New Jersey Devils Postseason Top 25 Prospects

The New Jersey Devils selected eight players in the 2020 NHL Draft, and three of those players went in the 1st round. They took a lot of swings for the fences, and Artem Shlaine might be the most intriguing (even if he isn’t the highest on this list). He flipped his NCAA hockey commitment from Boston University to UConn. It was an interesting move as BU is a traditional powerhouse, but it led to more ice time right away. His season wasn’t great as he got used to the North American ice sheet and the NCAA style of play, but he put up nine points in a very strange freshman season. Shlaine needs a couple of years before we truly judge what he is going to be.

Nikola Pasic is another player that comes with some confusion on his ranking. He moved up from HockeyAllsvenskan to the SHL in the middle of a pandemic, so his drop in production was expected. He seems to be able to play with the adults in the top Swedish league, but the Devils former 7th-round pick seems to have trouble keeping his motor up for an entire game. He turns it on and he is a game-changer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last forever. That might come with age, and he’s doing better than a lot of 20 year olds in the SHL.

Fabian Zetterlund is probably the prospect that we’ve lost the most confidence in. He was ranked 14th in the preseason rankings, and he ranked 6th in the 2019-20 midseason rankings. We were once very high on Zetterlund’s chances to make the NHL, but he needs to show something in next year’s training camp to show he’s grown from the past two years. He still has the skill and the talent, but his health and inconsistency hurt him throughout the process. He had 19 points in 34 games last season, so it’s not like he completely failed. He had a thoroughly average season, and that’s okay for a 21-year-old player. He did lead Binghamton in points, but there are just a lot of Devils prospects whose upside is higher. However, Zetterlund has a pretty clear path to have us eat crow on this ranking.

Daniil Misyul had another full season in the KHL this past year. He was given a shot with Lokomotiv, and he took it. He’s not a high-scoring defenseman, and he never will be. However, he knows how to clear the crease, and he can help his goalie by keeping his eyesight clear. He tends to have an intelligence about him on the ice when he is trying to stop the other team from scoring. He did spend a little bit of time in the MHL for the playoffs to get some extra experience. He’s probably going to be in Russia for a little bit longer before the Devils try to get him back in North America.

Aarne Talvitie had a chance to be one of the Devils’ top prospects, but ever since he suffered a knee injury in the World Junior Championships, he hasn’t been the same. He finished his Penn State career this past season when he signed his entry-level deal once his season ended, and he got some time in the AHL. He ramped up his goal scoring this season, lighting the lamp seven times in 21 games. In Binghamton, he seemed a little overmatched. He only got three points in 18 games. Still, he has a ton of upside and last season must have been a whirlwind for him. Let’s see how he does with a regular season in Utica.

Marian Studenic is back to being an exciting prospect after he struggled two seasons ago. He’s had a roller coaster development process, but it looks like he’s on track to show his true potential next season. He was all over the place, but he got his first true NHL shot. He had a goal and an assist in eight games and didn’t look completely out of place. There are still aspects to his game he needs to fix, but there’s something here. He’s not ready to be in the NHL full time, but without going back and forth between Slovakia he should be able to get comfortable in North America next season.

Ethan Edwards had a very good post-draft season in the USHL, and now he’s headed to a stacked University of Michigan defense that could boast Owen Power, Luke Hughes, and other top prospects. This could impact his ice time at first, but Edwards has shown a knack for forcing his way into more time. His playstyle and aggressiveness will prove itself in practice, and that should force Mel Pearson to get him some time in the games. His speed is unlike most defensemen, and he’s going to be a joy to follow as he plays on one of the best programs in college hockey.

Arseni Gritzyuk got on the map for Devils fans during the World Junior Championships when he shined for an underperforming Russia team. He had four points in six games before an injury ended his tournament. He was able to come back for the KHL playoffs, where he got in three games for Avangard. They ended up winning the Gargarin Cup, so the team is clearly stacked. Gritsyuk is expected to play a bigger role next season after signing an extension to play in Russia through 2023.

Nikita Okhotyuk was able to grow right in front of our eyes. He was good at times for the Binghamton Devils despite the team as a whole struggling for most of the season. He is showing himself as a good defensive defenseman at a young age. The former 2nd-round pick was supposed to spend his season in the OHL, but with their season perpetually in flux, he got to the AHL a season early. It seemed like it was best for his development. The Devils could use some good defensive prospects who focus on their own end, and that’s exactly what the team is getting out of Okhotyuk.

Who knew Jack Hughes knows his prospects? His former teammate on the USNTDP was pretty good with Providence College this past season. He also played a bottom-six role for a gold medal-winning Team USA World Juniors team. He had 15 points in 17 NCAA games. He’s starting to look like an intriguing prospect. Unlike a lot of the prospects on the list, he’s already playing the type of role he would play in the NHL. He’s a hard-nosed player who can adjust quickly. Two years ago, he had more points as an 18 year old outside of Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook. Last season, only Tyce Thompson and Parker Ford had more points on Providence. He might be the next Devils late-round steal.

Jaromir Pytlik is a player to watch this season. The issue is, it’s still a little confusing on where he is going to play next season. He could go to his old team the Soo Greyhounds as an overager. He played with HC Stadion Litomerice  of the Czech secondary league on a loan. However, he only played four games there. He might play for KalPa with Liiga. Either way, Pytlik is a very good two-way prospect that can score and do all the right things in his own end. While not the most exciting player, Pytlik doesn’t make a ton of mistakes and works his way into lineups. Wherever he ends up, he should be able to prove his development before making his next move.

The drafting of Shakir Mukhamadullin looks as confusing now as it did at pick number 20 of the 2020 NHL Draft. There are times where he looks pretty good, and his overall numbers at the World Junior Championships are actually quite impressive, but he makes some of the most glaring mistakes in hockey that almost always lead to a goal. He’s a big, lanky defenseman that can do some impressive things, but there’s still a lot of issues. He’s getting offseason shoulder surgery, and that could explain some of his issues. It sounds like the Devils are letting Mukhamadullin play in the KHL next season and will sign him to an entry-level contract the following season.

Michael Vukojevic has rocketed up the prospect list after some impressive showings in Binghamton/Newark this season. He was supposed to play another season with the Kitchener Rangers, but with the OHL in flux due to the pandemic, he was able to make the jump into the AHL. Obviously, Binghamton’s season did not go great, but there were times Vukojevic made plays one would expect to see from the forwards. He had 11 points in 31 games and recorded a -1. While +/- doesn’t usually matter, it does tell a story on a bad team. The only defensemen who had a better +/- were Matthew Hellickson and Matt Tennyson, who both only played five games. Vukojevic looked much closer to a finished product than some of the other defensive prospects, and honestly this is probably undercutting him by keeping him out of the top ten.

Akira Schmid was a prospect in flux for a long time, but now his future is pretty clear after signing an entry-level deal with the Devils this offseason. He was the beast goalie in the USHL this past season, posting a .921 save percentage in 36 games for the Sioux City Musketeers. Schmid was struggling until he got offseason hip surgery last year. Now, he looks like the goalie the Devils thought they were getting when they drafted him in 2018.

Nico Daws was like a man without an island this past season. The Guelph Storm, the team where he led the OHL in save percentage in 2019-20, were not going to be playing this season. The Devils already had enough goalies on the roster, and Daws needed to get some playing time somewhere. He ended up in Germany playing for Ingolstadt ERC. He only got into ten games last season, putting up an .898 save percentage. It’s not the best numbers, but it was a normal season for Daws. He is now signed with the Devils, and he can show what he can do in the AHL. He has a lot of talent and he could be a future backup or possibly even better than that.

Mikhail Maltsev was very close to being left off this list because he was given a legitimate NHL shot last season, but there’s still a good chance he ends up in the AHL for at least one more season. He only played in one AHL game last year and spent 33 with the big club. He was trusted to stop other teams with their goalie pulled and he had some opportunities most didn’t expect. However, it’s hard to say he’s a lock to be on the opening-night roster in October. He can score goals and play correctly on the defensive end. It’s interesting to see where he ends up come next season.

Here’s another prospect that’s just on the cusp of graduating, but Jesper Boqvist doesn’t come with the sunny outlook that Maltsev does. Boqvist was supposed to be a contributing part of the organization right now, but he’s struggled on the NHL level. If he was a baseball player, they’d call him a quadruple-A player, because he is dominant in the minors but struggles in the top level. It’s still way too early to give up on Boqvist. He had the same amount of points in 28 NHL games that he had in eight AHL games (7). If he can figure out what’s holding him back once he gets in the NHL lineup, he might turn into something special. It’s all about confidence for Boqvist.

Tyce Thompson put together another stellar college season despite losing Jack Dugan to the pros. Thompson put up 25 points in 25 games, which was slightly below his sophomore season pace but still good based on the talent around him. He came to the pros and something felt a little off. It could be the toll of this strange season or he might have been a little tired after the college season. It’s nothing to be worried about. Thompson is a wonderful prospect who can do just about anything the team needs from a forward position.

The Devils defensive prospects are all pretty interesting because where they end up next year is anybody’s guess. They have a pretty competent defensive group in the AHL for next season despite the results of this past season. After Reilly Walsh surprisingly skipped his senior year with Harvard, he looked good at times during the season with Binghamton. He put up 15 points in 33 games, and he had some highlight-reel moments. He clearly got more comfortable as the season went on. He needs a little work defensively, but he’s already elite in terms of offensive skillset from the back end.

All Graeme Clarke needed to do to move up the prospect rankings was prove that he could stay healthy. He did that this past season, but he did it in an unexpected place. Clarke was supposed to take a star role with the usually stacked Ottawa 67s, but the OHL didn’t get off the ground in most areas. So, Clarke started his professional journey early. He spent the season in Binghamton, and he was one of the best forwards on the team. Only Zetterlund had more points, and no one had more goals than Clarke. He was making beautiful plays and his shot is off the charts. We expect Clarke to make his NHL debut sometime next season.

Kevin Bahl proved that he is as good as his upside showed. He was always someone who came with a question mark since the Devils made him a focal point in the Taylor Hall trade. Now, it’s more like an exclamation point. He’s somewhere between 6’6 and 6’7 depending on who you ask, and he plays every inch of his being on the ice. He’s not overly physical, but his presence is felt in the defensive zone. His best quality in his short NHL stint was stopping opposing players on the rush. Bahl was able to get a stick in the way or just stop the other team in general when rushing towards the net.

Nolan Foote is a prospect that’s really stepped up his game after he was traded to the Devils in the Blake Coleman deal. His foot speed moved in the right direction, and he still has an incredible shot. He probably would have been the team leader in points for Binghamton if he didn’t make his NHL debut. He had 17 points in 24 games, and it looks like he’s going to be a really good pro. That could come as early as next season, with the Devils looking to find the right players for their lineup as they try to build veterans around a young forward group.

There’s no more revealing at this point. The difference between Dawson Mercer and Alexander Holtz is razor thin, but the upside for Holtz is still through the roof despite a less-than-stellar season in 2021. Meanwhile, Mercer was great from beginning to end. He was perfect in his role for Team Canada moving up and down the lineup. Then, for Chicoutimi, he was a pure and utter stud. He had 36 points in 23 regular season games. Then, in the playoffs, he had a ridiculous 17 points in nine games. It’s hard to tell where Mercer will end up next season, but with a small step in the right direction he could be in the NHL.

After Ty Smith graduated, it was Holtz’s spot to take at number one. He’s the projected superstar that will be next to Jack Hughes for a long, long time. Holtz struggled with Djurgardens as he was placed in a less-than-desirable role in the bottom six. Then, he came to Binghamton and struggled some more. It’s fine. Trust us. He has so many tools that can overcome a slight blip on his development radar. He’s a physical specimen that knows how to use his size to his advantage to get puck possession. That’s not even mentioning his ability to score. Holtz is an amazing prospect that the Devils will love for years to come.