The New Jersey Devils have built one of the best young cores in the league. However, despite the team's incredible defensive lines and star talent at center, there are still areas for improvement, writes Tony Ferrari.

As the NHL off-season ticks on, Tony Ferrari continues to analyze each team’s prospect pool, with the New Jersey Devils next up.

In this series, Tony Ferrari digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

Introduction

The New Jersey prospect pool is devilishly good. I’m sorry.

All (poor) jokes aside, the New Jersey Devils have been building one of the best young teams in the NHL, and they are still bursting at the seams when it comes to prospects looking to work their way onto the roster. Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Akira Schmid, and Kevin Bahl are all under 24 years old. Captain Nico Hischier is still just 24 years old. The Devils are young, and they have more talent – and another Hughes – on the way.

That’s the perfect place to start. Luke Hughes joined the team late last season after the University of Michigan’s season came to a close, and he made his impact felt almost immediately. Hughes scored a beautiful overtime goal for his first career NHL goal, and he was a catalyst offensively when he was out there. He should be an NHLer to start next season and could very well be a dark horse for the Calder. He should be given plenty of opportunity to play in offensive situations and likely won’t be asked to shoulder much of the defensive load to start his NHL career.

While Hughes is the star prospect on the left side of the defense, Simon Nemec is the right-handed defender who could very well have stardom in his future. After 34 points in 65 AHL games last year, he should find his way into the NHL at some point this upcoming season, even if just for a cup of coffee to fill in for an injury. He is a very good skater who moves the puck at a high level. Whether on the breakout or in the offensive zone, Nemec’s passes are crisp and clean. His defensive game is still a work in progress, especially against heavier opponents, but he has time to work on it, as the Devils won’t be in a rush to get him in the lineup.

Seamus Casey was Hughes’ teammate at the University of Michigan. During his freshman season, he was able to refine some of the defensive warts in his game while continuing to produce offensively with 29 points in 37 games. Casey is an exceptional puck handler, using head fakes and weight shifts to throw off opponents through the neutral zone. If he can continue making strides at both ends of the ice, he could be a very valuable prospect who should come into the lineup as some of the older, pricier veterans are on their way out.

Another Wolverine in the pipeline is fellow defenseman Ethan Edwards. He is an aggressive defender who closes gaps quickly in an effort to limit chances against and then moves the puck to a teammate. His offensive game is simple and lacks the upside of the other guys in the system, but he has plenty of room to be both a defensive and transitional defenseman. Charlie Leddy, from Boston College, is another defense-first blueliner. Leddy is a bit more of a willing skater with the puck in transition, though. Leddy does a fantastic job of deceiving forecheckers and escaping pressure deep in his own end. The blueline has plenty of talent for New Jersey.

Up front, the Devils aren’t as deep or high-end, but they do have a number of very good players looking to work toward the NHL over the next couple of years. Alexander Holtz was right on the precipice of making an impact at the NHL level. His shot is still NHL quality, and he can get it off from just about anywhere, but the rest of his game still needs refinement. He could very well make his NHL impact felt this upcoming year.

Arseni Gritsyuk has been one of Russia’s most impressive players over the last calendar year. Dazzling with his skill and creativity, Gritsyuk has routinely found his way onto the Twitter highlight reels. He put up 40 points at the KHL level last season, where he has a contract through the 2024-25 season, but when he does come to North America, he could be an impact player almost instantly.

After joining the University of Connecticut last year, Samu Salminen seemed to get his game back after having a good but not great year the season before. His skating is definitely still a work in progress, but his intelligence and understanding of how to distribute the puck have allowed him to overcome it. The Devils have the luxury of being patient with Salminen so he could spend a couple more years at UConn.

The Devils also have a number of forward prospects projected to play a depth role at the NHL level. Graeme Clarke, Chase Stillman, and Josh Filmon are all good NHL prospects who may find their role in the middle or bottom six. They have an excellent mix of high upside and high-floor players.

Nico Daws and Akira Schmid have both played a good chunk of NHL games and Schmid in particular had some really strong stretches of play. It will be interesting to see how their goaltending situation works itself out as they’ve been looking for stability since the days of Martin Brodeur.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 2, 58th overall - Lenni Hameenaho, RW, Assat (Liiga)

Round 4, 122nd overall - Cam Squires, RW, Cape Breton (QMJHL)

Round 5, 154th overall - Chase Cheslock, RD, Omaha (USHL)

Round 6, 164th overall - Cole Brown, LW, Hamilton (OHL)

Round 6, 186th overall - Daniil Karpovich, LD, Yekaterinburg (MHL)

They sent their first-round pick out the door at the trade deadline for Timo Meier and their third-round pick was involved in a deal that saw the Devils get John Marino so they were off to an excellent start in terms of turning their draft choices into impact players.

Lenni Hameenaho was their first pick, giving the Devils a very productive winger who played primarily in the Liiga last season. His skating can be a bit underwhelming but he excels against his age group, recently putting on a show at the World Junior Summer Showcase. He is an intelligent goal scorer who gets to his spots on the ice. He improved month after month in Finland, developing his playmaking and confidence in the process.

The Devils' next pick was Cam Squires, a playmaking winger who seemed to find a bit of a shooting touch this season. His physical tools, such as his skating and strength, need some major improvement, but his understanding of how to facilitate and move the puck to players in better positions to score was evident this season.

A heavy, hard-nosed defender in Chase Cheslock was their next pick. A bit of a throwback, Cheslock is going to beat his opponents down in front of the net. His puck skill is limited, and his shot is fine from a distance, but he would do better to shoot low and create rebounds than go high all of the time.

Hamilton Bulldogs’ defender Cole Brown is a finesse winger who just so happens to be 6-foot-2. He doesn’t use his size the way that he should, but he protects the puck quite well when he needs to. He is a heavy shooter from a distance and loves to cut inside or outside as he gets into a defender's feet. He is certainly not the most dynamic player, but for a late-round pick, you could certainly do worse.

Daniil Karpovich is a steady two-way defender with the size, skating, and raw tools you’d love to see. This issue is that he doesn’t always put it together and can flash greatness on one play and then complete mediocrity on another. He will get involved physically and hasn't been afraid to freelance with the puck on his stick a bit, but the refinement of his game will be the biggest thing.

Strengths

The defense is the obvious answer here. The Devils prospect pool is very good throughout, and they have a number of spots we could have gone with this. Hughes and Nemec are the ultimate prizes on the back end. Casey is a promising young defender who could be a sneaky weapon one day in a do-it-all role, dominating in transition in the neutral zone and contributing at both ends of the ice. Edwards and Leddy, along with Daniil Orlov, have defensive capabilities and the skillset to offset the offensive-leaning defenders ahead of them on the depth chart. There is to be plenty of defensive talent on its way.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness for the Devils is center depth. In fairness, they have Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer at the NHL level, and both are under 23. They also have a 24-year-old captain who plays the position. They still don’t have much going to the center pool, however. Salminen is a decent prospect, but he has limited upside. Patrick Moynihan will likely be pushed to the wing if he even makes it to the pro-level. Although they have some very good young centers in the NHL, seeking out the next wave might be a good idea.

Next Man Up: Luke Hughes, D

Although it was in a short sample size, the youngest Hughes brother was every bit as exciting as advertised. The former Michigan Wolverine instantly became the Devil's most creative and intuitive defender, looking to attack and exploit up ice as a skater or passer. Hughes is an elite skater who can grow as a defensive player by leveraging his skating and cutting plays off before they get to be dangerous. We’ve seen some growth from him in that regard, and it will likely be a primary point of focus heading into next season, where he will be a relied upon and important blueliner for the Devils.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Nolan Foote, Arseni Gritsyuk, Josh Filmon

C: Samu Salminen, Patrick Moynihan, Artem Shlaine

RW: Alexander Holtz, Lenni Hameenaho, Graeme Clarke, Chase Stillman, Jaromír Pytlík

LD: Luke Hughes, Ethan Edwards, Daniil Orlov

RD: Simon Nemec, Seamus Casey, Charlie Leddy, Chase Cheslock

G: Akira Schmid, Nico Daws, Tyler Brennan

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited and Future Watch print editions of The Hockey News.