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2023 Devils Prospect Camp - Roster, Schedule, and Goals |
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Good afternoon Devils fans. This week begins the 2023 Devils Prospect Camp. The week-long program will pit our prospects against one another to see how their skills and potential translate in high pressure scenarios. Before we jump into a breakdown of the roster and schedule, we should lay out what the goals are for this camp. Usually with these programs, teams may use this time to try and whittle down options to fill their roster as that would be more financially viable then free agency and less draft costly than a trade. However, with how the system is shaping up at the NHL roster level for the Devils, there really aren't a ton of slots for hungry players paving their way to Prudential Center.
Realistically, these camps serve a few purposes. First, how do recent and past draft players stack up against each other as well as undrafted tryouts? This program can be incredibly enlightening for grading past choices at the draft and gauge their development in their respective systems, whether that be Canadian juniors, college, the AHL, or European leagues. Are they excelling at their level and ready to be promoted or have they found their niche and there isn’t much higher they can shoot for the time being? These are questions that development coaches and the management side of the Devils will be looking to answer over the course of the camp.
Additionally, we can use this camp to target areas of growth for the system, not just for the benefit of the Devils, but the AHL affiliate Utica Comets. We may not be able to focus as much on our minor league side, but the quality and competitiveness of Utica’s squad can have long lasting effects as we develop youth pieces into NHL stalwarts. Can our Comets group not only put up a winning record, but scratch into a playoff spot? How does it stack vs. other NHL teams’ pools of talent? Can these young players keep their composure in challenging situations to progress through the AHL playoffs to attain the Calder Cup? The last Devils affiliate to achieve this feat was the 94-95 Albany River Rats, the same year the senior squad brought New Jersey’s first Stanley Cup championship to Continental Airlines Arena.
Finally, this camp can also be a wake up call for management to move pieces that are hitting their limit for potential into a possibly beneficial trade. When teams call to make deals, the data and eye test results from these camps can help GM Tom Fitzgerald and the scouting staff be able to narrow down options that would be beneficial to both teams without compromising the long term goals of the system. Can this winger or this defenseman really be much more valuable than us that he is right now? Is this the most we are going to get out of this goalie? Can we move these players to help rebuild draft capitals, or find role players that may plug holes of the current squad? These mindsets and more can help define the expectations and hopes for outcomes of this week’s development camp.
Now, let’s take a look at the roster for this week’s camp. All rosters and schedules are courtesy of Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com. Supplemented with the jersey numbers and names will be physical attributes, draft year/round/pick, and recent stats from Hockey Reference and Elite Prospects:
Jersey # Name, Position*, Age
Physical Stats
Draft Info
Recent Stats, Team - League
*Defensemen will have an L/R next to their position for the side they shoot on
*Goalies will have an L/R for the side they catch on
Forwards:
29 Lenni Hameenaho, F, 18
6’0”, 181 lbs
2nd Round, 68th, 2023
9G-12A-21P in 51GP, Ässät - Liiga
52 Cole Brown, RW, 18
6’2”, 179 lbs
6th Round, 164th, 2023
17G-25A-42P in 60GP, Hamilton Bulldogs - OHL
57 Cam Squires, RW, 18
6’0”, 165 lbs
4th Round, 122nd, 2023
30G-34A-64P in 67GP, Cape Breton Eagles - QMJHL
67 Xavier Parent, C/LW, 22
5’8”, 170 lbs
Undrafted
23G-28A-51P in 50GP, Adirondack Thunder - ECHL (Limited time for Utica Comets - AHL)
75 Filip Engaras, C, 24
6’1”, 201 lbs
6th Round, 169th, 2020 (EDM)
5G-0A-0A in 37 GP, Bakersfield Condors / Utica Comets - AHL (26 Games in Fort Wayne Komets - ECHL)
78 Artem Shlaine, C, 21
6’1”, 165 lbs
5th Round, 130th, 2020
11G-21A-32P in 38 GP, Northern Michigan University - NCAA
80 Cam Recchi, C/LW, 22
5’10”, 165 lbs
Undrafted
2G-10A-12P in 35 GP, University of St. Thomas - NCAA
89 Josh Filmon, LW, 19
6’1”, 159 lbs
6th Round, 166th, 2022
47G-28A-75P in 64 GP, Swift Current Broncos - WHL (Limited time for Utica - AHL)
94 Luke Grainger, F, 23
5’10”, 181 lbs
Undrafted
12G-20A-32P in 38 GP, Western Michigan University - NCAA
49 Ondrej Psenicka, RW, 22
6’6”, 209 lbs
Undrafted
8G-7A-15P in 34 GP, Cornell University - NCAA
53 Petr Hauser, RW, 19
6’4”, 207 lbs
5th Round, 121st, 2022
9G-13A-22P in 14 GP, HC Sparta Praha U20 - Czechia U20 (Split additional time - Czechia2 / Sparta senior team)
61 Chase Stillman, RW, 20
6’1”, 185 lbs
1st Round, 29th, 2021
19G-29A-48P in 59 GP, Peterborough Petes - OHL
68 Samu Salminen, C/LW, 20
6’2”, 185 lbs
3rd Round, 68th, 2021
9G-8A-17P in 27 GP, University of Connecticut - NCAA
76 Erik Middendorf, LW, 22
6’1”, 194 lbs
Undrafted
7G-9A-16P in 37 GP, Michigan State University - NCAA (Limited time for Adirondack Thunder - ECHL)
79 Jaromir Pytlik, C, 21
6’2”, 201 lbs
4th Round, 99th, 2020
2G-1A-3P in 33 GP, Rytíři Kladno - Czechia (Limited time for LHK Jestřábi Prostějov - Czechia2)
83 Timur Ibragimov, LW, 22
6’0”, 201 lbs
6th Round, 164th, 2019 (SJS)
11G-21A-32P in 53 GP, Wichita Thunder ECHL (Limited time for Utica Comets - AHL)
93 Will Dineen, F, 22
6’2”, 194 lbs
Undrafted
1G-8A-9P in 27 GP, Yale University - NCAA
95 Owen Fowler, LW, 21
5’10”, 190 lbs
Undrafted
5G-7A-12P in 33 GP, UMass Lowell - NCAA
Defensemen:
38 Topias Vilen, LD, 20
6’1”, 194 lbs
5th Round, 121st, 2021
9G-8A-17P in 41 GP, Pelicans - Liiga
47 Ethan Edwards, LD, 21
5’10”, 176 lbs
4th Round, 120th, 2020
4G-10A-14P in 37 GP, University of Michigan - NCAA
62 Tim Rego, RD, 22
6’0”. 174 lbs
Undrafted
2G-7A-9P in 33 GP, Cornell University - NCAA
72 Seamus Casey, RD, 19
5’9”, 161 lbs
2nd Round, 46th, 2022
8G-21A-29P in 37 GP, University of Michigan - NCAA
77 Brendan Fitzgerald, LD, 20
6’0”, 161 lbs
Undrafted
3G-21A-24P in 43 GP, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders - USHL
84 Viktor Hurtig, RD, 21
6’5”, 192 lbs
6th Round, 164th, 2021
1G-4A-5P in 34 GP, Michigan State University - NCAA
46 Spencer Cox, LD, 22
6’0”, 181 lbs
Undrafted
1G-12A-13P in 34 GP, Long Island University - NCAA
58 Chase Cheslock, RD, 18
6’3”, 207 lbs
5th Round, 154th, 2023
1G-4A-5P in 15 GP, Omaha Lancers - USHL (Split time with high school, St. Cloud - NAHL and the US Development Program)
64 Luke Rowe, RD, 24
6’1”, 209 lbs
Undrafted
7G-17A-24P in 33 GP, Air Force Academy “C” - NCAA
74 Charlie Leddy, RD, 19
6’2”, 185 lbs
4th Round, 126th, 2022
2G-5A-7P in 35 GP, Boston College - NCAA
82 Santeri Hatakka, LD, 22
6’1”, 192 lbs
6th Round, 184th, 2019 (SJS)
0G-2A-2P in 8, San Jose Barracuda - AHL
Goalies:
51 Tyler Brennan, LG, 19
6’4”, 181 lbs
4th Round, 102nd, 2022
21W-10L-3OTL, 2.86 GAA, .898 SV%, Prince George Cougars - WHL
65 Isaac Poulter, LG, 21
6’2”, 174 lbs
Undrafted
7W-3L-3OTL, 3.62 GAA, .883 SV%, Utica Comets - AHL (Limited time for Adirondack Thunder - ECHL)
60 Cole Brady, LG, 22
6’5”, 174 lbs
5th Round, 127th, 2019
4W-5L-0OTL, 3.10 GAA, .907 SV%, UMass - NCAA
85 Jakub Malek, LG, 21
6’4”, 170 lbs
4th Round, 100th, 2021
9W-7L-4OTL, 2.15 GAA, .903 SV%, Ilves - Liiga (Limited time for KOVEE - Mestis)
Per Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com, the schedule for the camp will flow as follows:
“Players will mostly partake in scrimmages and practices this week, but will travel to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, for a “team building event” on Thursday. Scrimmages on Wednesday (5:30 p.m. ET to 6:30 p.m. ET) and Friday (10 a.m. ET to 11:15 a.m. ET) are open to Devils Black and Red season ticket members who RSVP’d for the event in a reserved seating area.”
So, what are we thinking about the development of camp? Is anyone trying to attend those scrimmages? Any prospects you are really excited about? Leave your thoughts and comments below.
Raise Hell,
-Josh Biringer
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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