2019 NHL Draft Analysis: New Jersey Devils

The weekend Devils fans were waiting for has come and gone. Ray Shero did not disappoint, he went out and drafted 11 prospects with our No. 1 pick being Jack Hughes.

Not only did Shero use this weekend to plan for the future, but he acquired John Hayden from Chicago and P.K. Subban from Nashville. The draft weekend instantly turned the Devils fans attitudes into hopeful ones, something they’ve been craving since Shero came to town in 2015.

Photo: Anne-Marie Sorvin, USA TODAY Sports

With the first overall pick, the New Jersey Devils select, Jack Hughes. The 5’10” 170 pound Center was slightly criticized for his size but you’re not ranked #1 for no reason. Although small Hughes brings a tremendous amount of elite skating ability, skill, and overall hockey sense. He has top-notch speed and an amazing ability to pass the puck. Read any scouting report on Hughes and they’ll all say the same thing, it’s not easy to catch the kid. In 50 games played with the United States Developmental Program Jack tallied 112 points between 34 goals and 78 assists. Say all you want about him playing in a league full of juniors, those numbers are impressive regardless.

Ray Shero sent Defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies along with a 2019 second round pick and a 2020 second round pick to Nashville in exchange for P.K. Subban. Santini had 4 points in 39 NHL games last year. Santini just didn’t seem to fit into the Devils system, he seemed to be slightly underused and maybe a change of scenery will be good for him. There was talk about Jeremy Davies making an impact to the Devils coming right out of Northeastern University. Not that it’s easy to trade away any player it helped not seeing him have any time on the ice at the NHL level. Last season with Nashville P.K. only played in 63 games due to injury and still managed to achieve 31 points. Being such an energetic player both on and off the ice, its basically promised that Subban will bring life to not only the defense and the team but the entire organization as a whole.

The organization also made another trade that was under the radar due to the Subban trade. New Jersey sent John Quennville to Chicago in exchange for John Hayden. Quennville appeared in 19 games last year for the Devils recording only one goal and no assists. In 54 games with the Blackhawks, Hayden recorded 5 points. Some say this move was just to be used as a change of scenery for two players who never amounted to what they were expected to be. John Hayden can absolutely fill a void for Jersey, at 6’3 223lbs he’ll fill a 4th line winger spot well, especially in metro division games.

Fans have been waiting for Sheros’ “five-year plan” to fall into place and the time has finally arrived. Is the roster perfect? absolutely not, it’s still missing pieces, but the off-season is just getting started. With a lot of teams still needing cap room, Shero may not be done, but for now, here’s a look at what the roster may look like.