New Jersey Devils: 3 OHL Prospects to Select in NHL Draft

Day one of the NHL Draft was pretty uneventful for the New Jersey Devils. It’s understandable why that is the case considering the fact that they didn’t have a first-round selection, due to the Timo Meier trade (ironically they re-signed Meier to an eight-year deal on Wednesday), and also made a couple of surprising trades recently.

It’s refreshing to see the Devils not so focused on the draft, since they are widely considered to be a playoff-contending team. Despite the draft process being somewhat of an afterthought, there are still a few interesting prospects that the Devils should keep their eye on as the draft progresses. Currently, the Devils have six selections, two being in the sixth round. After the Tyler Toffoli trade, they do not own a third-round pick.

Obviously, the Devils are no strangers when it comes to finding diamonds in the rough. They have discovered talented players late in drafts before, including Jesper Bratt (sixth round in 2016) and Akira Schmid (fifth round in 2018). A few OHL players have already heard their names called (Colby Barlow, Oliver Bonk, Quentin Musty, etc.), but some other OHL talent, specifically from the Erie Otters, might fall to a Devils selection. Pucks and Pitchforks spoke with Otters play-by-play announcer Shawn Bednard as he shared his thoughts and opinions regarding a few talented Otter players.

Watch the full discussion in the latest episode of Locked On Devils.

Carey Terrance – Center – Ranked #38 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)

“When he was going into his OHL Draft year, everything that the scouts said consensus was that he has game-changing speed,” Bednard said. “He’s probably that fastest player from the 2021 OHL Draft Class… Going into the 2022-23 season, he was able to take over. He was a 30-goal scorer, tripled his offensive output, and whenever he had the puck, careening across the middle of the ice, you’re just thinking that something [amazing] could happen. Carey is a really smart player and very selfless.”

Bednard also added that Terrance was given the opportunity to compete for both the United States and Canada for international competition, which gives him an extra advantage compared to some of his peers. This past season, Terrance finished with 47 points (30 goals, 17 assists) in 67 games. He was also an alternate captain for Erie.