On Monday, the New Jersey Devils saw their annual developmental camp kick off. The team welcomed 31 prospects on Monday, including all seven draft selection from the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Those prospects are set to take part in a full team scrimmage Wednesday morning at 11:00 pm ET.
Notably, per Amanda Stein, forwards Arseni Gritsyuk and Lenni Hämeenaho are not a part of the roster, are they each are coming off long professional seasons and are preparing for training camp. Additionally, both defensemen Anton Silayev and Daniil Karpovich had visa issues and also are not in attendance.
Forwards
The 14 forwards that make up the roster are headlined by Shane Lachance, Cam Squires, Matyas Melovsky, as well as 2025 draftees Conrad Fondrk and Ben Kevan.
Lachance was acquired by the Devils as a result of facilitating Edmonton’s acquisition of Trent Frederic this past season. Lachance signed his entry-level contract near the conclusion of the year, and posted two points in as many games to end the season with Utica (AHL). The captain of national runner-up, Boston University, had 30 points in 40 games in his final season with the Terriers. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Cam Squires also signed his entry-level contract late, scoring four points in three games for Utica (AHL). He had a terrific final season in the QMJHL, where he had 75 points in 58 games. Lastly, Matyas Melovsky, 21 years old, broke out last season in a big way for Baie-Comeau of the QMJHL, totaling 83 points in 57 games. That point total was the eighth-highest in the league and his plus-40 ranked ninth.
As mentioned previously, each of the team’s offensive draft picks in this past week’s draft are at camp. You can read all about David Rozsíval, Conrad Fondrk, Ben Kevan, Mason Moe, and Gustav Hillstrom here.
There are also some additional former Devils draft picks in camp, those being Kasper Pikkarainen, Cole Brown, and Josh Filmon. Pikkarainen, a third-round pick in 2024, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 198 pounds and is only 18 years old. He missed the majority of 2024-25 with injury, skating in only 12 games across all competitions. He is slated to join TPS of the Liiga (top Finnish professional league) this upcoming season. Brown, a sixth-round pick in 2023, had a career-best point output in 2024-25 for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, scoring 70 points (33 goals) in 67 games. His previous career-high was 42 points. He is set to join the University of Notre Dame in 2025-26. Lastly, Josh Filmon, a sixth-round pick in 2022, was thought upon as a potential steal after posting 47 goals in 64 games in the WHL in 2022-23. However, he regressed in 2023-24 (24 goals and 67 points in 64 games) before spending his first full professional season mainly in the ECHL, playing in 65 games for Adirondack, scoring 20 goals and 36 points in 65 games. The 21-year-old was held scoreless in 12 AHL games.
The Devils also have a few non-organizational invitees at camp, those being Riley Fitzgerald, Giovanni DiGiulian, and Kody Dupuis. Fitzgerald, nephew of Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, is a 22-year-old most recently played with Mercyhurst University, posting 14 points in his first 33 collegiate games. DiGiulian, 19 years old, had 51 points in 58 games for Lincoln of the USHL last season. He is due to play college hockey at Cornell University in 2025-26. Lastly, Dupuis, son of former Penguin forward Pascal Dupuis, had 36 points in 57 games for Shawinigan of the QMJHL. He has 66 points in 150 total career QMJHL games.
Defensemen
New Jersey invited 12 defensemen to developmental camp this season. Headlining that list is Ethan Edwards and 2025 draftee Sigge Holmgren. Edwards, who spent his collegiate career at the University of Michigan, played 10 games for the Utica Comets (AHL) last season, posting three points. The former fourth-round pick in 2022 had 56 points in 130 career collegiate games. Holmgren, selected in the sixth round on Saturday, was a bit of a mystery, as he did not play a single game in 2024-25 due to injury. He last played in the under-20 Swedish league, posting 16 points in 18 games, the third most of any defensemen in that league.
The Devils have a plethora of former draft picks in camp, consisting of Chase Cheslock, Artem Barabosha, Charlie Leddy, and Viktor Hurtig. Cheslock, a 2023 fifth-round pick, played his first full collegiate season in 2024-25 for the University of St. Thomas, posting 14 points and a plus-16 rating in 38 games. Barabosha, a seventh-round pick in 2022, played a majority of his 2024-25 season in the VHL (second-tier professional league in Russia), but also got 12 games in the KHL (top professional league in Russia). Leddy, a fourth-round pick in 2022, transferred from Boston University to Quinnipiac University after two seasons. He posted 11 points in 37 games for the Bobcats last season. Lastly, 6-foot-6 Swede, Hurtig, was a sixth-round pick in 2021, played 34 games last season for Michigan Tech. He spent his first two seasons at Michigan State before transferring.
Mikael Diotte, Luke Reid, and Jackson van de Leest are also all in camp. Each spent some time with Utica last season. Diotte, previously named top defensive defenseman in the QMJHL, posted 42 points in 59 games in his last year with Drummondville. He then skated in seven professional games last season (five with Utica of the AHL; two with Adirondack of the ECHL). Reid, a former sixth-round pick of Nashville in 2020, played five seasons of college hockey at New Hampshire. He debuted professionally 2024-25, spending six games in the ECHL and five with Utica (AHL). Van de Leest, 24 years old, spent some time as a team captain in the WHL for Calgary, before debuting professionally in 2023-24 with Utica (AHL) and Adirondack (ECHL). He played 40 games with the Thunder in 2024-25, before ending the season with ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.
Jeremy Hanzel, Josh Player, and Jimmy Dowd Jr. make up the remaining of the defensive invitees. Hanzel, who was acquired along with a draft pick from Nashville just a few weeks ago in the Erik Haula trade, was a sixth-round pick and has nine AHL games under his belt this belt to go along with 61 career ECHL games. Hanzel impressed in his final year in the WHL, posting 60 points in 66 games for Seattle. Player, 20 years old, is a New Jersey native who played his junior hockey in the USHL before moving to the University of New Hampshire for 13 games last season. Lastly, Dowd Jr., son of former Devil Jim Dowd, has spent the last five seasons playing college hockey with Penn State University.
Goaltenders
To round out the camp roster, New Jersey invited five goaltenders. By far, the most notable is Mikhail Yegorov. Yegorov, the Devils’ second-round pick in 2024, dominated college hockey last season, posting a .927 save percentage for national runner-up Boston University. At only 19 years old, Yegorov should be looked upon as one of the top goalie prospects in the league.
Former draftees Jakub Malek, Tyler Brennan, and Veeti Louhivaara are in camp as well, in addition to 2025 draftee Trenten Bennett. Malek, who is one of the top prospects in camp, posted a posted a .910 save percentage for Ilves of the Liiga (top Finnish professional league) last season. The 23-year-old owns a career .910 save percentage in the Liiga, and has dominated wherever he has been. Meanwhile, Brennan (2022 fourth-round pick) had a .878 save percentage in 29 ECHL games last season and Louhivaara (2024 fifth-round pick) had a .902 save percentage for JYP’s junior team across 24 games last season.
You can read about the newest Devils goalie, Trenten Bennett, here.