New Jersey Devils Add Daniil Rusakovich, Luke Wilfley, & Quinn McKenzie In Late Rounds Of 2026 NHL Draft

The New Jersey Devils had the 140th overall pick in the 5th Round, but they traded it to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for picks 149 and 222. 

With pick 149, the Devils selected goaltender Daniil Rusakovich. He was a part of a long run of goalies that saw a large number of them taken. 

Rusakovich comes from Belarus. Playing for Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruysk of the MHL, he had a 1.94 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in 20 games played. 

He put up good numbers, but he will have to continue proving it as he progresses through better leagues. Goaltenders are always a wild-card, and this is Sunny Mehta's first drafted netminder. 

With pick 172, the Devils selected forward Luke Wilfley from the Portland Winterhawks. He didn't provide much offense in 2025-26, but he is a depth forward who can bring a physical presence to a bottom-six. 

He had 9 goals and 6 assists for 15 points in 66 games played with the WHL's Portland, and he will be looking to improve on those numbers with development at whatever level he finds himself at next. 

With pick 222, the Devils selected center Quinn McKenzie of the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL. In 65 games played for Soo during his draft year, McKenzie had 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points. 

He will take his talents to Penn State, where he will have an opportunity to be a depth forward on a very good NCAA squad. 

These three late-round selections close out a very unique draft for the New Jersey Devils, where they had an emphasis on high-risk, high-reward players. Analytically, this is a nice class for Sunny Mehta in his first year, which was to be expected. 

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