The New Jersey Devils hold the fourth overall pick in Friday's NHL entry draft in Minnesota, and, barring any draft-day trades, will have their lowest pick in the draft since the organization selected Scott Niedermayer third overall in 1991.
As winners of the NHL's draft lottery back in April, New Jersey moved up from having the No. 8 pick to No. 4 (no team can move more than four draft slots by winning the lottery). The Edmonton Oilers, who finished 30th overall in 2010-11, hold the first pick in the draft.
With the No. 4 pick, the Devils will have the opportunity to select one of several promising players in the draft. Many media outlets are predicting that the Oilers plan to take Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall, leaving Colorado (No 2.), Florida (No. 3) and the Devils to choose from top-ranked prospects Center Ryan Strome, Forward Jonathan Huberdeau, Center Sean Couturier, Left Winger Gabriel Langeskog, Defenseman Adam Larsson, and Defenseman Dougie Hamilton, to name just a few. (Click on each player's name to view Tom Gulitti's profile of that player.) For those of you curious about the complete draft order, you can find it on the NHL's website.
So who will the Devils select? That of course depends on what the three teams ahead of them do, but only time will tell. One thing that appears certain is the Devils' first round selection will be given a long, hard look in training camp this year, and with the organization's track record of letting players mature in the minors we may see their first round selection skating on Albany ice someday down the road.
No matter who is selected, I'll be sure to post a player profile on this site after the draft.
The NHL Entry Draft is scheduled for Friday, June 24th at 7 PM and will be televised on Versus, or you hardcore fans can make your way down to New Jersey for the Devils' official draft party.
Note: Don Ferlazzo is not an employee of the Albany Devils, nor is this blog sponsored or influenced by the organization in any way.
Covering news and notes on the Albany Devils, as well as professional hockey in New York's Capital Region
No comments:
Post a Comment