The New Jersey Devils once again set a group of prospects up to Buffalo for an annual Prospect Challenge tournament. Specifically, the organization sent a roster of 24 to play in the three-game showcase. You can read about the roster that was sent here. New Jersey’s group, coached by Utica’s (AHL) head coach, Ryan Parent, won two of their three games, and overall, had a dominant showing.
The Games
As mentioned, New Jersey participated in three games at the challenge, winning two of them. They dominated Columbus on Thursday, winning 8-2. Then, on Friday, they defeated Buffalo 4-2. The Devils ended there tournament with a 6-4 loss to Boston on Sunday. In all, they outscored their opposition 16-8 and have a chance to finish atop of the five-team tournament if Pittsburgh does not win on Monday.
Sept. 11
In the 8-2 victory, three Devils had three points; forwards Tag Bertuzzi (three assists) and Nathan Lecompte (two goals, one assist) as well as defenseman Mikael Diotte (two goals, one assist). Two other Devils had two points (Ethan Edwards and Brian Carrabes). A total of 11 of the 18 skaters for New Jersey had at least a point. In net, Tyler Brennan stopped 20-of-22 in victory.
Diotte and Lecompte scored in the game’s first period, with a Blue Jackets goal sandwiched in between. Two more second period goals by Seamus Casey and Diotte had the score sitting at 4-2 after two periods. New Jersey then rattled off five straight third period goals, resulting in the 8-2 final.
Only one of the team’s eight goals was not at even strength. New Jersey outshot Columbus 31-22. Both Lachance and Jack Malone got into bouts and went off for fighting at some point during the game.
Sept. 12
In the Devils’ second game, they defeated Buffalo thanks to two third period tallies, emerging victorious, 4-2. The lone Devil to have multiple points was Shane Lachance, who scored a goal and had an assist. He scored the game winner on the power play, about seven minutes into the third frame. Lenni Hameenaho got this first of the tournament and Brain Carrabes and Nathan Lecompte also scored. In net, Jakub Malek got the start, and was impressive, stopping 26-of-28 in victory.
New Jersey led 2-1 after the first period, Hameenaho got the game’s first goal, and Carrabes scored a late goal to give the Devils a late lead in the period. The third period began at 2-2, before New Jersey added goals by Lachance and Lecompte to end things. New Jersey was outshot, despite the victory, 28-27.
Sept. 14
The Devils’ final game of the weekend, Sunday afternoon, saw the team drop their only game of the tournament. This, despite, the team outshooting Boston 33-22. It was a struggle for Trenten Bennett in between the pipes, as he only stopped 16-of-21 in the losing effort. Tag Bertuzzi and Matyas Melovsky were the only two Devils to have multi-points. Outside of Melovsky’s two goals, Nathan Lecompte and Jackson van de Leest added the two other tallies.
Teams exchanged goals in the first period, as it was only 1-1 after the first. However, there were five goals scored in the second period, three of which came on the power play. Despite tying the game at four, New Jersey allowed Boston to win it with 7:28 left at even strength, then the Bruins added an empty-net goal for good measure, punctuating the 6-4 victory.
Cam Squires, who had an assist in the game, also picked up a fighting major.
Notables
Shane Lachance
There is a real chance the 22-year-old winger will get a shot to make the New Jersey Devils out of camp. Shane Lachance only needed two games to flash what he can bring. Through the two games, he scored two goals, added an assist, and dropped the mitts once. The fight, which came against Sawyer Boulton, the son of former Devils enforcer Eric Boulton, was in response to Boulton hitting a Devil from behind. Despite the fight not exactly going well for Lachance, he did what organizations love to see; sticking up for a teammate.
Lachance was acquired last season, as the Devils acted as a financial intermediary in helping facilitate a trade between Boston and Edmonton for Trent Frederic. Lachance, 6-foot-5, tallied two points in a two-game run with Utica (AHL) to end the season. He had 30 points in 40 games as the captain of Boston University in 2024-25 prior to joining the Comets, as the Terriers lost in the National Championship game.
Nathan Lecompte
By far the most compelling storyline of the tournament for the Devils was the emergence of 18-year-old Nathan Lecompte. The Canadian-born winger had three points in the opener and one goal in each the second and third games. Overall, he led the Devils in goals at the tournament and was tied for the team-lead in points. He did this while technically playing on the team’s fourth line.
Lecompte, listed at 5-foot-10, was not drafted this past year, and was invited to join the Devils at the Prospect Challenge as a non-organizational invitee. He was not with the Devils in developmental camp, and was actually an invitee to Utah’s. The center has played in the QMJHL the last two seasons, posting 33 points in 61 games in 2023-24, and improved on that figure last season, posting 49 points (15 goals, 35 assists) for Chicoutimi last season.
Given he is 18 years old, turning 19 in January, he is not eligible to play within the organization at the AHL level this year. If New Jersey wants to keep him in the organization, it appears an entry-level contract, with a return to the QMJHL for this upcoming season would be the most likely avenue to retain him.
Matyas Melovsky
Somehow, Matyas Melovsky did not register a point in the team’s eight-goal outburst to begin the tournament. Skating in a first-line center role in each of the three games, Melovsky got on the board in each of the last two games, posting an assist in game two and scoring two goals in the third game. In all, his three points tied for second on the team during the tournament.
Melovsky, 21 years old, was a sixth-round pick in 2024. He exploded up the organizational prospect rankings list last season, as he posted 83 points in 57 games for Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL. His 83 points ranked eight in the league and the 57 assists ranked third. This was a 23 point improvement over his 2023-24 QMJHL season. The Czechia-born forward also ranked second in points (11 in seven games) and lead the tournament in assists (10) at the 2023-24 World Junior Championships.
Melovksy is slated to play for Utica at the AHL level this season as he signed a one-year AHL deal in April of 2025.
Cam Squires
Cam Squires turned in a solid tournament, tallying three assists in three games. He also led the team in penalty minutes (11) thanks in large part to a fight, where he fared extremely well, in the tournament’s finale on Sunday.
The 20-year-old is slated to be with Utica in the AHL this season. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the organization in July of 2024. As a result, he finished the season with Utica (AHL) last year, posting four points in three games. He finished his season up with Cape Brenton in the QMJHL with 75 points in 58 games. He was a fourth-round pick in 2023.
Tag Bertuzzi
Tag Bertuzzi quietly led the Devils in scoring at the Prospect Challenge with five points in three games. Son of former NHL tough guy, Todd, Tag was held scoreless in the tournament’s second game, but had three in game one and two in game three. Bertuzzi was on the team’s “fourth line” the first two games, before being promoted and playing alongside Melovsky and Lenni Hameenaho in the finale.
Bertuzzi, 24 years old, played his junior hockey in the OHL. He has since played in either the AHL or ECHL since. Across 132 ECHL games, he has 99 points. Meanwhile, he has only one point across 16 AHL games. He played 17 games across the ECHL and AHL levels within the Devils’ organization last season.
Mikael Diotte
Mikael Diotte started the tournament off with a bang totaling three points (two goals, one assist) in the Devils’ 8-2 thrashing in game one. He was held off the scoreboard the final two games, but skated on the team’s top defensive pairing in each of the games.
Diotte was named QMJHL’s top defensive defenseman in his final junior season in 2023-24. He had 42 points in 59 games, and was second in the league with a plus-55 rating that season with Drummondville. New Jersey signed Diotte to a three-year, entry-level deal in March of 2024. The 22-year-old, who was an undrafted free agent, was limited to only seven games between the AHL/ECL levels last season due to injury, will hopefully get a full, uninterrupted season at either the AHL or ECHL levels this season.
Jakub Malek
Utica head coach, and the Devils’ Prospect Challenge head coach, Ryan Parent, gave each of his three goalies one full game. Jakub Malek got the tournament’s second game, and impressed mightily, stopping 26-of-28 in victory, and the only game New Jersey was outshot in.
Malek is an extremely intriguing prospect given how well he has played at the professional level in Finland, despite his young age. The now 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2021 and has posted back-to-back seasons in the Liiga (top professional league in Finland) of 0.915 (27 games) and 0.910 (33 games), respectively. He has a total of 82 career Liiga games under his belt, with a 40-22-15 record, a 2.18 goals against average, and a 0.910 save percentage.
Malek signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the organization in May of 2024 and projects to serve as one of the goalies in Utica’s (AHL) tandem this season.
Final Statistics
Skaters:
| Player | Goals | Assists | Points | Penalty Minutes | Games Played |
| Bertuzzi | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Lecompte | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Diotte | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Carrabes | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Lachance | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| Squires | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| Melovsky | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Edwards | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Casey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Rozsival | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Hanzel | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Wendt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Filmon | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| de Leest | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Campbell | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Hameenaho | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Dowd Jr. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Reid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Malone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Hadlend | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Davis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Goalies:
| Player | Saves | Shots Faced | Save Percentage |
| Malek | 26 | 28 | 92.86% |
| Brennan | 20 | 22 | 90.91% |
| Bennett | 16 | 21 | 76.19% |