New Jersey Devils: 5 Prospects Who Could Surprisingly Jump Into NHL Next Season
The New Jersey Devils haven’t had a lot to get excited about this season, but some of the young players have us looking towards the future. Obviously, all of the excitement starts with Jack Hughes. He’s been amazing all season long despite not putting up the proper counting stats. Right behind him is Yegor Sharangovich. After scoring like a monster in the KHL, Sharangovich was able to keep that scoring pace up in the NHL. Despite the COVID outbreak, he still has 11 goals in 44 games. In his rookie season, he is on a 20-goal pace if it was an 82-game season.
This happens all the time in the NHL. Out of nowhere, a prospect who wasn’t getting a ton from the analytics crew changes something during the offseason and makes the NHL. It’s always a really fun story to tell. Look at Sharangovich. He was a decent player with the Binghamton Devils last season, but he was nothing like he is now. Heck, he was ranked 24th among prospect rankings by us before the season. He wasn’t even on The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s rankings last season.
There are a ton of decent prospects in the Devils ranks. Obviously, players like Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Nolan Foote are expected to make an impact on the Devils next season. However, there could be more spots available. There is going to be an insane competition when training camp starts next season. That’s because there will be open spots. Players like Michael McLeod and Mikhail Maltsev will likely have to fight for their spot on the roster once again.
That leads to an opportunity for other prospects to make their mark. If these players make major strides in the offseason, they could be on the main roster come next October.
Graeme Clarke
This one might seem a little less crazy than others on the list, but Graeme Clarke doesn’t necessarily have a path to make the NHL next season. He’s only going to be 20 years old, so he’d be one of the youngest players in the league. If his production in the AHL is any prediction, then he’s someone the Devils will sorely need.
Despite being a terrible team overall, Clarke is one of the few bright spots in the Prudential Center practice facility. While five goals in 19 games aren’t exactly superstar-worthy, he’s one goal away from the team lead. He’s able to find open space, and he’s an insane threat on the power play. The Devils power play desperately needs scorers. Clarke is a scorer beyond a shadow of the doubt.
Clarke isn’t a one-trick pony. The former 3rd-round pick can play defense and makes his own offensive opportunities with his puck handling. That makes him a really good fit for the Lindy Ruff system. He’ll do everything he’s asked and more.
Clarke’s biggest issue is staying healthy. That might be the main reason the Devils keep him in the AHL. It still hits like a pro league, but the hits don’t hurt as it does in the NHL. They aren’t as big, they don’t skate as fast, and Clarke’s shoulders will get a chance to heal even more. He’s been able to stay healthy this season so far, and it looks like if he can just last a little longer, those shoulder woes will be officially behind him. However, if it’s a decision of talent and fit, Clarke has a chance to make the NHL roster next season.
Fabian Zetterlund
Fabian Zetterlund is a little more unexpected as a Binghamton prospect. He’s been in North America for two seasons, but we haven’t seen a ton of growth. He looked pretty good at the end of last season, ending the year with 19 points in 46 games. This season, he has 11 points in 22 games. He has more points per game, but not by enough to get truly excited. Also, it’s not really that exciting to watch a player with four goals over the season.
Zetterlund has regularly found himself on the second line in Binghamton. Again, that’s not terrible for a 21-year-old prospect, but he hasn’t shown himself to be an NHL talent. He’s another player that didn’t even make Wheeler’s list for top prospects.
Zetterlund could provide something interesting to Lindy Ruff. He has really good size on his frame. He isn’t necessarily tall, but at 218 pounds, he’s definitely got the size to make a move. He’s been able to use that size along with his skill to get noticed in the AHL. The fact that he doesn’t quit on a play will also go well in an NHL coach’s mind.
Zetterlund was the player the Devils took in the 3rd round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He was actually taken with the pick acquired in the Eric Gelinas trade. He seems like a long shot at this point, but so did Sharangovich at this point last season.
Aarne Talvitie
Aarne Talvitie looked like an absolute steal when the Devils drafted him in the 6th round of the 2017 draft. He immediately made an impact for the Penn State Nittany Lions and eventually for Team Switzerland at the World Junior Championships. He even helped his team get all the way to the gold medal game before he injured his knee. That knee injury seems to knock him off the trajectory because he’s fallen off a cliff since then.
After scoring 16 points in 17 games in his freshman season, Talvitie only had 19 points in 30 games last season, then he scored 13 points in 21 games this past season. Players are supposed to take major jumps in their sophomore and junior years. Talvitie seems to be stuck in the mud. That knee injury clearly has a lot to do with it, but something else has to be at play. Maybe he lost some confidence or some of his drive when he went down with the injury. Either way, his college career is over, and his professional career starts this season. Talvitie has to show a little something as he plays more AHL games.
Talvitie is one of the better two-way prospects in the Devils ranks. That could fast forward his journey to the NHL. Being able to hold your own is how a player like Maltsev jumps into the NHL. He needs to show something more offensively, but if he’s doing as much on the defensive end, it could lead to an NHL shot.
The Devils are going to give everyone a shot during training camp next season. This is Talvitie’s chance to show he’s made major strides in the offseason. He needs to develop an offensive game if he’s going to have any chance. However, if he does, then it will be hard to keep him from taking one of those fourth-line spots.
Nico Daws
Alright, admittedly this one is a crazy long shot, but the Devils are in a weird position in net, and Nico Daws was an overage draft pick this past season. His season hasn’t made a lot of sense after the OHL never came back, and now he’s stuck in Germany. He’s been playing for ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL. He’s serving as the main backup behind fellow Canadian Michael Garteig. In ten games, the 20 year old has an .898 save percentage and four wins. That includes one shutout.
Daws was the league leader in save percentage last year in the OHL. He pushed himself to be on Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and made himself a household name for the Guelph Storm. This is why the Devils drafted him in the third round as an overage draft pick. Most of these types of picks go later in the draft.
Daws is currently watching his team in the playoffs, but he should be working on making himself the best goalie possible. The Devils desperately need a more sensible option as Mackenzie Blackwood’s backup. Everyone they’ve had was a major problem. Keith Kinkaid was a one-hit-wonder. Cory Schneider lost his confidence for good. Corey Crawford retired, and the pair of Scott Wedgewood and Aaron Dell just isn’t very good. Blackwood needs someone to push him, and maybe having someone younger on the roster might do that.
It’s much more likely that Daws spends his season in the AHL. It would be best for him if the Devils had more control over his development. This pandemic made things a little weird, but the Devils understood the situation when they drafted him. Daws probably won’t make the team next season, but he could get a few games during the season if there are a few injuries. He doesn’t have to go through waivers like Gilles Senn.
Arseni Gritsyuk
The Russian junior team was supposed to make major noise at the World Junior Championships, but things really never worked out like they were supposed to. Fellow Devils prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin was a teammate of Arseni Gritsyuk on the Russian junior team, but they couldn’t do enough to pull their team into the medal round.
Gritsyuk did everything he could to move Russia in the right direction. He was incredible in transition, and he was able to contribute offensively. He went right back to Russia, where he’s been bouncing between the MHL, VHL, and KHL. He has 12 games with Avangard Omsk of the main men’s league. There are times where he seems a little outclassed there, but he still has two points in 12 games.
Avangard Omsk is in the Gagarin Cup Final, and Gritsyuk even got himself into a playoff game this season. He showed he was better than the lower leagues, but he wasn’t able to crack the lineup as a regular yet. He is only 20 years old. There’s plenty of growth from him.
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Last offseason, Gritsyuk added some muscle, and it really helped him excel in the Russian game. He has a slight frame which could hurt his ability to become a mainstay in the NHL, but he has such a great stride that he could make the NHL as soon as next year. It’s a long shot (like, again, all of these are), but if he decides to spend the season in North America instead of Russia, it’s possible.