New Jersey Devils: Prospects Challenge Gets Fans Excited About Future

The New Jersey Devils had a lot of great prospects competing in the 2021 Prospects Challenge. They didn’t have every single one of their great players there but some amazing ones were impactful players in the two games. They lost the first game but the second game was a different story. The way a few of those kids played should really be encouraging to a lot of people.

The game’s highlights start and end with Dawson Mercer and Alexander Holtz. Each of them had multiple points in addition to each having a goal. They are both players that hope they can make their NHL debuts in 2021-22. That is not a guarantee but it is something that is certainly possible.

The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres are the two other two teams that participated in this little round-robin. The Devils went 1-1 after a loss to Buffalo and a win over Boston. The Devils haven’t been a consistently good NHL team in a really long time and these kids are hoping to be a part of the turnaround soon.

If New Jersey can hit on some of these kids, they will be going into good situations for their development. With young skaters like Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Ty Smith, and Mackenzie Blackwood amongst others leading the way, things can turn around quickly if they all start to reach their full potential.

The top New Jersey Devils prospects have a chance to be very good NHL players.

Holtz and Mercer combined for a lot of goals in this one. Their linemate was Nolan Foote who also has a chance to be an impact NHL player this season. The trio combined for seven points in Sunday’s win over the Bruins.

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There is clearly a lot of talent floating around the organization right now. It is up to them to make sure they develop properly so they can reach their NHL potential. They have been playing well at this level but the organization needs some of them to be good in the NHL so they can stop coming in last pace.

We have talked a lot about that big line that this prospect team had. Well, Dawson Mercer deserves some extra praise. He was the team’s best player in both games. People probably didn’t expect him to play this well this quickly but he has risen in the ranks quickly. He was so good last season in the QMJHL so this is another big step for him. It will really help the team if he takes the next step to the NHL relatively soon.

Any prospect challenge certainly isn’t the end all be all but it is a good sign of things to come. The Devils haven’t had much to be excited about over the last few years so this could be the start of something special. Hopefully, the good vibes carry into training camp and the preseason.