The 2024 NHL Entry Draft has come and gone. The New Jersey Devils entered the event with five picks but ended up making seven thanks to some trades. Speaking of trades, the Devils also made two player trades during day two of the event. You can read about those here.
Of course, the practice of grading picks, when we won’t know the true answer until years from now, may appear fruitless. However, it is worth analyzing what the team is currently getting and grading that pick off pre-draft consensus and profiles.
Round #1 (10th) – Anton Silayev (D, KHL)
You can read our full breakdown of this pick here.
Grade: A-minus
Round #2 (49th) – Mikhail Yegorov (NCAA, G)
The ability to make this pick was made possible via the trade of defenseman John Marino. After acquiring it from Utah, the Devils became the second team to take a goalie in the draft.
Mikhail Yegorov put up subpar numbers last season in the USHL. Specifically, a .892 save percentage. However, that is largely explainable via the fact his team, Omaha, was awful. The Lancers posted a 16-43-3 record, which was good for dead-last in the 16-team league.
Luckily for Yegorov, he is off to Boston University next season where he should put up much-improved numbers. The 18-year-old has prototypical goalie size at six-foot-five and is said to have all the tools necessary to become a legit starter. However, will need a good coach to mold those tools into NHL-level abilities.
Yegorov was ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the No. 1 goalie in North America. Additionally, Chris Peters of FloHockey had Yegorov as his top goaltender. Despite this, the consensus pre-draft did not expected to go off the board until the third round. Usually, when reaching for players, the chances they hit is lowered. Bottom-line, the prospect is fine, however, he was likely taken a tad too early.
Grade: B-minus
Round #3 (85th) – Kasper Pikkarainen, F (Liiga)
After trading back a couple times, the Devils finally made their third pick of the draft. In doing so, they selected Finnish forward Kasper Pikkarainen. Pikkarainen has the physical attributes to translate as a power forward at the next level as he is listed at six-foot-three. This size is already on display as he is said to be a relatively physical player, putting up solid defensive on-ice impacts during last season. He has also been commended for his playmaking abilities.
Last season, Pikkarainen played across three different levels of hockey in Finland. He had one game at the under-18 level, 34 at the under-20 level, and five in the top professional league. The only 17-year-old had 12 goals and 28 points at the under-20 junior level before going scoreless in five Liiga games. He is set to spend another season with the TPS organization in Finland.
Bob McKenzie, whose rankings are based off conversations with scouts, placed Pikkarainen at No. 76 on his list. Others had Pikkarainen a little later on, regardless, he was probably taken where he was expected to be.
Fun note, Kasper’s father, IIkka, was selected in the seventh round by the Devils in 2002. He played in 197 AHL games with the organization and 31 in the NHL with New Jersey.
Grade: B
Round #3 (91st) – Herman Träff, F (SHL)
With their second third-round pick, New Jersey selected another winger, Herman Träff. Träff, like most of the prospects selected by New Jersey, has terrific size at six-foot-three and 216 pounds. The 18-year-old Swedish winger can play either wing spot.
Träff spent last season across three levels of Swedish hockey leagues. He played 26 games in the under-20 junior league posting 21 points (13 goals). He also skated in 10 SHL (top professional league) and eight Swedish minor league games (HockeyAllsvenskan). The 18-year-old did improve on his 2022-23 under-20 junior league point output, as he only had 18 points in 32 games at that level last season.
Träff, who described himself as a power forward after being drafted, likely projects exactly so. For his size, he is already a pretty solid skater and owns a solid shot. However, he does have some work to do on his puck skills and overall playmaking abilities.
Träff was one of the picks in the draft that indicate some potential value versus the pre-draft consensus. McKeen Hockey had him ranked No. 77 and Dobber Prospects had him ranked No. 88. The Devils got him at 91.
Grade: B
Round #5 (139th) – Max Graham, F (WHL)
The most head-scratching pick of the draft is when New Jersey selected over-ager Max Graham in the fifth round. Graham, already 20 years old, has had several seasons of subpar output for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. He did serve as one of their alternate captain for the second-straight year last season.
Graham was past over in the draft two years in a row before getting drafted this season. In 2021-22, he posted 33 points in 64 games, then in 2022-23 he notched 21 points in 54 games. This past season, he only improved his output slightly, posting 42 points in 67 games.
He does have some good size to him, as he is listed at six-foot-three and 203 pounds; a continued theme of the draft for New Jersey. He projects as a grinder type at the next level as he led the WHL in penalty minutes with 135 this past season.
Again, this pick was a head-scratcher, especially this early. He wasn’t really ranked by anybody entering the draft; this includes not being ranked by NHL Central Scouting. There is a chance he would have gone undrafted once again if New Jersey did not pull the trigger.
Grade: F
Round #5 (146th) – Veeti Louhivaara, G (Liiga)
With their second fifth-round pick of the draft, the Devils selected their second goalie of the second day in Veeti Louhivaara. Louhivaara is a huge presence in net, listed at six-foot-three and 207 pounds. He turned 18 years old just four months ago.
Louhivaara spent last season in the under-20 Finnish junior league. He posted a subpar .890 save percentage. He appeared in one SHL game, a relief appearance, where he stopped all the shots he faced. He also made two appearances internationally where he posted a .921 save percentage.
Louhivaara is a very raw prospect who still has some work to do developing his movement skills. The production was not great last season in the under-20 junior league. Though, it was solid in the under-16 league (.943 save percentage in 14 games) back in 2021-22 and the under-18 league (.911 save percentage in 20 games) in 2022-23. Hopefully, with strength continuing to be added onto that six-foot-three frame, the numbers get better and the development continues.
EliteProspects ranked Louhivaara No. 99 on their big board, so based off their opinion this pick can be viewed with some decent value. Meanwhile, NHL Central Scouting dropped Louhivaara from 5th in their midterm rankings to 11th among international goaltenders.
Grade: C-minus
Round #6 (171st) – Matyas Melovsky, F (QMJHL)
Arguably, the pick that it appears the Devils got the most value with when comparing to the consensus board came in the sixth round. New Jersey selected forward Matyas Melovsky with their final selection of the draft. Melovsky was the team’s second over-ager selection in the draft, as he is 20 years old.
The Czechia-born center/wing posted a bizarre statistic-line in 2022-23, totaling 52 assists and only six goals across 59 games. This past season, he followed that up with 60 points in 53 games. Of those 60 points, 17 came on the power play.
Specifically, Melovsky really shined at the World Junior Championships, where he posted 11 points (10 assists) in only seven games. He was also effective back in Czechia, where he played in the under-20 league during the 2021-22 season, posting 30 points in 26 games.
At 20 years old, Melovsky has a pretty advanced game, as he is said to be a decent two-way player. The statistics speak for themselves, as he certainly profiles more as a playmaker, however, did pot close to 20 goals this past season. The goal-scoring ability can certainly be improved and some have picked issues with his skating.
Despite being passed over in two previous drafts, one of which may be injury related, Melovsky is a pretty intriguing prospect, especially this late in the draft. He had terrific production at the World Juniors and a decently advanced game already, which is good given his age. He should have a pretty high floor making it so he has a legit chance at potentially being a bottom-six forward one day.
This is something that Central Scouting’s Jean-Francois Damphousse confirmed, “I think it’s fairly easy to project that Melovsky can play a role at the NHL level and if it’s not in a top six, it’s bottom six because he can work the power play, kill penalties.”
Probably the most intriguing pick the Devils made in the draft.
Grade: A-minus
Final Thoughts
It was clear that general manager Tom Fitzgerald had a plan going into the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Draft for size, regardless of the production. Several of the above haven’t exactly performed well in terms of counting statistics and more project as projects but do possesses terrific size. Usually, when you draft that style, and get away from consensus boards, there is a less of a chance to find hits. However, the system did need some size, and this draft certainly will bring it.
Both Silayev and Melovsky appear to provide tremendous value given where they were picked. Yegorov was certainly taken off the board earlier than expected, however, regarded by many as the top goalie prospect in the draft. Meanwhile, both Pikkarainen and Träff were picked around where they were expected, with Träff potentially bringing some value compared to where several had him on the consensus. As for the fifth round, each picks do seem like reaches, especially in regard to Graham, who was not really ranked by anybody.
With all that being said, it seems like a middle-of-the-pack draft for Fitzgerald a staff. Of course, no one will know how these picks stack up until several years down the road. But, we shall see.
Final Grade: B-minus