Jakub Malek
One thing that is clear this season is the New Jersey Devils need to look at bringing over any goaltending help. Jakub Malek has been developing really well playing in Liiga. His 6'4, 190lb frame helped him post a 10-2-3 record. He has shown a lot of growth from the past season, raising his save percentages from .903 to .907.
The butterfly goalie has shown to be more calm and composed yet very economical with his mechanics and keeping his team in games. Malek has a 2.52 Goals Allowed Average and will be 22 in April. The netminder has been very sound with the puck and also has shown when he goes down on his knees, he shortens his five hole and does a fantastic job using his paddle to make saves, controlling the juicy rebounds. It would be a wise move for Tom Fitzgerald and Niklas Evertsson (the head of NJ Devils European Amateur Scouting) to bring Jakub Malek over ASAP to help bolster the Devils goalie conundrum.
Chase Cheslock #BeAShooter pic.twitter.com/GeMrhV8AfO
— Ben Jaremko (@Bennythejet18) March 20, 2023
Chase Cheslock
The Devils drafted Chase Cheslock in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He has moved up from the USHL and is now in the NCAA, so he's part of the region Yours Truly covers for Draft Prospects Hockey. Chase Cheslock had a hit and two blocked shots playing for St. Thomas University with over 20 minutes of ice time against Vermont. He has a very good short pass and stretch pass and plays a simple breakout game.
The Minnesota native has really good neutral zone gap control and is going to only improve at St. Thomas. The fact that Cheslock graduated to NCAA hockey is perfect for his growth as a right-handed defender. He is gonna be a really good defenseman once he moves on from D1 hockey in the next few seasons and keeps continuing his two-way Sasquatch play in shot blocking, hits, takeaways, and creating points. Cheslock has been a player who has a lot of upside. It strikes some minds that he has the frame of Colin Miller and the potential to be a very gritty defender with lots of discipline on the backend.
2024 has a lot of good things going for the New Jersey Devils, from the prospect pool to the Devils themselves in the hunt to make a few key moves on the trade market. That could get them back to solidifying the goalie position and adding a defender. This team is going to be in very good shape in multiple ways, and there is a lot to look forward to, the team is staying competitive in the wild card spot, and if they keep improving, maybe they will move up higher in the standings. You have to tip your cap to the scouts for the Devils and yes there is a bit of work left to improve the home teams small conundrums this team still remains a very competitive team, and has plenty room to keep improving before the trade deadline.