The New Jersey Devils have a lot of exciting prospects around the world, but not all of them are going in the right direction. These prospects need to show a little more in 2022-23.
The New Jersey Devils are hoping by next season they will have enough prospects graduating into the NHL to put together one of the best young teams in the league. They made a lot of moves that brought them young players and extra draft picks. Since 2019, the Devils made 12 trades looking for prospects and picks exclusively. They’ve made 26 draft picks in the past three years, including six first-round picks.
This is going to really give the Devils a leg up when it comes to young players. The Devils have also shown a history of finding gems late in the draft. Jesper Bratt is hardly alone when it comes to players taken after the third round where the Devils hit a home run. Yegor Sharangovich was a fifth-round pick. Arseny Gritsyuk has been amazing in the KHL this season after the Devils took him in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Nico Daws has been the Devils best goalie after taking him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
The Devils hit more often than most other teams. It’s one of the reasons the Devils have one of the best prospect rankings in the league despite having the very worst just five years ago.
Which New Jersey Devils prospects fell below expectations this season?
However, with so many prospects to choose from, the Devils are always going to have some disappointments. Now, most of these young players aren’t “done”, they are just falling below expectations. Some had rough seasons due to injury, while others struggled in a new environment. All of them fell from what we expected of them and their future in the system is slightly in question.