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Grading the Devils Picks from Round 2-7 / Resigning Shane Bowers |
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Grading the Devils Picks from Round 2-7 / Resigning Shane Bowers
Good morning Devils fans. The Devils got their chance yesterday to continue building up their prospect through the NHL Draft, rounds 2-7. Due to the Timo Meier trade, they gave up their 1st round pick so we had to wait a day for GM Tom Fitzgerald and the Scouting Department to show their cards. We entered yesterday with the following picks:
2nd Round - 58th
4th Round - 122nd
5th Round - 154th
6th Round - 164th
6th Round - 186th
As a reminder, we packaged our original 3rd round for John Marino and our additional 3rd in the Severson trade went Calgary’s way in the Toffoli trade. We received an additional 6th for the San Jose / Blackwood trade and swapped this year’s 7th with Nashville’s 7th next year. Here are our picks for 2023 with teams, leagues, stats (courtesy of Elite Prospects), and my evaluation of them.
58th - RW Lenni Hämeenaho (FIN)
Assat, Liiga
9G-12A-21P in 51 GP, -11
Evaluation: Solid winger with physical presence. Good hockey IQ. Can push into tight pockets and crash the net. Seems comfortable playing in a fluid system without getting bogged down all the time on the right side. Good reflexes with physical play.
122nd - RW Cam Squires (CAN)
Cape Breton Eagles, QMJHL
30G-34A-64P in 67 GP, -11
Evaluation: Decent winger, small physical build despite 6’0’ height. Can play special teams, good skating speed. Strong slap shot and odd man rush reflexes/passing.
154th - D Chase Cheslock (USA)
Omaha Lancers, USHL
1G-4A-5P in 15 GP, -6
Evaluation: Despite limited time in USHL while splitting seasons with the high school team, Chase did well for himself with strong body play. Can poke check well, strong shoulder checker, decent close out isolator while pushing rushers to the perimeter.
164th - RW/LW Cole Brown (CAN)
Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL
17G-25A-42P in 60GP, -18
Evaluation: Versatile and quick winger. Can play both sides. Strong snapshot. Targets top shelf. Good positioning and patience. Slightly small frame but makes up for it with a diverse skill set.
186th - D Daniil Karpovich (BLR)
Avto Yekaterinburg, MHL
10G-25A-35P in 47GP, +8
Evaluation: Strong 2-way defenseman with good physical presence. Strong hockey IQ with positioning and vision. Can play from the point. Possible PP QB if he develops well.
Overall I would grade the Devils draft as a B+. Solid choices for the picks we had. Behind the scenes moves overshadowed the actual picks otherwise. I’m pretty happy with the results of round 2-7. Personally, I would have picked up a center or two but that’s about it.
While on the subject of prospects, the Devils have signed C Shane Bowers to a 1 year, $775K contract. The 23 year old right handed forward came to the Devils via a trade with Boston for Reilly Walsh. He’s a 2-way centerman who can put up 20-30 points in the AHL. Personally, I don’t see him playing more than a substitute for an injured 4th liner if there’s no one better in the depth chart available. But who knows? Maybe he’ll blossom with some stability around him. The Utica roster has done well the last few years and he may benefit from new surroundings.
What are your thoughts? Anyone you would have drafted that we missed out on? Any prospects you are excited to develop possibly play a role in the team’s future?
Raise Hell,
-Josh Biringer
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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