Devils 2020 Draft Review

2020 EHE Draft Recap

The last of the firsts for GM Knedel, with the EHE Draft completing this past weekend. Entering the draft the Devils held 6 picks but after a pair of trades on the draft floor, ended the day with 4 selections. Going into the day the organization did not have a 1st round pick after the blockbuster trade with Vancouver to acquire Alex DeBrincat, but with this deep of a draft there were still going to be quality players at the Devil’s picks. The goal of this draft was to replenish in all areas and not just focus on one side of the puck. 

2020 Selections:

56th Overall Tristen Robins

At pick 56 the plan was to see who fell and pick the best player available on our board. The question on Robins heading into the previous season was if he could be the guy for the Blades with the departure of Kirby Dach, and he answered that. Posting an impressive 73 points in 62 games. A prospect touted for his offensive zone presence and ability to handle the puck make him a special player.

GM Knedel’s comments on the pick: “Robins was a player high on the list and someone who we thought wouldn’t be there when the pick was on the clock. The offensive upside we see with Tristen is a very promising one. We love the way he plays when he has the puck on his stick. You can expect something to happen. We are okay with letting him stay in juniors and develop his game with the recent additions to our team. When he is ready he will be here playing for us."

69th Overall Morgan Barron

With the second selection of the day the Devils traded up to make this selection, moving up from 93. Most were caught off guard with this pick but when you like your guy you gotta pick him. The way we saw the draft shaping out we felt that he needed to move up to select Morgan. Barron went undrafted in his EHE draft year and went on to play at Cornell. His past two seasons are what the Devils fell in love with. A solid sophomore year with 34 points in 36 games. Then in his junior year as captain, Barron performed at over a ppg with 32 points in 29 games.

GM Knedel’s comments on the pick: “We really liked his college career and him honing in on where he needed to improve. He is a big body and learning how to better play with his size, being 6” 2” and 210 lbs. His 200 foot game has gotten better, mainly his all around game has improved. He is a smart player with size and the ability to play on both end of the ice and in any situation.”

119th Pick Leon Gawanke

At the end of the draft we were looking for guys who were either EHE ready or 1 year out from being activated in the EHE. Leon Gawanke fit just what we were looking for. In his draft year and his D +1 year, his point total didn’t jump out at you but his assist numbers were there. Then in his last year of juniors things started to click with 57 points (17 G and 40 A) in 62 games. In his first pro year he stayed consistent and notched 22 assists. Gawanke is a puck moving defenseman with a big shot, who we hope can help improve the offense from the blue line. We really like what he has done recently and how he has adapted to the pro game. This is an instant upgrade to our AHL defense and adds another dimension to an impressive group in Springfield.

154th Overall Adam Werner

Werner is another player who will immediately be playing in Springfield. Going into the draft goalie was a position we needed to improve in, not having high end goalie prospects. Then came the factor of the UFA market not being strong and not wanting to have to over pay for an AHL backup to slide in behind Oettinger. During the time leading up to the draft Werner was our #1 goalie in terms of what we needed at the moment. We were in the position to draft a prospect but Werner going straight to Springfield topped that. Having NHL experience was a plus for us as he knows what it is like to play in the highest league, and his numbers for the Eagles were impressive. As an organization we are excited to have Werner join our team and to be honest were surprised he was there at 154.

Acquisition:

During the draft one of our two 4th round picks was moved to Pittsburgh for center, Nic Dowd. Again with there not being a strong UFA market we had a good amount of depth positions to fill and didn’t want to be burned by overpaying for depth. We felt that we were in a good spot with the picks that we had already made to move one in order to fill an immediate need. Dowd should slot in as our 3C and one of our top penalty killers.

Moving further in to the offseason the focus now moves to signing our RFAs and ELC players, then on to adding to our depth in the UFA market.