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

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.