The New Jersey Devils release their development camp rosters on Monday, inviting their best and brightest to New Jersey to showcase where they are on their development timeline. Some of their most recent draft picks are at the Prudential Center, including 2025 second-round pick Ben Kevan, third-round pick Mason Moe, and sixth-round picks David Rozsial and Sigge Holmgren. Second-round pick Conrad Fondrk is also there, but he's recovering from an in-season injury.
The Devils have other top prospects performing at camp, including goalies Mikhail Yegorov and Jakub Malek, forwards Shane Lachance and Cam Squires, plus defensemen Artem Barabosha and Ethan Edwards. It’s a decent group, but there is one player who is conspicuously not there, and he might be at the top of the Top 25 Prospects list before the season.
When I spoke to #NJDevils Anton Silayev's agent earlier this month, he said the plan was for the defenseman to attend development camp, and they were working on his visitor visa. As the team just announced, Anton is not here "due to having visa issues on their end."
— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) June 30, 2025
Anton Silayev was the Devils' first-round pick last season, going 10th overall. The Devils were excited about the big, athletic defenseman, and he might have been the most popular player at this camp. Like we said, he's probably the Devils' top prospect at this point. He might be a superstar in the making, but Devils fans and the front office lost an important opportunity to see his progress against his fellow prospects.
Missing Anton Silayev is a sad update from the New Jersey Devils' Development Camp
In the past, the Devils have been able to quickly resolve visa issues to get players where they need to be, so missing Silayev for this camp is likely an extreme situation. One might be a little worried about other visa issues ahead of training camp, but the Devils have months to understand the process and fix any issues that might arise for other international players.
Silayev isn't going to lose much on his development by missing one camp, but the Devils do miss out on an opportunity to speak directly with their future hulking blue liner. The Devils and other teams use prospect/development camps as opportunities to get face time with the players they hope are the future of their franchise.
Devils fans also lose an opportunity to get excited about his talent. Silayev is a unicorn in that he's huge but skates like he's a forward. He has potential, but Devils fans will have to wait at least until the KHL season starts to see it in action.