Devils 2024 Prospect Challenge Preview; Where to Watch

Hockey is back, sort of. This weekend the New Jersey Devils will, yet again, be taking part in the Prospect Challenge hosted by the Buffalo Sabres.

Joining the Devils will be the aforementioned Sabres, as well as the Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Utica Comets head coach, Kevin Dineen, will serve as head coach of the rookie camp and for the three-game tournament. The game schedule is as follows:

Fri. Sept. 13: Devils vs. Senators, 3:30 p.m.
Sat. Sept. 14: Devils vs. Sabres, 7 p.m.
Mon. Sept. 16: Devils vs. Bruins, 10 a.m.

All games can be streamed on NewJerseyDevils.com and the Devils mobile app.

Before the puck drops, here are a few things to watch out for this weekend.

Seamus Casey Leads the Way

The name that pops out on this year’s roster is 2022 second-round pick, defenseman Seamus Casey. In a roster that’s filled with primarily late-round and undrafted players, Casey is a cut above everyone else.

The 5-10, 180 lbs defenseman was a star at Michigan. In two seasons for the Wolverines, he scored 74 points in 77 games. Casey is an electrifying puck handler and skater who is one of the Devils premier prospects. After signing his ELC earlier this summer, Casey is set to start the season in the AHL but should be the focal point of the team up in Buffalo.

All signs point to Casey getting big minutes at this tournament, likely playing on the top pair and as the quarterback on the first power play. Something Casey should familiarize himself with given the state of Utica’s defense.

If you haven’t seen Casey play live, I’d suggest tuning in to one of these games so you can witness how dynamic of a talent he is. And with Luke Hughes sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, is there potential for Casey to make his NHL debut sooner than later?

Weaker Roster than Normal

When the Devils released the roster for this weekend, one word came to mind.

Underwhelming.

Weirdly, that’s a good thing. In recent years, the Devils have sent most of their top prospects to this tournament. However, the overwhelming majority of them have graduated into full-time NHL roles now.

The Devils are only sending one first-round pick (Chase Stillman) and one second-round pick (Seamus Casey). The rest of the roster is made up of primarily late-round and undrafted players. In fact, 15 of the 25 players attending went undrafted, while six players were selected in the fourth round or later.

The roster lacks high-upside players and took a hit when it was announced Josh Filmon would not be participating after suffering an injury.

While this roster does lack talent, it’s missing four of our top five Devils prospects; defenseman Anton Silayev, forwards Arseni Gritsyuk and Lenni Hameenaho, and goalie Mikhail Yegorov.

Players to Watch

Casey aside, there are still a few intriguing prospects to keep an eye on this weekend. Cam Squires is a prospect who’s continued to ascend since being taken in the fourth round in 2023. He led Cape Breton of the QMJHL in both regular season and playoff scoring and deservedly signed his ELC earlier in the summer. His skating is good but it’s his improved shot that will set him up for a potentially big weekend.

The next player to watch out for this weekend is 2024 sixth-round pick, Matyas Melovsky. After seeing a jump in production with Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL, and an 11-point World Junior Championship, Melovsky could be the Devils next late-round gem. He plays an abrasive game which could lend itself to a long-term bottom-six role, but he has the playmaking skills to be an offensive threat. As a double over-ager, he’ll be one of the older players at the tournament but also means the Devils could opt to play him in the AHL this season.

The final player to watch at this weekend’s Prospect Challenge is goalie Isaac Poulter. We’ve waxed poetic about Poulter in the past, but he should be the Devils number-one goalie this weekend. He likely enters the 2024-25 season in a timeshare down in Utica with Nico Daws, and after a breakout 2023-24 season has become a legit NHL prospect. Tyler Brennan struggled at last year’s prospect challenge, and third goalie Zach Pelletier is an unknown, so I’d expect Poulter to look the most capable in the crease and carry that momentum into main camp next week.

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