The New Jersey Devils' 2015 NHL Entry Draft Primer

On Friday night, the first round of the 2015 NHL entry draft will take place at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

With the first overall pick, the Edmonton Oilers will take Connor McDavid. With the second overall pick, the Buffalo Sabres will take Jack Eichel. 

The next four picks—which belong to the Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils—may have a huge impact on the future of the Devils. New Jersey, in the midst of a major period of transition, could deeply use to add a top prospect to its organization, but which players will still be on the board when the Devils step up is still relatively unclear.

Of course, the Devils have six draft choices after their first-round pick, each of which is important as well.

This primer will list when New Jersey's picks are, take a look at what new general manager Ray Shero and his scouting staff have to say about the draft, briefly consider some of the players the Devils could take with the sixth overall choice and examine the likelihood of New Jersey trading its first-round pick.

List of Draft Choices

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New head coach John Hynes at his first press conference in charge of the Devils.

Round	Pick	Overall Pick	Notes
1	6	6
2	6	36
2	11	41	from Florida as part of the Jaromir Jagr trade
3	6	67
4	6	97
6	6	157

Management on the Draft

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Ray Shero at the introduction of John Hynes as Devils head coach.

Scouting Director David Conte on if the Devils would draft a defenseman:

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In any draft, what your need is today is not your need tomorrow. When we had Adam (Larsson), we desperately wanted a defenseman. Now, we have a plethora of them. All things being equal, (the Devils would prefer a forward), but things are never equal.

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General manager Ray Shero on the same topic:

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You want the best asset, the best possible player. It's about not just next year. You're taking the best asset. You're thinking three to five years down the road. There's nothing worse than picking a position for the position and then all the sudden you passed on pretty special because, 'Oh, you had enough of those.' Well, they're assets and you then can rearrange the furniture at some point.

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Shero again on whether or not the Devils would draft a defenseman:

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Again, it would go to philosophy, what's best. Any team picking at a certain point, sometimes you don't know that. I would never go with an idea that, 'I want the guy to play next year.' That would be dangerous. No, it's all about let's try to get the best player. In this case, from the outside, am I looking at a forward? Absolutely, but you never know how this is going to fall at 6.

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Shero on if a prospect's ability to contribute immediately at the NHL level plays a role in the team's drafting:

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In terms of, can the guy play next year, that's probably not in the equation. If it happens, it's going to be for the right reason. If it doesn't, that's all part of the decision that we're going to make. When we're talking about this team, it's what are we going to do this summer? How is it going to affect us? How are we going to be in the next three, four, five years, whatever it is? It's the same thing with a player. The decision we make on that player probably is going to affect us and him three or four years down the road.

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All quotes courtesy of Tom Gulitti of Fire and Ice.

Players Unlikely to Fall to New Jersey at Pick No. 6

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Top prospects pose for a photo before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

It is essentially a foregone conclusion that Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will be taken first and second, respectively, so both of those players have absolutely no chance of winding up in New Jersey barring a completely unexpected trade-up from the Devils.

Therefore, it is not worth even looking at those two players. But every other top prospect has at least a small chance of an unexpected fall of a few places. There are three players in particular: Noah Hanifin, Dylan Strome and Mitchell Marner, who are unlikely to fall to the Devils but are just one unexpected move in the top five away from potentially being on the board at the sixth pick.

Noah Hanifin

Hanifin, an 18-year-old American defenseman, is the third-ranked North American skater, according to the NHL's Central Scouting Service. At 6'3" and 203 pounds, Hanifin is a sizable player who is widely considered to be the best defenseman available in the draft.

As a freshman at Boston College last season (and teammate of Devils prospect Steve Santini), Hanifin put up five goals, 18 assists and a plus-12 rating. He played in all five of the United States' games at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, amassing two assists and a plus-three rating.

Hanifin may not be the best offensive defenseman in this year's draft class (that is likely Ivan Provorov, who will be featured in the next slide), but he is almost certainly the best defensive defenseman available. His high-level defensive ability combined with his solid, if not elite, offensive ability makes him a tantalizing prospect. 

It seems unlikely that a player who projects to be a top-pairing defenseman who is capable in all three zones would fall to New Jersey at the sixth pick, but if he does, the team may snatch Hanifin, who would likely be the most talented player still on the board.

Dylan Strome

Strome, an 18-year-old center from Ontario, is the fourth-ranked North American skater, according to the NHL's Central Scouting Service. At 6'3" and 185 pounds, Strome still has a little filling out to do, but his skill more than makes up for any minor critiques of his physical attributes.

He led the OHL in points during the 2014-15 season, putting up 129 points (45 goals and 84 assists) with the Erie Otters. In some drafts, Strome may well have had a legitimate chance to be a first or second overall pick, but with McDavid and Eichel atop the draft board, he is set to make another team in the top six or seven picks incredibly happy.

It is probably even less likely that Strome falls to New Jersey than Hanifin, but if by some minor miracle he does, it would be almost certain that the Devils take him with the sixth pick.

Mitchell Marner

Marner, an 18-year-old Canadian right wing, is the sixth-ranked North American skater, according to the NHL's Central Scouting Service. At 5'11" and 160 pounds, Marner is definitely on the small side, but his speed and offensive ability make viewers forget about his size quickly.

Marner's 126 points were second-best in the OHL last season, and his 44 goals were tied for fourth-best. He led his team, the London Knights, in goals, assists and points. 

The Ontario native, a speedy, talented right wing, would be a perfect fit for the Devils, who are short on speed, offensive talent and right wings. Marner has the best chance out of the players in this group of slipping to New Jersey at pick No. 6, but he is more than talented enough to go in the top five. As is the case with Hanifin and Strome, if Marner is still on the board when New Jersey steps up, the team will almost certainly take him.

Players Likely to Be Taken by the Devils in the First Round

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Pavel Zacha makes a play behind the net during the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Though the Devils will likely be hoping they can nab one of the players in the previous slide, it is more likely that they can get their hands on one of these players. There is a good chance that when the Devils make their pick, they will choose one of Pavel Zacha, Mikko Rantanen, Ivan Provorov or Lawson Crouse.

Pavel Zacha

Zacha is a 6'3" center who put up 34 points in 37 games with the Sarnia Sting in 2014-15, despite an injury-shortened season. The 18-year-old native of the Czech Republic is a big, strong two-way forward who may be among the more NHL-ready forwards in the draft.

His strongest assets may well be things that do not show up on scoresheets: He plays tons of defense, wins faceoffs and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. This is not to say he cannot contribute offensively, but Zacha is certainly not an offensive powerhouse.

So, will the offense-starved Devils want to choose a player whose top asset is not attacking ability? Shero and Co. have stated unequivocally that they will take whatever player they think has the most talent, regardless of position or style of play. But one has to wonder if they would be willing to choose a player like Zacha if a player of comparable overall talent and better scoring ability is on the board.

Mikko Rantanen

Shero has stated that neither a prospect's NHL readiness nor his ability to fill a specific need for the team will factor into his draft decision, which may lessen the chances the Devils select Rantanen. Though he is just 18, Rantanen spent the 2014-15 season playing in Finland's top league against talented, fully grown men on a night-to-night basis. 

In 56 games with his team, TPS, Rantanen had nine goals and 19 assists, a respectable, if not spectacular, output for an 18-year-old right wing. At 6'4" and 211 pounds, he may be physically one of the most NHL-ready players in the draft. Coupled with his professional experience in Finland, his size means there is a real chance Rantanen could make an NHL team in 2015-16. 

Because he spent 2014-15 in a professional league, though, it is difficult to compare his numbers to those of most of the other prospects. Does he have offensive talent comparable to players like Zacha and Crouse? The answer to this difficult question may ultimately decide whether the Devils take the Finnish youngster.

Ivan Provorov

Provorov, an 18-year-old native of Russia, may be the most offensively gifted defenseman in this year's draft class. In 2014-15, he had 15 goals and 46 assists with the OHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, giving him the fourth-most points among the league's defensemen.

In the closing months of the OHL season, many felt Provorov closed the gap between himself and Hanifin, the draft's other top defenseman. Provorov may not have shown the defensive ability to catch up to Hanifin in the mind of many scouts, but his offensive ability from the blue line is likely unmatched in the 2015 draft class.

Whether that offensive ability is so strong that the Devils are willing to take a defenseman with their first-round pick remains to be seen.

Lawson Crouse

There may be no top prospect about whom opinions are more varied than Crouse. The NHL's Central Scouting Service lists Crouse as the fourth-best North American skater, and at 6'4" and 215 pounds, Crouse certainly has the size to succeed at the NHL level. 

Still, there are doubts as to whether Crouse can be as good a scorer in the NHL as he was in the OHL, where he had 29 goals last season. 

Crouse, a left wing, can be a tough, two-way forward as well, but that may not be enough to keep him from sliding down to the middle of the first round. If the Devils believe Crouse can continue to score goals at the next level, then they will likely have the option of taking him on Friday. But if they have any doubts, there may be better options.

On Trading the Sixth Overall Pick

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Toronto's Phil Kessel may be one of the star forwards on the block at the draft, but do the Devils have the resources to acquire a player such as him?

The Devils do, of course, have another option for their first-round draft pick. They could trade the sixth overall choice.

With players like Patrick Sharp, Phil Kessel, T.J. Oshie and Ryan O'Reilly all possibly on the trading block heading into the draft, packaging the pick with one of the team's young defensemen might make sense, at least in theory.

But, the reality is that at pick No. 6, the Devils probably will not have too many potential trade partners. The Arizona Coyotes, owners of the third pick in the draft, are reportedly mulling over multiple trade options (per Brandon Schlager at the Sporting News)—such a move would give the recipient of the pick any prospect not named McDavid or Eichel.

The Devils can make no such promises to potential trade partners. The sixth overall pick may bring in a highly touted prospect, but unless a player like Strome or Hanifin drops to the Devils, they will probably have to give up an arm and a leg in addition to their first-round pick to acquire one of the players listed above. 

Could the right deal fall into Shero's lap? It is certainly possible, but fans who are holding out for New Jersey to trade its top pick for a proven goal scorer are likely going to be disappointed.