Over the last year, we’ve looked at general manager (GM) Tom Fitzgerald’s trades, we’ve looked at Tom Fitzgerald’s signings, and now we complete the trilogy by looking at his draft choices. Drafting, of all the three previously analyzed, is the hardest to judge the general manager on, especially later round picks, because a lot of that knowledge belongs to a scout who pitches a player to the GM. However, Fitzgerald is still making the final say on who is picked and who isn’t, as well as the team’s general strategy going into the draft.
To show the impact of the pick positively or negatively, we’re also going to be looking at any notable players picked within five picks of a round one or two selection, as well as within 10 picks of anything round three or later.
With all of the explaining out of the way, let’s dive into some draft picks!
2020 Draft
Round 1, Pick 7 – Alexander Holtz (Winger)
Notable Players Picked After: Marco Rossi, Cole Perfetti, Anton Lundell
Analysis:
Alexander Holtz was always a pick for need rather than best player available which will become a trend as we continue. The hope was that his skating would improve enough to compliment his already elite shot. Everyone already knows how that one turned out.
The Devils chose Holtz over Marco Rossi or Cole Perfetti due to the being centers and Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier already being in the fold. Hindsight is 20/20, but Holtz was the wrong pick. This pick is only saved from being an F by the fact Holtz was used to acquire Paul Cotter who had a very solid first season in New Jersey.
Grade: D-
Round 1, Pick 18 – Dawson Mercer (Center/Winger)
Notable Players Picked After: Braden Schneider, Tyson Foerster
Analysis:
Fitzgerald’s next pick was much better. While Dawson Mercer hasn’t quite reached the highs of his great 2022-23 season, he’s still been good and has become a usable penalty killer as well. All of that combined with the fact there wasn’t really anyone better who went shortly after him make this the first A-range grade of the article.
Grade: A-
Round 1, Pick 20 – Shakir Mukhamadullin (Defenseman)
Notable Players Picked After: Tyson Foerster, Connor Zary
This has never been confirmed in any way, but given how much of a reach Mukhamadullin was at the time, it’s not hard to imagine the Devils wanted Braden Schneider before the Rangers traded up and snatched him at No. 19. Mukhamadullin could be a decent defenseman, but his most notable contribution to the Devils was being a key piece in acquiring Timo Meier.
Grade: C-
Round 3, Pick 84 – Nico Daws (Goaltender)
Notable Players Picked After: Jack Thompson
This grade could change if the Devils lose Daws on waivers in the coming months, but for now it seems as if the Devils have gotten a decent netminder in the third round. While Daws struggled in his first two seasons (.894 save percentage in 46 games), he was awesome in limited time this past season. While Jacob Markstrom was down with injury, Daws played in six games where he had a .939 save percentage and his first career shutout.
Grade: B
Round 4, Pick 99 – Jaromir Pytlik (Center)
Notable Players Picked After: Dylan Garand
Jaromir Pytlik is a fine player in the top Czechia league, but nothing more. Luckily for Fitzgerald, the fifth round of the 2020 NHL draft hasn’t panned out for anyone. The only notable name is Rangers goaltending prospect Dylan Garand who had a .913 save percentage in 39 AHL games this past season.
Grade: D
Round 4, Pick 120 – Ethan Edwards (Defenseman)
Notable Players Picked After: Sean Farrell
While the Devils’ organizational blue-line depth means Edwards will probably find it hard to crack the NHL lineup right away, he at least has the potential to be a decent puck moving bottom-pair NHL defenseman. This especially given he was looked upon extremely positively by the organization due to his performances in training camp and preseason. That ceiling is better than most of the guys picked in the spots after him.
Grade: B+
Round 5, Pick 130 – Artem Shlaine (Center)
Notable Players Picked After: Brett Berard, Jakub Dobes
Artem Shlaine was not a notable prospect until this past season where he put up 38 points in 31 games on a good Arizona State team. However, the Devils decided not to sign the now 23-year-old Russian. Shlaine signed an AHL deal with the Texas Stars after his collegiate season ended and that is where his career stands as of now.
Grade: C-
Round 6, Pick 161 – Benjamin Baumgartner (Center)
Notable Players Picked After: Matt Rempe, Nils Aman
Given how much Matt Rempe has inadvertently impacted the Devils over the past two seasons, the fact he was picked just four selections after an over-ager who never left Switzerland stings.
Grade: D
2021 Draft
Round 1, Pick 4 – Luke Hughes (Defenseman)
Notable Players Picked After: Kent Johnson, William Eklund, Dylan Guenther
Say what you want about Tom Fitzgerald, but he did get a lot of criticism for this pick at the time from non-Devils fans. That criticism was definitely unwarranted. Now two seasons into Luke’s career, it’s clear he’s going to be a great player like his brothers.
Grade: A
Round 1, Pick 29 – Chase Stillman (Winger)
Notable Players Picked After: Logan Mailloux, Logan Allan, Olen Zellweger
This selection gets the first “F” grade. Not only was this pick a massive reach that didn’t work out, but a player not listed above who went about 20 picks later is Logan Stankoven. Another 10 picks after that was Matthew Knies. May this be a lesson for all future general managers to pick the best guy, not your guy.
Grade: F
Round 3, Pick 68 – Samu Salminen (Center)
Notable Players Picked After: Carter Mazur
While it’s never a good thing to not get any value out of a top-70 draft pick, the blow stings a little less given there were virtually no better options that went after Salminen. The Finnish center completed his third NCAA season last year and first with the University of Denver. Salminen recorded a career best 10 goals and 28 points in 44 games on a championship-contending team. Still, the odds of him making an NHL impact at this point are close to none.
Grade: C-
Round 4, Pick 100 – Jakub Malek (Goaltender)
Notable Players Picked After: Ethan Del Mastro, Emil Lilleberg, Jackson Blake
Jakub Malek has put up very good numbers for a young goalie in the Finnish Liiga over the past three seasons. This year, the now 23-year-old netminder made his way over to North America and is poised to get significant AHL playing time. He is ranked as our No. 6 prospect in the organization’s system.
It is worth noting though the number of quality NHL players that were picked shortly after. Jackson Blake had an awesome rookie season for Carolina and Emil Lilleberg has become a solid defenseman for Tampa after the Coyotes failed to sign him. Still, Malek has loads of potential
Grade: B+
Round 5, Pick 129 – Topias Vilen (Defenseman)
Notable Players Picked After: James Malatesta
Topias Vilen seemed like he could have some upside as a depth NHL defenseman. He will factor in greatly at the AHL level once again and got an extended look in preseason. At the end of the day, it was round five and no one else has produced in the range he went in, so Vilen gets an average grade.
Grade: B-
Round 6, Pick 164 – Viktor Hurtig (Defenseman)
Notable Players Picked After: None
Viktor Hurtig, now 23, was promising at the time of his selection due to his 6-foot-6 frame. However, his development has not exactly taken off as after spending three seasons at the collegiate level he transitioned back to Sweden where he plays in their minor league currently.
Grade: D+
Round 7, Pick 203 – Zakhar Bardakov (Center)
Notable Players Picked After: None
Zakhar Bardakov may not turn into anything too effective, but the fact he could hurts. Bardakov was traded for Kurtis MacDermid back in March of 2024. While Kurtis MacDermid has been one of the worst players in the NHL, and was a negative asset for the Devils, Bardakov was having a career year in the KHL. The young Russian has even cracked the Avalanche roster out of camp and very well may play more than MacDermid will this year.
Trade aside, the pick itself was splendid value for the seventh round as you rarely see picks this deep into the draft make the league at any point in their career.
Grade: B+
Additional Content
If you missed our recent series analyzing other work of Tom Fitzgerald, those articles can be found below:
Trade Series:
Signing Series: