The New Jersey Devils don’t have a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft due to the Timo Meier trade, but they still have a selection in each round afterward. Having already written about some potential targets for the 58th overall pick in Round 2, let’s look at some prospects they could select in the third round and later.
Yegor Sidorov
- Position: Forward
- Date of Birth: June 18, 2004
- Height: 6-foot-0, Weight: 176 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters): 81st
- Elite Prospects: 114th
- FC Hockey: 170th
- FLO Hockey/Chris Peters: 70th
- TSN/Bob McKenzie: 88th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 115th
Yegor Sidorov is one of the most intriguing overagers in the 2023 draft. The 19-year-old finished the 2022-23 season with 40 goals and 76 points in 53 games for the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He has a lethal shot with a lightning-quick release and pinpoint accuracy. He’s a good skater, and he has a soft pair of hands that can lead to some flashy goals when he makes a power move in tight.
Quotable
“[Sidorov] doesn’t force plays, preferring to delay to wait for help. In the offensive end, he slips behind defenders and times his sprints to the net for opportunities. Handling skill leads to deft net-front plays and the occasional flashy move through a defender. There’s also an inside-lane component to his game, making quick passes to moving targets in transition and cutting away from defenders along the boards.” – Elite Prospects
Juraj Pekarcik
- Position: Left Wing/Center
- Date of Birth: Sept. 12, 2005
- Height: 6-foot-2, Weight: 183 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters): 41st
- Elite Prospects: 67th
- TSN/Bob McKenzie: 71st
- TSN/Craig Button: 39th
- FLO Hockey/Chris Peters: 79th
- Smaht Scouting: 100th
It’s another solid year for Slovak prospects, with Juraj Pekarcik being one of them. He bounced between pro and junior levels in Slovakia, totaling three points in 30 games with HK Nitra in the Slovak Extraliga and 20 points in 16 games with HK Nitra’s U20 team (with Šimon Nemec having played for HK Nitra last season, one has to wonder if the Devils already have some familiarity with Pekarcik). He was also a star for Slovakia at the U18 WJC, where he had 10 points in seven games.
Pekarcik skates well for someone his size and has an intriguing offensive skillset that includes a decent shot. With a Sept. 12, 2005, birthdate, he’s one of the youngest players in the 2023 draft, if not the youngest. There is quite a bit of variance in his rankings, but he’d be a good choice for the Devils in Round 3.
Daniil Karpovich
- Position: Defenseman
- Date of Birth: Dec. 06, 2004
- Height: 6-foot-3, Weight: 209 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters): 59th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 137th
- Daily Faceoff: 94th
- Draft Prospects Hockey: 77th
It’s rare to see a defender in the MHL — Russia’s top junior league — with Daniil Karpovich’s size post the offensive numbers he did in that league. Usually, someone at 6-foot-3, 209 pounds, will be more of a stay-at-home defender, but Karpovich has offensive upside. The Belarusian defender totaled 10 goals and 35 points in 47 games for Avto Yekaterinburg, making him the fourth-highest-scoring defenseman in the MHL this past season.
Related: Devils 2nd Round Targets for 2023 Draft
What makes Karpovich an intriguing prospect is his shot, which he gets through traffic regularly. When he doesn’t have a shooting lane, Karpovich does a good job of walking the blue line and showing patience until he gets a look he likes. And for someone his size, he skates quite well.
Quotable
“Maybe a bit off the radar, but I think Karpovich could be something. He’s a big 6-foot-3, 210-pound blueliner that shined with Avto in the MHL this year. He has produced points everywhere he has gone, and he might even be one of the better skaters above 6-foot-2. He needs to face quality competition, but he already looks like a pro-caliber defenseman.” – Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff.
Andrei Loshko
- Position: Right Wing
- Date of Birth: Oct. 7, 2004
- Height: 6-foot-1, 170 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters): 68th
- Elite Prospects: 104th
- FC Hockey: 89th
- Daily Faceoff: 100th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 138th
- Recruit Scouting: 90th
Andrei Loshko had a solid season in the Quebec Junior Major Hockey League (QMJHL), totaling 22 goals and 70 points in 68 games for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. The Belarusian forward has an intriguing offensive arsenal that includes a decent shot with a quick release. He’s one of the better stickhandlers in this class and has good two-way hockey sense.
The best guess for Loshko is he goes off the board somewhere in the third or fourth rounds. He’s one of the more skilled players later in this year’s draft, and there’s a chance he could turn into a middle-of-the-lineup player in the NHL if the team that drafts him develops him properly.
Quotable
“Loshko, a left-shot center, shows great puck control ability and he utilizes his quick hands when working his shot release. As a pivot, he shows very valued positional IQ and always has the heart and effort on forechecks and backchecks no matter the situation of the game. He tends to show great patience when reading plays to get into position, however he can be seen coasting when doing so.” – Mitchell Skilton, FC Hockey.
Yegor Zavragin
- Position: Goaltender
- Date of Birth: Aug. 23, 2004
- Height: 6-foot-2, Weight: 183 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (EU Goalies): 12th
- FC Hockey: 98th
- Daily Faceoff: 150th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 134th
- Draft Prospects Hockey: 150th
- Smaht Scouting: 66th
Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin. What do they all have in common? They’re Russians who are among the top 5 goaltenders in the world. Vasilevskiy was a first-round pick, but Shesterkin and Sorokin both went in the fourth round of their respective drafts.
Yegor Zavragin, a projected mid-round pick, spent most of the 2022-23 season in the MHL, where he posted a .920 SV% in 21 regular-season games and a .927 SV% in four playoff appearances. The Devils tend to draft CHL goalies in the mid-rounds more often than not. But given the success of Russian netminders in the NHL, taking a flyer on Zavragin around the fifth round could be a low-risk, high-reward move.
Quotable
“If you lost out on Hrabal, Augustine, Fowler and Bjarnason, Yegor Zavragin is an excellent consolation prize. He’s quick and nimble. When in the butterfly, he takes up a lot of space in net. Zavragin has an excellent glove and is rather effective with his glove on high-danger chances. His rebound control is quite good and is constantly pushing pucks to low danger areas.” – Josh Tessler, Smaht Scouting.
Tomas Suchanek
- Position: Goaltender
- Date of Birth: April 30, 2003
- Height: 6-foot-2, Weight: 181 pounds
Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (NA Goalies): 9th
- FC Hockey: 162nd
- The Hockey News: 110th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 205th
- Draft Prospects Hockey: 103rd
Aside from Zavragin, there are other goaltenders the Devils could target in the mid-rounds of the draft. Tomas Suchanek could be one of those, as he had a solid season in the Western Hockey League, totaling a .912 save percentage with the Tri-City Americans.
Suchanek caught people’s attention with an outstanding performance for Team Czechia at the World Junior Championship, where he posted a .934 SV% in seven games. He’s an overager at 20 years old, and the Devils tend to draft goalies with more size than him. But he has upside and would be a decent pick in the fourth round or later.
Quotable
“Suchanek is a hybrid-style goalie who is very aggressive in challenging shooters on their first shot, but can sometimes throw himself out of position by overcommitting. His movement in his crease is strong and fluid. I found that when the puck was below his goal line and got moved into the slot, he would make a quick push to the top of his crease to cut down the shooter’s angle as much as possible…” – Mitch Savard, FC Hockey.
Honorable Mentions
Since there are hundreds of prospects later in the draft, I thought I’d end this post with a quick overview of honorable mentions that could make sense for the Devils. The following prospects will have position, height and weight, date of birth, rankings, counting totals, and the league they played in during the 2022-23 season.
1. Beau Jelsma
- Position: Left Wing/Center
- Height: 5-foot-9, Weight: 181 pounds
- Date of birth: April 28, 2004
- Rankings
- McKeen’s Hockey: 182nd
- NHL Central Scouting: 190th
- 2022-23 Counting totals – 31 goals, 30 assists and 60 points in 67 games for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
2. Albert Wikman
- Position: Defenseman
- Height: 6-foot-1, Weight: 198 pounds
- Date of birth: March 10, 2005
- Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters): 32nd
- Elite Prospects: 86th
- Daily Faceoff: 88th
- TSN Craig Button: 69th
- The Hockey News: 92nd
- Dobber Prospects: 78th
Related: THW 2023 Draft Profile: Albert Wikman
- 2022-23 Counting Totals – Wikman totaled two goals, 10 assists and 12 points in 43 games for Färjestad BK J20 in the J20 Nationell — the U20 tier of junior hockey in Sweden. He also appeared in 11 games for Färjestad in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), going without a point.
3. Cole Knuble
- Position: Center
- Height: 5-foot-11, Weight: 185 pounds
- Date of Birth: July 1, 2004
- Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters): 105th
- Elite Prospects: 106th
- Daily Faceoff: 111th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 125th
- Dobber Prospects: 77th
- Smaht Scouting: 87th
- 2022-23 Counting Totals – 30 goals, 36 assists, and 66 points in 57 games for the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League (USHL)
Related: THW Draft Profile: Cole Knuble
4. Yegor Klimovich
- Position: Forward
- Height: 5-foot-9, Weight: 158 pounds
- Date of Birth: May 10, 2004
- Rankings
- FC Hockey: 53rd
- Daily Faceoff: 107th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 107th
- Draft Prospects Hockey: 200th
- Smaht Scouting: 92nd
- 2022-23 Counting Totals – Klimovich totaled 19 goals and 49 points in 36 games for Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk in the MHL
5. Arvid Bergström
- Position: Defenseman
- Height: 5-foot-11, Weight: 168 pounds
- Date of Birth: June 12, 2005
- Rankings
- NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters): 58th
- Daily Faceoff: 127th
- Draft Prospects Hockey: 168th
- Smaht Scouting: 63rd
- FC Hockey: 141st
Related: THW 2023 Draft Profile: Arvid Bergström
- 2022-23 Counting Totals – Two goals, 21 assists, and 23 points in 41 games for Djurgårdens IF J20 in the J20 Nationell
6. Brady Stonehouse
- Position: Right Wing
- Height: 5-foot-10, Weight: 194 pounds
- Date of Birth: Aug. 6, 2004
- Rankings
- Daily Faceoff: 118th
- The Hockey News: 78th
- McKeen’s Hockey: 177th
- – 2022-23 Counting Totals – 37 goals, 20 assists and 57 points in 68 games for the Ottawa 67’s (OHL)
Devils Can Further Improve Prospect Pool Late
Obviously, there are plenty more choices for the Devils post-second round than the ones listed here. Their prospect pipeline is in pretty good shape at every position, so they could go multiple routes in rounds 2-7 on Thursday. And given the strength of the class, they should find some quality prospects.
