The Devils elected to stick with the Soo Greyhounds and select Colton White with their 3rd pick of the day.
White is a steady defenseman who can move the puck and contribute at both ends of the rink. He didn't get a ton of ice playing behind Darnell Nurse, Anthony DeAngelo and co. on a stacked SSM team, however, he will have the opportunity to play a much bigger role next season.
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With their 2nd pick of the day the Devils elected to grab another forward in Blake Speers.
Speers scored 24 goals and added 67 points in 57 games with the powerhouse Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Speers is a very good skater who possesses good puck skills. He's a smart player who sees the ice well and is capable of creating offense. Speers is also very good at driving play up ice and through the neutral zone.
He should get more minutes with Soo next season and will get ample opportunity to build on what was a very solid draft year.
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After trading down from 36th to 42nd overall and collecting another pick in the process the New Jersey Devils have selected Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood is a 6'4' goaltender who has spent his last two seasons with the Barrie Colts.
He's an absolute work horse who can play every night and give quality goaltending. At one point he started 15-20 games in a row for the Colts, which included several weekends where he played three games in three nights.
He's extremely athletic for his size and his side-to-side movement is very good. He never gives up on a play and doesn't seem to get rattled after allowing a weak goal.
He takes up a lot of the net and his rebound control is good, however, he does struggle with the glove at times. He's also a very capable puck handler and is one of the OHL's best in that regard.
Blackwood posted a .906 save percentage while appearing in 51 of 68 regular season games for the Colts. He elevated his game in the post season posting a .922SV% in nine games.
The .906SV% doesn't stand out, obviously, but the OHL is a much higher scoring league than the NHL so that total is better than it would seem. No draft eligible goaltender in the OHL had a better save percentage than Blackwood.
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