The New Jersey Devils are preparing for one of the most important NHL Draft experiences of Tom Fitzgerald's tenure. He's had more important picks, like when he took Simon Nemec with the second-overall pick or the three picks he had in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft, but this year should be the final time in a long time that the Devils have a top-10 pick.
The Devils have resisted using the pick in trade discussions despite Fitzgerald saying point-blank that he'd be willing to use it to get a very good player. He's already made the trade for a goalie, acquiring Jacob Markstrom for a 2025 protected first-round pick and Kevin Bahl. They are also rumored to be in on Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce to be a major upgrade on defense.
It appears they are going to keep their 10th-overall pick and the rest of their 2024 picks in the NHL Draft. They did sell this past season after some disappointing results, which led to an extra third-round pick, but they are missing their second-round pick (Timo Meier trade), their fourth-round pick (Curtis Lazar trade), and their seventh-round pick (also the Timo Meier trade). With six total picks this season, the Devils could have a transformative draft if the pieces fall in the right place.
This has been one of the hardest decisions in this blog's history (not that it's really up to us). There are literally a dozen players who could go here. Whether it’s someone who could fall to 10 like Sam Dickinson (the Devils would 100 percent take him here) or Cayden Lindstrom or just wondering who might be available in that position like Tij Iginla, Berkly Catton, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and Konsta Helenius. At the end of the evaluation, based on who should be available, what Tom Fitzgerald might be thinking, and what the Devils will want, this came down to USNDTP’s Cole Eiserman or OHL’s Beckett Sennecke.
We went with Sennecke for two reasons. One, Eiserman has very little smoke around him and the Devils. While he seems like a perfect compliment to Jack Hughes on paper, Fitzgerald likes those who can make their own plays. Eiserman is the best shooter in the draft, but he can’t create.
Sennecke can absolutely create plays. He helped a major second-half push for the Oshawa Generals. He’s been rocketing up the draft boards thanks to his increased size. While he doesn’t use his size to his advantage just yet, he can learn that.
Sennecke is a point-per-game player in Juniors. He was even better in the playoffs, scoring 22 points in 16 games. A player who can play at that level in the most important moments is essential to showing they can translate their game to the NHL level. It’s a risk, as he wasn’t someone with a pedigree as a top-10 pick, but he earned this, and the Devils should be excited to give him a shot.