Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 3: Success Stories
By Mike Luci
No. 10: Brian Rolston
Center/Left Wing
11th Overall, 1991
New Jersey used their second pick in round one of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft to select Brian Rolston. He’s one of four Devils first-round picks to play two stints for the team, spending parts of nine seasons in New Jersey. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Devils as a rookie in 1995, Rolston developed steadily, getting 24 goals and 57 points in 1998-1999.
After a slow start to his 1999-2000 campaign, Rolston was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that brought playoff hero Claude Lemieux back to New Jersey. He wound up getting dealt again a few months later to the Boston Bruins in a multiplayer deal. It was the trade that sent Colorado veterans Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuck. Rolston became a steady offensive presence in Boston. He scored 104 goals and 251 points over 359 games, before signing with the Minnesota Wild in 2004 where he had some of his best seasons. During his time in Minnesota, Rolston had three consecutive 30-goal seasons, including a career-high 34 goals and 79 points in 2005-2006.
At 35 years of age, Rolston signed with New Jersey as a free agent in 2008, whose second go-around wasn’t quite as successful. He tallied no more than 37 points over his final three Devils seasons, during which Rolston suffered redundant injuries, and gradually fell out of favor with New Jersey’s ever-changing coaching staff. Rolston was traded to the New York (Islanders) in 2011, where he split his final season between Long Island and Boston.
Despite his underwhelming second stint with the Devils, Rolston still went on to forge an accomplished career that saw him finish with totals of 342 goals and 761 points in 1256 games. He wasn’t by any means a New Jersey Devils legend, but his 18 years in the NHL is another example of how good an eye for drafting talent Lou Lamoriello had in his early years.