The New Jersey Devils surprised many when they made the draft-day trade of John Marino to the new Utah Hockey Club. They got two second-round picks for him, and we learned later that Martin Brodeur was begging for a pick to select goalie Mikhail Yegorov. The big Russian has been playing in North America to prepare for his eventual career in the NHL. That type of commitment will make any team fall in love. His numbers weren’t great with Omaha, but that’s because he was peppered on a nightly basis. The Devils likely what they saw in his mechanics and that’s why they drafted him so high and why he was ranked so high just about everywhere.
Lenni Hameenaho always felt like a decent pick as soon as the Devils made it. He was their first pick, as they didn’t have a first-round pick last year due to the Timo Meier trade. They took a guy who would fit into their mold. However, he exceeded those expectations in year one. Many talk about his intelligence, and he showed it at Assat, putting up 31 points as a teenager. He also almost had a point per game at the World Juniors Championship playing for Finland. The Devils would love a player like this to eventually step in for Stefan Noesen when his contract ends.
He’s big. The Devils took him because he’s big, he will make the NHL because he’s big, and we will always have high hopes for him because he’s big. Anton Silayev is 6’7 and north of 200 bills. He had zero points in the KHL last season, and he’s expected to get zero points this season with Torpedo. His team isn’t one of the best, but it gives him an opportunity to play top-line minutes at the number-two professional league in the world. The Devils didn’t think he’d even be available at number 10, as most had him going third overall, but the Devils got themselves a really solid defenseman.