Prospect System Ranking – 1st (3rd last year)
What a difference a year makes, after finishing 28th in the league with 63 points in 2021-22 to finishing third in the league with 113 points and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Tom Fitzgerald took over in January 2020 and inherited a team that included two first overall picks in Jack Hughes (21-years-old) and Nico Hischier (23). Both arrived this season in spectacular fashion giving the Devils one of the best one-two punches down the middle in the league. In his first three drafts he had six first round picks, including two top five overall. Two of those picks, Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer, are in the line-up and thriving. Simon Nemec (2nd – 2022), Luke Hughes (#4 – 2021), and Alexander Holtz (7th – 2020) should all join the team as soon as next season. They are all ranked in the top 10 of McKeen’s top 200 NHL prospects – Hughes- 2nd, Nemec – 7th, and Holtz – 10th. While that is a large reason they rank as the top prospect pool in 2023, it is also because they are deep, with 10 total prospects in the top 200.
Following the 2021 draft Fitzgerald started adding critical pieces to this year’s success through free agency in signing Dougie Hamilton and Tomas Tatar in 2021 and trading for 26-year-old Jonas Siegenthaler and 27-year-old Ryan Graves on defense. In 2022 he signed Ondrej Palat in free agency and traded picks and prospects for 25-year-old John Marino on defense and 27-year-old Vitek Vanecek in goal. Then made a blockbuster for 26-year-old Timo Meier, a 40-goal scoring power forward entering his prime, but an RFA at season’s end. A solid core all entering their prime is completed by 25-year-old Michael McLeod and 24-year-old Jesper Bratt. Fitzgerald has built an exciting, fast transition team, that is poised to challenge for the Stanley Cup for the foreseeable future.
Selected fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, it’s just a matter of time before Luke Hughes makes the jump to the NHL to join his brother Jack with the Devils. There may very well be a point where, looking back at this draft, Luke Hughes emerges as the top player. Drafted as the clear No. 1 defender with the USNTDP, he made the jump to the NCAA’s University of Michigan in 2021-22, where he had a very strong year as one of the most productive defenders in the league. He was honoured as a Hobey Baker finalist, the Big Ten Rookie of the Year, and named to numerous All-Star Teams. This year, he had an even better season, including captaining Team USA to a Bronze Medal at the World Juniors. He’s a poster child for the modern-era defenseman, with a transition game that will translate effortlessly to the NHL. He’ll be a top-two defender for the Devils.
2. Simon Nemec
Yet another potential game-breaking defender in the Devils’ system, Simon Nemec was selected second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft after an incredible 2021-22 season. His draft year included being named MVP of the Hlinka Gretzky, an Olympic Bronze medal, and a World Championship appearance, on top of a dominant regular season and playoff run with HK Nitra. His introduction to North America started off slow but he’s found his game as the season has progressed and seems to be back to his exceptional ways. He’s a very mature, calm player that can surprise you with his speed and creativity. He drives the play, quarterbacking his team from the back end. He’s a very strong puck mover, using his feet or his hands to make plays. He’s also solid in his own end, showing off impressive defensive awareness too. He has top-two potential and could very well become one of the best offensive defenders in the league.
3. Alexander Holtz
With many top players from the 2020 NHL Draft already impacting at the NHL level, patience has seemed to grow thin for seventh-overall pick Alexander Holtz. Selected from Djurgardens in the SHL, he spent just one more season in the league before coming overseas. He joined the AHL’s Utica Comets full-time in 2021-22, playing at nearly a point-per-game pace throughout the season. He’s about there again this season while seeing time in the NHL in both seasons as well. Holtz is very likely to make the shift to full-time NHLer next season, thanks to his hard, accurate shot, his impressive movement of the puck, and his improving ability to get to the high-danger areas, which has been a work in progress for him thus far. He has the potential to be a top-line sniper and could be one of the best goal-scorers in the league in his prime.
4. Arseni Gritsyuk
Drafted way down at 129th overall in 2019, Arseni Gritsyuk has continued to outplay that selection. When the Devils drafted him, he had just finished his rookie season in the MHL but had helped Team Russia to a bronze medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and a silver medal at the Unider-18s. He’s spent all four seasons post-draft in Russia as well, working his way up to the KHL where he’s become a full-time player the past two seasons. He also won KHL Rookie of the Year in 2021-22. The forward boasts a hard, deceptive shot but can dish it out as well, doing well to drive the puck to the middle via passing or carrying it in himself. He’s very light on his feet and is fearless in his pursuit. He should be an excellent secondary-scoring winger in the NHL. His contract with Avangard Omsk is up at the end of this season, so he may be heading to North America soon.
5. Reilly Walsh
After splitting his draft year between the USHL’s Chicago Steel and Prep school Proctor Academy, the Devils bet on Reilly Walsh and selected him 81st in the 2017 NHL Draft. He then moved on to the NCAA with Harvard University where he spent three years, playing consistent, productive hockey without shining too brightly. He signed with the Devils and jumped to the AHL in 2020-21 where he’s continued that trend of consistency. He was apparently on the trade block this past trade deadline but remains a Devil for now. He’s an offensive defender that moves very well with the puck on his stick, isn’t afraid to jump up into the rush, and has a great shot. He has quick edges and a level of deception in his game. The defender likely caps out as a bottom-line defender, but a contributing one that could see time on the power play as well.
6. Kevin Bahl
A player that will be graduating from this list very soon, Kevin Bahl was acquired by the Devils in the Taylor Hall to Arizona trade back in 2019. The 6-foot-6, 229-pounder was originally drafted back in 2018, 55th overall from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. After the trade, he didn’t waste any time, making the jump to the AHL in the 2020-21 season, even getting time in the NHL that season. That’s been the trend since, where he gets more and more time in the NHL every season. While his size would suggest he’s on the slower side, that’s not the case at all. He’s a very mobile defender that also brings physicality and an excellent defensive game to the ice. With his reach and strength, he’s just so hard to beat. He doesn’t have a ton of offensive upside, but he should be a solid, bottom-paring, shutdown defenseman.
7. Seamus Casey
Seamus Casey has the potential to be the steal of the 2022 NHL Draft. His draft year was a little up and down with the USNTDP, resulting in him being selected 46th overall despite early thoughts of him as a first rounder. Now with the University of Michigan in the NCAA, he’s back to the play that earned him first-round consideration. He’s an excellent quarterback, using great vision to scan the ice and lead his team’s attack. He plays a very fluid game that makes it seem like the game comes easily to him. His four-way mobility stands out in the offensive end, where he can surprise teams with his agility and creativity. There have been some concerns regarding his processing and decision-making, but he’s taken great strides in these areas this season. He’s well on his way to outplaying his 46th-overall selection and becoming a top-four defender in the NHL.
8. Josh Filmon
It’s not often that a player drafted in the sixth round is signed and makes the jump to the next level the following season, but that’s exactly what Josh Filmon has done. Selected 166th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft from the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos, Filmon returned to the Broncos as an alternate captain, putting up 75 points and 47 goals in just 64 games. The Devils’ brass saw all they needed to, signing him to his entry-level deal and bringing him up to the AHL. He’s a winger that seems to do all the little things right, playing a really smart, consistent game. His skating is an area that does need to improve if he is to succeed in the AHL and NHL. Still, he’s long seemed like a player that would translate easily to the next level. He could carve out a bottom-six role for himself, but it’s more likely that he’s a depth option.
9. Nolan Foote
Another top-10 player in the system that the Devils acquired via trade, Nolan Foote was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019, 27th overall. Foote went back to the WHL and the Kelowna Rockets in 2019-20 as the captain of the team, and the Devils landed him that season and didn’t waste any time. They had him up in the AHL in 2020-21 and he’s spent the last three seasons there, with brief looks in the NHL each season. He’s taken notable steps forward each season, improving his speed, his awareness, and his hands. He hasn’t taken over the AHL as has been hoped, but he’s been looking better and better and his production does show that. While he no longer looks like a top-six option, he still has middle-six potential and should be a reliable secondary scoring option. Now it’s just a matter of when.
10. Topias Vilen
The Devils have had an excellent run in recent drafts in the later rounds, and Topias Vilen might be the poster child for that. The Devils called his name 129th overall in 2021 from the Liiga’s Pelicans. Looking at his stats, it can seem that he hasn’t taken huge strides forward in his development. However, Vilen is more of a defensive defender, and his mature style of play is enough to carry him to the AHL and potentially the NHL. He plays big minutes, his angling out on the rush and his active stick are very impressive, and when he needs to, he can kick off transition with a solid first pass. He’s shown this season that he can contribute on the scoreboard too, a nice addition to the package he brings. His ceiling isn’t overly high, but like Bahl, he could come in as a bottom-pairing, shut-down d-man that is used heavily on the penalty kill.