New Jersey Devils picking Anton Silayev last night was an obvious slam dunk

When you draft a player with Anton Silayev’s size, you just can’t wait to get him over to North America. That likely won’t happen for a couple of seasons, and considering the fact New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald drafted him over a player like Zeev Buium, it’s more than understandable to call this pick a risk.

It is, but I’ll be frank: I thought Silayev was going to be long gone by the time the Devils were on the clock at No. 10. There was an outside chance the Chicago Blackhawks would have shocked us at No. 2, but they made the right decision in rolling with Artyom Levshunov, and for many reasons, you can say the same about the Devils opting for Silayev. 

Apart from his size, a frame that he may not be finished growing into, Anton Silayev is one of those players who you know will play a stay-at-home game defensively, and that’s something this organization proved last year that they needed. Again, he won’t help immediately, as his contract runs through 2025-26, but he will be that much more developed as a player once he’s in North America, likely for 2026-27. 

Anton Silayev was a slam dunk for the New Jersey Devils

What makes Anton Silayev so exciting is that while yes, he’s a hitter and someone who will disrupt sequences and such, he’s also got potential to play a two-way game. Scoff at that as much as you’d like, and I encourage the skepticism, but you got a good, fast skater who managed to sneak in 11 points and three goals during his first full season in the KHL, plus another two points in five playoff games. 

For a kid who was just 17 at the time, that type of productivity was outstanding. If he builds on that and becomes even more productive when the puck is on his stick over the next two seasons, Devils fans will be ultra-excited Tom Fitzgerald rolled with him last night. 

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