The New Jersey Devils celebrated a successful 2024 NHL Draft haul. In the first round, they took unicorn defenseman Anton Silayev out of the KHL. He's a monster on the back end with fantastic skating ability. While Zeev Buium would have been a perfect pick here, Silayev could become a Zdeno Chara-type, and that's hard to pass up.
In the second round, the Devils took goalie Mikhail Yegorov. He looks like the goalie of the future for the Devils. His impact to Boston University, dragging them to the NCAA Championship Game, shows how well he can play under pressure.
In the third round, the Devils took two high-upside prospects. The one who could have been a difference maker is already gone. The Devils traded Herman Traff to the Anaheim Ducks in the Brian Dumoulin trade. While Dumoulin played important minutes for the Devils down the stretch and in the playoffs, it was still a huge price to pay for a guy heading into free agency.
The other third-round pick the Devils selected was Kasper Pikkarainen. He's a young, large-bodied forward who can play both sides of the ice with power.
Pikkarainen took a risk this year to jump into the North American style, choosing to play with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. He wanted to bring a toughness to the league while learning to hone his skill game. Pikkarainen said he mirrors his game from the Tkachuk brothers, which should get Devils fans excited.
Unfortunately, he played just one game.
Pikkarainen suffered a serious knee injury in that game, and the Red Deer Rebels released him from their agreement after the season. Now, as Pikkarainen tries to take control back of his development. He's just 18 years old, but the knee injury has question marks around his hockey future. Now, Pikkarainen has chosen to take his talents back home.
Kasper Pikkarainen nähdään tulevalla kaudella jälleen TPS:n paidassa - hänen aiemmin solmittu sopimuksensa jatkuu kauden 2026–2027 loppuun asti 🖤🤍
— HC TPS (@HCTPS) May 7, 2025
Uutena Kasper Pikkaraisen kummiyrityksenä kaudella 2025–2026 toimii Roster! #HCTPS #Turku #Liiga pic.twitter.com/rBMlp3RKwE
For those looking for Google Translate, Pikkarainen signed a contract with HC TPS of the Finnish league. TPS barely snuck into the playoffs last year, and they were way too close to relegation for their liking, so we're not surprised they are adding talent this offseason.
It's also not surprising that Pikkarainen is going back to Finland to take back his development track. He still has a chance to earn his way on the Finnish World Juniors team. He also wants to show that he still has a trajectory for NHL games. However, what he does in Finland this season has to at least show he can be healthy.