Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 2: Familiar Faces
By Mike Luci
No. 24: Neil Brady
Center
3rd Overall, 1986
Starting off this section is Neil Brady, the first top-three selection to appear in these ascending rankings. Brady had a decorated CHL career before he turned pro, getting 217 points in 190 games with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. He was teammates with fellow New Jersey Devils first-round pick Jason Miller (No. 33 on this list) in the 87-88 season. Brady won back-to-back WHL championships and Memorial Cups with the Tigers, in addition to making three consecutive WHL finals appearances.
He didn’t make his NHL debut until 89-90, where he had one goal and five points in 19 games with the Devils. He would only appear in 10 more contests for New Jersey the next two seasons, only collecting one goal. Brady was dominant with the AHL’s Utica Devils, garnering 198 points in 223 AHL games—even getting 96 points in 90-91. Brady was traded to the then-expansion Ottawa Senators in 1992 for future considerations. Brady is largely known for scoring the first goal in Ottawa Senators franchise history (both in the exhibition and regular seasons), and actually had a decent year with his new team. In 55 games, Brady tallied seven goals and 24 points on a Senators squad that only won 10 games in its inaugural season.
Brady’s last NHL season was in 1993-1994, where he only played five games with the Dallas Stars. He wound up going to the IHL that same year, where he played until 2001 when the league folded. Brady averaged .348 points per game over his brief NHL career, which looks quite good when compared to players ranked below him, despite appearing in fewer games than some in the bottom tier.