiting for their chance to play in the NHL and AHL.

For  Smith, he is the top defenseman in the organization. He was the 17th-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He has been amazing throughout his junior career with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL but has yet to make the big club. Whenever the Devils return to the ice, Smith should be a part of the team. It is certainly exciting to have a trio like this in tier two because the hope is that they are part of the core in the not so distant future.

Tier Three

Tier three is probably the hardest tier to judge. The object of this tier is to place prospects that have a good amount of skill but might have a lower floor than the prospects above them. There are always some really good players that come out of tier three but none of them are necessarily locked to be NHL stars. Some of them might go on to have fantastic careers but it also might take a bit of time.

There is a good chance that a good amount of players in tier three are a few years away from being impact players at the  NHL level. Reilly Walsh, Dawson Mercer, Michael McLeod, Nolan Foote, Janne Kuokkanen, and Tyce Thompson are the players who make up the third tier this year. The players here are far better than the ones who were in tier three last year.

Reilly Walsh actually decided to sign with New Jersey this past summer when many thought that he would leave as a college free agent. He should be a player who cracks the NHL lineup one day as a defenseman and he very well could make an impact.

Dawson Mercer is a new addition via the 2020 NHL Draft. He is now in tier three after New Jersey selected him with one of their three first-round picks. He has a fantastic two-way game that could translate well to the NHL one day. A lot of scouts were very high on this pick for New Jersey so he might find himself higher on the list as the years go along.

Michael McLeod is a strange one for New Jersey. He was in tier three last year as well, but this upcoming year could make or break him. He was a 1st-round pick in 2016 and we were all excited about him but he just hasn’t developed like we thought he would. He has lots of skill, but he just can’t seem to put it together. Hopefully, he figures something out and is either a higher tier next year or in the NHL full time. If he struggles, he could end up in a lower-tier or off the pyramid completely.

Nolan Foote and Janne Kuokkanen are both players that came to New Jersey via trade last season. Foote was in the Blake Coleman deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Kuokkanen was in the Sami Vatanen deal. Each of them is an offensive player, but Foote likes to score and Kuokkanen seems to be able to do a bit of everything. Hopefully, they are both able to rise up the rankings and be great Devils.

Tyce Thompson shot up the rankings after a dominating season with Providence. He nearly doubled his point totals when he was given more opportunities to succeed. He has the ability to play in all situations and responds well to playing with great players. If he keeps up this level of development, New Jersey might have really found a gem with him.

Tier Four

Tier four has those players who could absolutely be NHL players but they either have to overcome something or get there developing further. The effort is the main key for a lot of these guys and most of them show that skill regularly. Kevin Bahl, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nick Merkley, Fabian Zetterlund, Nathan Bastian, and Mikael Maltsev make up this tier for New Jersey.

Kevin Bahl is a big defenseman that plays physically. His offensive ceiling isn’t as high as some of the other top prospects but the kid can play. He was one of the big pieces in the Taylor Hall trade so they have to hope that he pans out. He should have the defensive and physical side down enough to be an NHL player one day. Speaking of the Taylor Hall trade, Nick Merkley isn’t too bad either. If these two, along with Dawson Mercer, pan out for the Devils that trade will look really nice down the line.

Shakir Mukhamadullin might be the hardest prospect to judge in New Jersey’s system. He was a surprise pick at 20 with their third and final first-round pick but some people believe that in normal circumstances (COVID-19) he would have been a consensus high pick. He has a lot of great sets of tools so we have to hope that the Devils knew something we didn’t. Don’t be surprised if he finds himself on the list much higher in future years.

Nathan Bastian, Fabian Zetterlund, and Mikhail Maltsev are all great players but might have been passed by in the organization. They are all good at something different and could be NHL regulars someday, but there is still a lot of work to be done. All of these tier four players are good in their own way and their NHL careers depend on some more great development.