Since taking over as general manager of the Devils Ray Shero has stressed that he'd like to add more offense up front.
He's also made a point that moving forward he wants the Devils to play a fast, attacking brand of hockey.
Well, there's a player that should be available at 6 that meets that description and fills a need in the process.
That player is Mathew Barzal.
Barzal had an impressive campaign combining for 16 goals and 65 points in 50 games (44 regular season games, six playoff games) while playing on a Seattle Thunderbirds team that didn't surround him with a whole lot of talent.
Barzal followed up his injury shortened regular season with 12 points in seven games for Team Canada at the U18 tournament.
As such Barzal, who slots 9th in Bob McKenzie's final draft rankings, is raising up a lot of team's draft boards.
Barzal had terrific U-18. I see his stock only rising. Some scouts I talked to wonder if healthy all year, would he challenge Marner/Strome?
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 5, 2015I think that's a very interesting point. I doubt Barzal's production could match that of Mitch Marner or Dylan Strome simply because they had much more offensive talent around them, however, I think Barzal would be ranked higher than he is if he had a full season of productive hockey.
There's no denying his speed, vision, or puck skills and he has the production to warrant a high selection in this year's draft.
Given what Shero has preached since taking over and New Jersey's need for some high-end skill in their pipeline I think Barzal would be the perfect choice at 6.