5 NCAA Free Agents New Jersey Devils Should Target Now
By Nick Natale
Samuel Mayer - D - Ottawa, OHL
If Fitzgerald is looking to double up on undrafted free-agent defenseman, then he should take a look back in the CHL. Mayer is another 20-year-old, 6-foot-3 defenseman similar to Diotte. However, where Mayer usurps, Diotte is on the offensive side of the game. In his first two seasons in the OHL, Mayer had 37 and 48 points, respectively, and currently has 52 points between his time with Peterborough and Ottawa.
Projected bottom-pairing defenseman may be the one spot the Devils have the most depth in, but it wouldn't hurt to add fresh blood into the mix. Mayer is still young enough that he can take two to three seasons in the AHL to develop before making any kind of run at an NHL spot.
"He’s an athletic defenseman who may not have the strongest first few steps but has NHL footspeed in a 6-foot-3 frame. He plays hard and projects to be able to make stops and retrieve pucks versus men... He doesn’t see the ice at a high level and whether the junior offense he’s shown translates is questionable, although I do think he has a pro-level point shot."
- Corey Pronman (The Athletic)