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The 2015 NHL Draft is less than three weeks away and Ray Shero has yet to tip his hand as to what he's planning to do.
Logic suggests the Devils will take a forward - it's by far their biggest need and there are plenty of good ones available - but Shero left the door open on the possibility of drafting a defenseman with the 6th pick.
Via FireAndIce: "I get it," Shero said of the Devils' need for young forwards. "(But) you're taking the best asset. You're thinking three to five years down the road. There's nothing worse than picking a position for the position and then all the sudden you passed on someone pretty special because, oh, you had enough of those."
First and foremost I'm glad Shero mentioned you take the best asset regardless of need. I'm a firm believer in taking the best player available.
That said I don't believe they'll seriously consider taking a defenseman (i.e. Ivan Provorov, Zach Werenski) with the 6th pick unless Noah Hanifin slips.
If Hanifin slips and he's the best player on New Jersey's board they can do one of two things a) select Hanifin and move one of their other young blue liners for a forward or; b) trade the pick and collect some assets.
You can bet the Blue Jackets,
who are desperately looking for quality young blue liners and open to moving up, will make a pitch for 6th overall if Hanifin is on the board.
Columbus has 10 choices in this year's draft - including 8th overall and six picks in the top-3 rounds - and
have been peddling former 1st round pick Kerby Rychel so they're as good of a match as anyone if New Jersey is willing to trade down.
In the (likely) event Hanifin isn't available at 6th overall I am almost certain they'll take a forward.
I know for a fact New Jersey's brass was very impressed by Mathew Barzal's excellent showing for Canada at the U18 tournament. He tallied 12 points in seven games and was a consistent threat throughout the tournament.
I also know they like Pavel Zacha. They have interviewed him once already and plan to do so again. He has a good mix of size, speed and skill, which would surely make him an attractive option at 6.
The Devils are also high on forward Mitch Marner. My understanding is the Devils have interviewed Marner and done some background research on him with someone who had Marner in London.
It is very unlikely he is available at 6, though.
Shero wouldn't close the door on drafting a defenseman with the team's 1st pick but, barring Hanifin dropping, I think it's already shut.
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