Devils 2024 NHL Draft Preview: What to Do at 10th Overall

What the New Jersey Devils decide to do with the 10th overall pick will have a big say in how their 2024 draft goes.

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Hopefully, this is the last time we're reading and writing about the New Jersey Devils having a top-10 selection in the NHL Draft for a long time. But as it stands, the Devils will select 10th overall in the first round of the draft tonight.

The question is, will they keep the pick, or will they trade it away for someone like Martin Nečas? Let's set the table for the draft and what the Devils could do over the next two days before free agency begins Monday.

Narrowing Down Prospects the Devils Could Select

If the Devils keep the pick, who could they select? We've mentioned plenty of prospects here, but let's narrow it down to a few.

Based on what the Devils are looking for this offseason, I doubt smaller skill wingers are high atop their list. As much as I love Berkly Catton and think he's the third-best player in this draft class, I'd be surprised if the Devils selected him at 10th overall, even though he'd probably be the best player available in that slot. He's 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, and looks slight. Plus, he might be too much of the same, so I imagine they look elsewhere.

Two prospects the Devils probably hold in high regard are Beckett Sennecke and Michael Brandsegg-Nygård. Sennecke has been a late riser in the 2024 draft, so much so that it wouldn't shock me if he isn't on the board for the Devils at 10. He had an excellent close to the OHL season, and at 6-foot-2, 183 pounds, there's potential for a highly skilled power forward.

Brandsegg-Nygård has had a similar trajectory to Sennecke. He finished the HockeyAllsvenskan season with 16 points across his final 25 games, and he set a record for playoff points by a draft-eligible prospect in that league.

Brandsegg-Nygård measures 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, skates and forechecks well, and also has the makings of a power forward. I believe in Brandsegg-Nygård's upside and think he's a bit of a late bloomer, and he seems like the type of prospect that general manager Tom Fitzgerald would covet with the pick.

Though I think the Devils would probably lean toward taking a forward with the 10th pick, keep an eye on defenseman Sam Dickinson. Devils Chief Scout Mark Dennehy spoke highly of Dickinson, saying, "...there are not too many guys that have that potential."

My guess is Dickinson is off the board by the time the Devils pick, but if that's how Dennehy and their amateur scouts feel about Dickinson, he might be their selection.

Will the Devils Trade the 10th Overall Pick?