New Jersey Devils Top 25 Prospects ahead of 2024-25 preseason

The New Jersey Devils have had intriguing prospects since Lou Lamoriello left for Toronto. Originally under Ray Shero, and now under Tom Fitzgerald, the draft has been where the team sees an opportunity to find new talent. This isn't a secret concept. All 32 teams spend millions of dollars to draft 5-10 players each year. Yet, the cost to value ratio is more valuable than anything a team can do.

This is why it's so fun going through the Top 25 Prospects every season. The list often changes throughout the year, and it's all about projecting progression. Could a third-round pick turn into an NHL star? Will a first-round pick end up an NHL regular, or is there a high risk for bust? Anything is possible with this list, including a sixth-round pick turning into a core piece of this team's future.

In previous iterations of the list, we've seen players like Fabian Zetterlund wildly out-develop their ranking, and others like Alexander Holtz fail to live up to their top-three rankings. It all comes down to how these players develop from here. Any one of these 25 players, and even a few players not listed here, could become an NHL regular.

Remember, prospects must be under 24 years old, have their rights owned by the Devils, and cannot be an NHL regular. The following players did not make this year’s list because of the above factors or because other players replaced them:

Jaromir Pytlik
Shane Bowers
Brian Halonen
Daniil Misyul
Case McCarthy
and of course, Simon Nemec

Without further ado, let's get to the list.

New Jersey Devils Top 25 Prospects ahead of the start of Training Camp

Isaac Poulter was one of the few positive stories from last year's New Jersey Devils season. When the Utica Comets went into last season, they expected Erik Kallgren and Jeremy Brodeur to take the bulk of the load until Nico Daws fully recovered from hip surgery. However, while literally every goalie tied to the Devils (including Keith Kinkaid who had NHL rights with the Devils but AHL rights with the Chicago Wolves) was failing in net, Poulter was playing very well. He played so well, he earned himself an NHL contract. He's near the end of this list because his path to the NHL is still incredibly hazy, but he migh be the best story in the AHL. We'll see how much playing time he gets this season, because he does have a shot to rise up this list.