Devils' Recent Draft Misses Have Come Back to Haunt Them

The New Jersey Devils' lack of depth can be attributed to some recent misses in the 1st round of the NHL Draft.

---

Follow us on Twitter: @AlexC_NJD, @NJD_OnTheRush

Follow me on Bluesky

---

I don't love playing revisionist history when it comes to the NHL Draft. It's easy to look back on previous picks and say X team should have selected this player or that player.

That certainly applies to the New Jersey Devils when you look back at the 2017 draft. How many times have critics said they should have taken Cale Makar instead of Nico Hischier? The thing about that is no one would have said that at the time.

However, it's a different conversation when looking at some of the Devils' following draft classes, specifically under general manager Tom Fitzgerald. And it's come back to bite them today.

2020: Alexander Holtz Over Marco Rossi at 7th Overall

Alexander Holtz was not an awful pick at the time. Many public draft rankings had him as a top-10 prospect, but the Devils went for need instead of the best player available by selecting him.

The Devils were still rebuilding at the time and looking for players that could develop into complements around Jack Hughes and Hischier in seasons like this one. The thought process isn't the worst, and my guess is they would have chosen Lucas Raymond if he were available.

Instead, they selected Holtz and passed on Marco Rossi, who has been excellent for the Minnesota Wild this season, totaling 51 points in 61 games. Rossi had an outrageous draft-eligible season, recording 120 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67's.

I remember watching Will Scouch's draft video of Rossi and thinking that he'd be the second-best target for the Devils behind Raymond. Scouch had Rossi as a clear top-five prospect, as did most scouting services.

Rossi fell to the Wild with the ninth overall pick, and I'm sure his being only 5-foot-9 played a factor. The Devils would be in a much better place today had they selected Rossi. You can easily look back on that selection and say the Devils should have drafted him, given where his ranking was at the time. A Jack Hughes injury wouldn't seem so dire if they had Rossi now.