New Jersey Devils Top 25 Prospects 2022-23 Season

Patrick Moynihan is famous because Ray Shero drafted him in 2019 after Jack Hughes asked him what he thought of him. Moynihan is an interesting prospect, but he’s incredibly flawed. He does a lot of the little things right. Unfortunately, he isn’t scoring a ton. As a winger in the NCAA, that’s a bad sign. However, the Devils like players who can do a little bit of everything. Moynihan needs to do everything right if he’s going to make it to the NHL. He currently only has seven points in 17 games despite a college career best 17% shooting percentage. He needs to do more in the second half of his senior year to prove he can be an NHL prospect.

The University of Michigan is home to three New Jersey Devils defensemen. This is the lowest ranked on this list. Ethan Edwards is on the second line for the now-eight-ranked Wolverines. He’s playing with Seamus Casey. He is probably one of the least talked about Devils strictly because of the team he plays for. He’s literally the third-most likely Michigan defenseman to make the Devils roster. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have NHL skill. It just means he’s behind two phenomenal players. He’s smaller (5’10), and he isn’t great offensively, but he can skate. Sometimes, that is just enough to get NHL minutes.

Zakhar Bardakov is one of the hardest prospects to rank on this list. There is always one player, usually in the KHL, who starts to put up stats in a men’s league. It’s hard to see when, or if, that will ever translate to the NHL. After playing a full season with SKA St. Petersburg, one of the best teams in the top Russian league, he’s now contributing on a nightly basis. Bardakov’s biggest asset is his compete level. Bardakov is a seventh-round pick, so being named on this chart is impressive enough. However, for some prospect experts to call him a likely NHL player one day is even better. Bardakov has to improve, but he’s shown he’s got the mindset to succeed in this sport.

What a strange journey it’s been for Samy Salminen. He falls on the prospects list after ranking 13th last season. He was supposed to play for the University of Denver, but he faced admissions issues. So, he had to transfer to UConn, but visa issues caused a delay to his season. This really is a nightmare, and the Devils are watching the progress of a great prospect stall. Luckily, he has a really good head on his shoulders. He’s got hockey IQ coming out of everywhere. He was the captain of his Swedish junior team, and after a slow start, he is starting to show up on the score sheet for a surging Huskies team. Salminen could rocket up this list by the end of the year. Just hard to give him the benefit of the doubt without seeing how he reacts to the North American game. We still expect him to be a top-10 prospect eventually.

The Canadian World Juniors rosters were announced, and Tyler Brennan was always a lock to make the team. The fourth-round pick in the most recent NHL Draft has been playing well in the WHL, and many believe he will be the starting goalie for Team Canada once final cuts are announced. It is ironic seeing how Brennan’s season has gone a little sideways. His .884 save percentage is… concerning. However, he has all the tools to be an elite goalie someday. Hopefully, he wins the Canada job outright and can prove himself in this tournament. Gaining a little confidence could help the second half of his season.