Friday afternoon, longtime hockey writer Arthur Staple reignited his weekly Tri-State Hockey Report on Twitter, beginning with a segment on the New Jersey Devils. Within the report, he noted that Anton Silayev, the Devils' 10th overall pick from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, could fight for a roster spot in training camp.
However, there are a lot of moving parts for the Devils, especially on defense. With that, it's worth exploring whether or not this can actually be the case.
The first piece of the equation is that it will be Silayev's first season on North American ice. It's different for skaters, of course, but Utica Comets goaltender Jakub Málek struggled at several points through the 2025-26 season by virtue of never having played stateside before. The pace is different, the playstyles are different, and it will be an adjustment to say the least. Assuming he will be immediately ready to contribute at a high level in the AHL, let alone the NHL, isn't a guarantee.
The second part of it is that his development has objectively stagnated since getting drafted. Part of it is due to the typical KHL treatment of highly-touted prospects, punishing them with poor deployment and failing to develop them into NHL-level talents, but some of it is simply because his toolkit isn't as polished as it should be at this point in time, independent of deployment and treatment. Three points in 61 games while logging between 12-18 minutes a night doesn't really cut it.
Anton Silayev has a real opportunity in New Jersey Devils training camp
The third, most important piece of the puzzle is that there are five left-handed defensemen on one-way contracts for 2026-27, including two that were brought on to the organization this summer. Obviously, Luke Hughes isn't going anywhere and should be penciled into the top-pair role. Past him are Jonas Siegenthaler and Brenden Dillon, both of whom are getting paid at least $3.4 million for this season.
Behind them are Declan Chisholm and Vladislav Kolyachonok, both of whom were added to the roster this off-season and both of whom are on one-way deals. Chisholm makes $1.6 million against the cap, while Kolyachonok's entire salary can be buried in the AHL.
That means, then, that Silayev has to beat out at least three defensemen in training camp to solidify a spot on the roster, barring a trade or two. Even with a trade, he must surpass two players in the depth chart.
Given that he is having his inaugural North American campaign in 2026-27 and that he still has a way to go in terms of his puck-moving development, it seems far-fetched that he will find his way on the roster on opening night. That doesn't mean that he can't substantially develop or get called up by virtue of injuries at some point throughout the season.
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