The New Jersey Devils are preparing for a very important draft pick. Of course, if and when the Devils make the 12th overall pick at this month’s NHL Draft, it will be the first pick of the Sunny Mehta tenure. Mehta took over as GM in May, and he’s been making moves since then.
Nothing has been foundational, but he revamped his front office staff, decided to keep Sheldon Keefe as head coach, and signed Anton Silayev to an entry-level contract. He has a ton on his to-do list to get the Devils back to contention, and a draft pick isn’t even in the top 10.
It’s still a very important pick. The Devils don’t want to keep picking in the top 15 in the draft. They want this to be the last time for a while unless they get a lucky trade, like the Bruins and Flyers holding onto future Toronto Maple Leafs’ draft picks. Hopefully, they can get a premium prospect. Who are some of the players we’re looking at?
Viggo Björck
The number one player we want the Devils to draft is Viggo Bjorck. If he were six feet tall, he’d be an easy top-five pick, but he’s not. He’s 5’9 and just 177 lbs. That is going to have certain teams take him completely off their boards, but if he stood on his skill he’d be 10 feet tall.
His raw skill sends him into a different conversation, showing at the World Juniors how he can take over a tournament when given the chance. He’s playing in the SHL right now, and he’s even on the top line for Djurgården. Getting that kind of experience right off the bat will be essential in his development.
Despite his size, he battles hard on every play, and everything about his athletic profile should put him eventually in the Devils’ top six. That’s exactly what they need long-term. There are very few people in the Devils' system who even have that as their very top upside. They need to add a prospect with that level of upside like that, and if Bjorck falls, he needs to be the pick.
Tynan Lawrence
Tynan Lawrence is another player who could be chosen in the top 11, but if he falls to the Devils, Mehta should run to Gary Bettman to make the pick. Tynan Lawrence was almost a point per game in the USHL as a 16-year-old. Obviously, that’s not the best competition in the world, but he’s playing against players that should dominate a 16 year old.
This past season, Lawrence had 10 goals in 13 games before he was upgraded to Boston College. Now in the NCAA on one of the premier teams in college hockey, Lawrence should only get better with time. He had a slower start for BC, but he picked it up at the end of the season with six points in his final eight games.
This has superstar forward written all over it. He had a slightly slower NCAA season, and that could be the reason Lawrence falls to the Devils, which would be a gift. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and that intelligence should help him acclimate to the NCAA level, and eventually, to the NHL. Lawrence would be a monster pick for the Devils.
Oscar Hemming
Were seeing Oscar Hemming’s name tied to the Devils a ton, and the number-one reason for that is because of his size. Hemming is already playing in the NCAA, but he hasn’t made an impact for Boston College just yet. He has the build and the skill to be a top-six power forward in this league, but teams have been chasing the Tom Wilson-types for years and failing. Even those who come close, like Josh Anderson, usually get an injury and lose their effectiveness earlier than other forwards.
That might be a calculated risk Mehta must take on a player who fills a serious need while also possibly being the best player available. If Lawrence and Bjorck are off the board at 12, there’s no clear pick for 12th overall, so Mehta can take a shot to draft for need.
There’s also the issue that he missed half of this past season because of a fight with his former club in Finland that removed him from eligibility to join the Kitchener Rangers. That’s why he had to make the jump to the NCAA and why he didn’t have the best season overall. This is a risk, but we’re starting to get into risk territory here.
Elton Hermansson
The Devils are willing to take a chance on skill in the draft. We are curious as to what their new GM is going to prioritize, and we’ll learn about that during the draft. He’s said that he ranked Jesper Bratt as the third-best player in the 2016 NHL Draft. That’s fine, but at the time, that would have been an insane choice.
Now, Elton Hermansson could be a pick where Mehta takes a player a little higher than many expected. He’s not taking a projected sixth-round pick in the first round, but he is going after a player that some have listed in the 20s. And we’re not sure why.
Hermansson dominated the U18 World Junior Championship. He had four goals and eight assists in seven games. He’s a play driver that could become what we all hoped Dawson Mercer would become. This is a player that, at his peak, should easily slot into the top six for the Devils.
Ethan Belchetz
Ethan Belchetz is about the opposite of Bjorck in that he’s huge and plays to his size. He’s a pure goal scorer, lighting the lamp 34 times in 57 games for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL this past season. He plays with a reckless abandon that can turn a player into a David Clarkson type. The Devils would love to have a David Clarkson type on this team.
The issue with Belchetz is his skating. He is below average when compared to the draft. Which means he is far below average when compared to other players in the top 15. Skating isn’t usually something that develops, so that’s something Mehta has to assess during his scouting.
However, Belchetz has an incredible shot. That’s another trait that can be hard to teach. And many might look at him and think we’re seeing the next version of Alexander Holtz, but this isn’t a one-trick pony. Belchetz could be a great pick, but there is definitely risk with this pick.
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