The New Jersey Devils have an interesting dilemma on their hands this offseason. After Sunny Mehta went scorched Earth this offseason to add quality depth to the roster, there aren’t many holes. Last season, a laundry list of injuries exposed the Devils’ depth quickly. They were a Nico Hischier injury away from Cody Glass playing 1C.
This caused a ton of NHL debuts. Some were obvious, like Arseny Gritsyuk, who spent his entire season with the Devils. Then, there were guys like Lenni Hameenaho, who got a legit shot with the NHL club before hitting a rookie wall. Other exciting prospects like Shane Lachance, Topias Vilen, and Xavier Parent got a cup of coffee.
Looking at this year’s possibilities, there are some great prospects who could be putting on the Devils sweater in a regular-season game for the first time. There's a lot of talent here.
1. Amadeus Lombardi
Like Gritsyuk, we’ll start with the obvious. Amadeus Lombardi is like Sunny Mehta’s pet project, sending a fourth-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for his services. All summer, Mehta was speaking highly of the new prospect. And now, he’s primed to start opening night in the lineup. He is currently slated to play alongside Glass and Connor Brown on the fourth line, but don’t be surprised if he’s the first guy to move up if there’s an injury to a winger.
2. Anton Silayev
The Devils' 2024 first-round pick has been controversial from the start. Not because of anything he’s actually doing, but because of the pick itself and the handling of him in the KHL. Anton Silayev did not have the immediate upside of Jason Dickinson, Zeev Buium, or even Konsta Helenius, who Tom Fitzgerald considered with the pick. However, he has a unicorn ability that no other defenseman of his size can do. That unicorn skating ability will intrigue the Devils into at least trying him out for a night to see if he’s NHL-ready (which we don’t think he is).
3. Matyas Melovsky
Matyas Melovsky really impressed at camp this year. He was playing alongside NHL players, and he didn’t look out of place. He is poised to be the Utica Comets’ number-one center going into the season, and he’s ready to build on his 26-point season last year. He’s shown in the past that he can perform on the big stage, putting up 11 points when he played at the 2023-24 World Junior Championships for Czechia. We expect to see some really exciting growth from the 22-year-old center. And we see a cup of coffee in the big leagues, even if it’s just to see how he translates to the big stage.
4. Ben Steeves
Ben Steeves might not be a name many expected to be on here, but he has some interesting upside, and he showed some things to the analysts in the preseason. He’s been noticeable on the ice, and he’s great at drawing penalties. Coaches love it when a fourth liner can draw penalties. It is probably the most impactful way they can get goals on the board for the offense. He does have a lot of people in front of him at the moment, but he could easily pass most of the players in Utica if he has a great season. With his playmaking ability and tenacity, he should be considered towards the end of the season.
5. Alexander Command
This one needs a little finessing, and Mehta might not want to even do it because it would burn a year of his entry-level contract for seemingly no reason, but there’s a nonzero chance that at the end of his Swedish season, 2026 first-round pick Alexander Command is giving a game or two to produce on the Devils ahead of the playoffs. Similar to Luke Hughes in 2023, Command has a chance to showcase exactly how he could impact this roster long term with just a few games in hand in 2027.
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