QUEBEC CITY P.Q.— With the expected graduation of some New Jersey prospects, including those from the Lowell Devils (AHL), the Devils, headed by President/General Manager Lou Lamoriello, will have to think mid or long term in the upcoming NHL entry draft in Montreal on June 26 and 27. The New Jersey GM believe in some of their young players such as Swedish right winger Nicklas Bergfors (2005 first round pick, 23rd overall), right winger Matt Halischuk (2007 fourth round draft pick, 117th overall) and defensemen Matthew Corrente (2006 first round pick, 30th overall) and Tyler Eckford (2004 seventh round pick, 217th overall). These players represent some of the prospects Lamoriello will monitor closely at next years training camp who hoping to graduate in a year or two. Patrice Cormier is another forward (2008 second round pick, 54th overall) who recently played for the Rimouski Oceanic and is someone who Lamoriello and his staff will take a longer look at. The 6’ 2″, 205 center can also play on left wing and plays like a power forward. If he can prove that he can graduate to the NHL right from the junior ranks, the coaching staff will certainly find Cormier a spot on the parent clubs roster. Halischuck ended last season with 29 points in 47 games with Lowell. At 5’ 11″, 180 pound right winger isn’t big but he is a talented player that the organization can count on to graduate. The same goes for Bergfors who was Lowell’s second leading scorer with 51 points in 66 games. Another position the organization will monitor closely is at goaltender. With the possible departure of Scott Clemensen as an unrestricted free agent, the team expects to see Jeff Frazee, who began last year in the ECHL with Trenton and was called up to Lowell after Clemensen was recalled by New Jersey take Martin Brodeur’s place due to injury. The organization expects to see Frazee to earn the backup position behind Brodeur next year and possibly become New Jersey’s number one netminder. When you look the overall depth chart of the organization, you see that they are in danger of losing some important players such as Travis Zajac, even if he is a restricted free agent. The Devils other unrestricted free agents are: Right winger Brian Gionta, center John Madden and left winger Mike Rupp. There will be several quality goaltending prospects available at the upcoming draft but none seem to be destined to be selected in the first round. Goaltenders such as Edward Pasquale (6’ 2″ 215, Saginaw, OHL), Olivier Bellavance-Roy (5’ 11″ 167, Cape Breton, QMJHL) should be available in second round and represent great selection for the Devils should they decide to go with a netminder. Beside the already mentioned prospects, the Devils have others in the pipeline who hope to be counted on such as Mike Hoeffel (2007 second round pick, 57th overall), who played his freshman year with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the WCHA and had 12 points in 30 games. He has good size and strength and can play like a power forward. When he leaves college he will possibly face a challenge from Barry Tallackson who is already in the AHL, as is power forward Nick Palmieri. Some other Devil prospects that the fans will have an interest in watching will be Alexander Vasyunov (2006 second round pick, 58th overall), had 28 points in 69 games in the AHL. He is considered an explosive two way forward and will be closely monitored by the Devils coaching staff. Of the last 215 picks the team had made, 85 have played in the NHL, 43 played in more than 200 plus. All things considered, don’t be surprised to hear Mr. Lamoriello say the following come draft day. “With the 23rd pick, the New Jersey Devils are proud to select, from the United States National Team Development Program, center Drew Shore”. The Denver, Colorado native played a key role at the Five Nations Tournament last February and was one of the best players on Team USA in helping them to win the goald medal at the tournament. He is a real good skater, some scouts like to use the comparison to Peter Holland wile others anticipate him to be more of an energy guy, and a two way player. Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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