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New Jersey Devils: Top-5 Forward Prospects

August 24, 2013, 10:45 AM ET [13 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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A colleague of mine here at Hockeybuzz, Adam French, has been going through each NHL team and ranking their top-10 prospects over the last few weeks.

He recently ranked the New Jersey Devils top-10 prospects. Since then, a few people have reached out to me requesting I do the same, considering I cover the Devils and scout OHL games.

Rather than do exactly that, I decided to change it up a bit to make the article a little more unique. Instead of ranking the Devils top-10 prospects of any position, I'm going to break this up into a couple posts where I rank their top-5 forwards followed by the top-5 defensemen in the system.

I'm not going to do a post on their top goaltending prospects because there aren't enough to choose from, but many of you know how I feel about Scott Wedgewood. If you haven't been reading my articles for a while, I'll have you know that I'm a big believer in Wedgewood, and think he has potential to be a good starting goaltender down the road.

Here are my rankings for the top-5 forward prospects in the Devils system.

Note: upside is not my projection for the player, but rather what he could turn into if said player reaches his full potential.

1. LW Reid Boucher (99th overall in 2011)

Since being selected in the 4th round just a couple years ago, Boucher has come along about as well as he possibly he could have. The 5'11 winger has developed into one of the most prolific goal scoring prospects in hockey and looks to be a steal from where he was selected.

Boucher is a very talented player who has good puck skills and an excellent release. His shot is accurate and gets off his stick in a hurry. He's a good skater and his defensive game, which has been questioned in the past, has improved over the last season or two. He's also much more consistent than he was a couple years ago.

Upside: top line goal scoring winger

2. W Stefan Matteau (29th overall in 2012)

For everything that happened with Matteau last year, from playing on the top line in the NHL to being kicked off his QMJHL team, he remains one of the Devils top prospects and the future looks bright for him.

Matteau brings a nice mix of size, strength and skill to the table that the Devils don't necessarily have much of. He moves around the ice pretty well, and he does have some finish to his game. I also think he's an underrated passer. Matteau's best when playing a north/south style of game but tends to take bad penalties at times. If he wants to have success at the NHL level, especially in a top-6 role where he'd see a lot of ice, he's going to have to do a better job of staying disciplined.

Upside: Average 2nd line winger

3. C Ryan Kujawinski (73rd overall in 2013)

Ryan Kujawinski is a guy I really like and I thought the Devils did quite well to get him where they did. Kujawinski is a big, two-way centerman who can play in all situations. He has big, powerful strides and is an above average skater for his size. Kujawinski sees the ice well, is a good puck distributor and can also chip in some goals. He has good puck skills and has the ability to carry the puck up ice and make plays. He's willing to battle for loose pucks in the corner and uses his size well to protect the puck and create space for himself. He's not overly physical, but when he uses his body he's extremely effective. Consistency is a bit of an issue for Kujawinski but when he's on he has the ability to dominate games.

Upside: 2nd line center

4. W Artur Gavrus (180th overall in 2011)

Gavrus is an interesting prospect for the Devils in that he was drafted late, has had some injury problems and hasn't put up stellar numbers, but still is somewhat promising.

Gavrus possesses a lot of offensive ability that the numbers don't necessarily show. He is a good skater who sees the ice well. He has good puck skills, is a good playmaker, especially on the power play, and can score some goals as well. He rarely takes penalties, which is impressive given someone who sees the amount of ice he does/has in the past.

I believe Gavrus is going to play in Europe this season, but he is a talented player and is one to keep an eye on.

Upside: Average 2nd line winger or bust

5. W/C Ben Johnson (90th overall in 2012)

Johnson has had some off ice issues over the last year, but I really like what I see from him on the ice. He's a good two-way forward who has an extremely high compete level. His motor never stops and he's willing to battle in the corner for loose pucks. He can play in any situation, whether it be on the power play, penalty kill, or anything else and often finds success regardless of what he's doing. He didn't have a big spike in production last season like I was expecting, but he did score 20 goals on a poor and injury plagued Windsor Spitfires team. The Spitfires project to be much better this season and Johnson's point totals should improve as a result.

Upside: 2nd-3rd line tweener

Overall outlook: The Devils have a couple above average to high end forward prospects in Boucher and Matteau, but there's a pretty big drop off after that. All of the other players listed are decent prospects, but only Kujawinski would have a chance to make most teams top-5's and he's No. 3 on the Devils. There are a couple teams with lesser forward prospects, but the Devils are near the bottom in that regard and this is an area that needs to be addressed over the next year or two.

Barring any news, I'll post my top-5 Devils defense prospects tomorrow.

**

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A look at how Schneider and Brodeur fared vs. defenseman compared to forwards last season.

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