Garden State of Hockey- Episode 59: A Loaded First Round

A quick note, this episode was recorded prior to the lottery nightmare scenario that occurred so the blissful ignorance regarding what was to come is evident as we hopefully pretended that the Rangers weren’t going to win all along.

Through the qualifying round, the chips fell such that the Devils now own three picks in the first round of the draft. The combination of Vancouver winning their series in conjunction with wins from Arizona, Montreal and Chicago means the Devils will likely have picks 18 and 20 in addition to their own 7th overall pick. We go over some options with those picks and highlight some players that may be available in that range.

Given the weirdness, while the likelihood is low that the pick positioning changes (Vancouver, Montreal or Chicago would have to make the Conference Finals in their respective conferences), anything is possible in the bubble. Regardless, the Devils are guaranteed some flexibility as they navigate the next stage of the rebuild under the new regime.

What should they do with their three first rounders? Who should they select? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.