Friday night’s first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft featured the New Jersey Devils making their 10th-overall pick. It was largely rumored that the team may move on from that selection, and improve the team immediately. However, with it, general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced at the podium in Las Vegas at the Sphere that the team selected defenseman Anton Silayev.
Profile
Silayev is huge, listed at six-foot-seven and 211 pounds. He turned 18 just last month, on April 11. Despite this, he already has 63 career games under his belt in the KHL. The KHL, the top professional league in Russia, is widely regarded as the second-best professional hockey league in the world. Silayev, at just 17 years old, spent a full season in that league averaging just below 20 minutes a night.
Silayev is a left-hand shot, which fits a need for the Devils. Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec, both right-side defensemen, project to lock down that side of the blue line for years to come. On the left side, the team does have Luke Hughes, however, outside of that, they don’t have anyone overwhelming in the system and nobody in the league who projects in the top four for years to come.
For those curious, according to Elite Prospects, Silayev is under contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod through the 2025-26 season. This brings him to his age-20 season when he would be eligible to join the Devils.
Pre-Draft Rankings and Feedback
Based off pre-draft rankings, the Devils got terrific value in this pick. Of course, no one truly knows the value of any pick until years after it is made. However, drafting guys prior to where they are being valued by the consensus has a proven track record of being more likely to work out. New Jersey did just that, as you can see via the rankings below:
- NHL Central Scouting: 2nd (among international skaters)
- Athletic’s Consensus Board: 5th
- HockeyProspects: 5th
- Bob McKenzie: 4th
Specifically, Corey Pronman of the Athletic gave the pick an “A” grade. Pronman said, “He [Silayev] can be solid offensively to go with elite defensive play to be a potential No. 1 defenseman one day.”
In his rationale for the grade, Pronman added, “Silayev fell further than some expected in the draft, as teams were unfamiliar with him and had some offense concerns in his game. I didn’t share those concerns. I don’t see premier offense in his game, but I see enough with his size, mobility, and physicality for him to be a premier NHL defenseman.
Play Style and Tools
As one can imagine, the six-foot-seven Silayev has a pretty high floor. The long reach generated from the terrifc size, coupled with the weight and frame, as well as an already strong work ethic will give him all the chances to become something the Devils’ organization has longed for; a stout, top-four defensive defenseman.
Silayev best attribute, besides his size, is said to be his skating. He does not move like normal six-foot-seven individuals are suppose to. His skating ability is not just terrific for his size, it is superb overall. All the tools you want your defenseman to have, he already possesses.
He still does have some work to do in the defensive end positioning-wise. Learning how to use that six-foot-seven, 211-pound frame more effectively to do so will do great things for his continued development. So will learning how to think the game through better, slowing it down to make it easier to process.
Additionally, granted, its not his projected style. But, many are unsure what Silayev’s offensive ceiling will be. Luckily, he’s playing in the second-best professional league in the world under NHL legend and Hall of Famer Igor Larionov whose nickname is “the Professor.”
Final Thoughts
So, to summarize, the Devils decided to keep their 10th-overall pick and selected someone may rated as a top-five prospect in the draft. This said individual not only provides strong value where he was picked, but also fits a team need.
Anton Silayev has awesome size and a rare elite skating ability for that size. He has all the tools to develop into a top-four, defensive-first defenseman who should serve on the Devils’ blue-line for year’s to come.
On the surface, this appears to be a terrific pick, however, as always, time will tell. Great start for the Devils who will see their draft continue on Saturday with five more picks, pending any trades.