New Jersey Devils: 5 Players To Target In Third Round Of NHL Draft

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman opens the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft at the NHL Network studios on July 23, 2021 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman opens the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft at the NHL Network studios on July 23, 2021 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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The New Jersey Devils have been successful at taking players in the third round of the NHL Draft. Brian Gionta, Adam Henrique, Reilly Walsh, and Nico Daws are just a few examples of great picks the team made. Overall, the third round is an interesting space in the draft. Teams like to move up and down in that round quite often. In 2019, the last pre-pandemic draft, 17 third-round picks were taken by teams who didn’t originally own the pick. This might be because teams constantly fall in love with players they perceive as falling, and it also could be because teams don’t value these picks properly.

The third round has a ton of misses. There are some hits, however. Zdeno Chara was a third-round pick. So was Kris Letang. Going back even further, the greatest defenseman of all time Nicklas Lidstrom was a third rounder. One of (but not the) best goaltenders of all time Patrick Roy was taken in the third round. Clearly, there can be some absolute gems in the round.

Can the Devils get one of those gems this year? It’s a strange draft year, and it could absolutely happen. Here are some names to watch in the third round.

A general view of the draft board. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
A general view of the draft board. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

1. Alexander Perevalov – Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)

The Russian prospects are in such a weird situation with the war in Ukraine making relations between hockey players and the NHL feel more like it did in the 80s and early 90s. Players may not be able to come to North America to play in the NHL or AHL unless they are already here. This is something the Devils must consider with every prospect.

It could impact the value of these prospects, and they may fall in the draft because of the uncertainty. Alexander Perevalov is a prospect that has some scouts incredibly excited about him. He’s grown immensely this year, and many wonder how good he could become. He struggled two years ago in the MHL, Russia’s secondary league, but he dominated last season. He had 50 points in 42 games for Yaroslavl.

In other years, Perevalov would be a guaranteed second-round pick, and his skillset might even have a team talk themselves into a first-round pick. This isn’t a normal year, and the Devils might get the benefits of this.

Jake Klerer of Bellmore, New York has his face painted. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
Jake Klerer of Bellmore, New York has his face painted. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

2. Topias Leinonen – JYP (Liiga)

We know the Devils are going to take a goalie. They always take a goalie. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it falls flat. Nico Daws looks like a really good pick. However, that won’t stop the Devils from taking another one, especially now with the flux the goaltending position is in. There isn’t a superstar goalie prospect in the draft this year. In past years, some might push for a goalie in the first round, but the prospects this year don’t rise to that level.

This could, however, lead to the Devils getting a long-term starter in the third round or later. One player to circle is Topias Leinonen. The Finnish goalie had a really rough go in the pros. He had a 5.02 goals-against average in the Finnish professional league. However, he showed some real skill in the lower leagues, and he is a teenager. We talk about how defensemen take a bit to develop in these men’s leagues. Now consider a goalie.

Leinonen also has a massive frame that allows him to take up most of the net. There aren’t many teenagers that stand 6’5. He’s a physical specimen. That size might push an NHL team to jump on him early, but we really feel like he will be available in the third round.

If the Devils don’t want to reach for one of the top goalies, which this probably would be with the 70th-overall pick, they might end up having to go off the board for a goalie pick. They ended up doing that last year with Jakub Malek.

A general view of the NHL logo (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
A general view of the NHL logo (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /

3. Jack Sparkes – St. Michael’s Buzzers (OJHL)

It’s so hard to project a player who’s in a league not many people follow. The OJHL is not a league that many are paying attention to. Can you even say where St. Michael’s is? (It’s actually in Toronto.) So, Jack Sparkes is a hard nut to crack as a prospect, but he should be available here for the Devils. He also has something nobody else in this draft has. He’s 6’8. 6’8!!

That size is going to get everyone to pay attention. A teenager of that size is going to get everyone to turn their head, and we all know how Tom Fitzgerald loves his sizeable defensemen. Now the question becomes, is he good at hockey?

He actually uses his size well, although it might have something to do with the competition he’s facing in the OJHL. Jack Sparkes does play like he knows he’s 6’8. There’s a certain attitude or swagger or whatever you want to call it. He has an ability to push people around knowing they aren’t going to mess with them. Some call it being a bully, but we call it taking advantage of a God given talent.

His issue is he desperately needs good coaching. Everything seems to be a little too easy to spot. His skating and puck handling aren’t great. And that’s being nice. However, he’s almost seven feet tall, and you can’t teach that.

The jersey of the New Jersey Devils. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
The jersey of the New Jersey Devils. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

4. Calle Odelius – Djurgårdens IF (SHL)

Calle Odelius comes from a team the Devils are very familiar with. Alexander Holtz played with Djurgardens when he played in Sweden. That’s where he teamed with William Eklund. They have a pedigree of great young Swedish players. Calle Odelius might not be in the same vein as those two, but he has a serious upside.

This would be a situation where a player fell pretty dramatically, and the Devils jumped at the opportunity. Odelius is being projected to be somewhere in the second round. Some even have him going early in the second round.

The defenseman has shown he’s able to produce points against lesser competition. He did go pointless in the SHL, but young defensemen tend to get almost no minutes in the pros at that age. Plus, he only played seven games total in the SHL.

Odelius skates really well, and he’s fluid with his passes. The tape on him shows he has a knack for finding the open man, and his offensive abilities could win the day. This likely isn’t even an opportunity for the Devils, but it shows where I think the Devils are going to target their third-round pick. They want to see supreme talent fall for whatever reason. This is an example, but it’s not the only example. The Devils would be happy with whatever talent they can grab here.

A puck (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
A puck (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

5. Adam Ingram – Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)

Adam Ingram is a player who nobody has a consensus on. He made Bob McKenzie’s top 32 rankings, but nobody else had him close to that high. The pandemic forced Ingram to go to a lesser league in the USHL, so some might not be believing the competition he’s playing against. All we know is he already stands at 6’2 and has scored more than a point per game in his league.

Ingram has an interesting skill set that allows him to change his role depending on what the team needs. His hockey IQ is higher than most players taken in this position. He has a playmaking ability, as well. However, his instincts are a little off. That might be, along with the competition level, what is causing him to fall down some draft boards.

Ingram is not a complete prospect. There are a million questions he has to answer as a hockey player. He gets to do that starting next season when he goes to college. He’s enrolled in St. Cloud State University.

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This is a pick that could make Tom Fitzgerald look like a genius. If Ingram develops like we think he could, this is someone a team could peg into the second line. He can score, he knows what to do on the ice, and he needs to find the play and contribute. The Devils love those types of players, and this seems like a player that makes sense for them here.

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