New Jersey Devils Top 25 Prospects 2022-23 Season
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have been on fire this season. After years of futility, it seems like the rebuild is finally over. 10 years at the bottom of the standings outside one outlier is finally paying off. The two former number-one overall picks, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes lead the way. They are the top two players in goals on the team, and they’ve been near the top of the league in advanced stats.
The Devils are here because of quality drafting and smart asset management. 13 players in lineups this season were drafted by the Devils. Seven were drafted after the first round of the NHL Draft. Whether it’s Tom Fitzgerald, Ray Shero, or even some leftovers from Lou Lamoriello’s drafts, the Devils have done a phenomenal job keeping and identifying great talent.
The Devils fought the urge to trade major prospects for pieces. They haven’t moved desirable draft picks. That leaves them with a quality pool of prospects despite still having one of the best teams in the league. That’s what brings us here. We’re talking about the top 25 prospects in the Devils system.
There are some changes from the last season’s list. Remember, prospects must be under 24 years old, have their rights owned by the Devils, and cannot be an NHL regular. The following players did not make this year’s list because of the above factors or because other players replaced them:
Michael Vukojevich
Daniil Misyul
Jaromir Pytlik
Yegor Zaitsev
Cole Brady
Fabian Zetterlund
Nate Schnarr
Jesper Boqvist
Marian Studenic
So, who are the nine new players on this edition of the Top 25 Prospects list? Let’s start with number 25.
Topias Vilén. player. Scouting Report. D. Lahti Pelicans. 25. 85. Pick Analysis
The Devils have a ton of depth on the blueline. There are nine defensemen on this list, more than any other position. We start with Topias Vilén. The Devils loaned him back to his Finnish team the Lahti Pelicans in Liiga. He has been in a men’s league for the past three seasons; an impressive feat for a 19-year-old. One of the biggest problems with his game is he was missing offensive instincts. Well, as of this writing, he has six goals and three assists through 18 games. His game is growing, and he will likely be a lot higher on the list in its nest iteration.