Hämeenaho vs Lombardi: Who Wins the Devils Roster Spot First in 2026-27?
The New Jersey Devils made this argument harder on purpose.
Luke Evangelista was acquired last week after a 56-point season and a top-six look in the Nashville Predators lineup. That one move shoved Lenni Hämeenaho and Amadeus Lombardi further down a forward list that was already crowded. Both still have a path. Yet, neither has a clean one. And unless another trade opens a seat, both have to play better than Stefan Noesen to take one that already exists.
This is not a tools debate. Hämeenaho is No. 4 and Lombardi is No. 7 in our 2026 Devils Prospect Rankings for reasons that still hold: skating, puck skills, hockey sense, compete, defensive detail, then production and a real NHL job. The question here is narrower. Who gets into the lineup first this season?
What each one is walking into
Hämeenaho has already been there. Thirty-three NHL games last year. Two goals, six assists. Another 26 points in 37 games in Utica. The right wing is strong on the puck, not flashy enough to force a coach’s hand, but good enough that Sheldon Keefe already used him when the roster needed a body and was complimentary of his hockey IQ, which is clearly a strength.
Lombardi has not been there, however. One hundred sixty-three AHL games. Forty-two points in 47 games last season in Grand Rapids. He brings speed down the middle, a look inside, and has enough versatility to play the wing. The Devils traded a fourth-round pick for him in June and signed him through 2027-28. Year one of that deal is two-way. Sunny Mehta called him more than depth, although the roster has not made room for the bet yet.
Evangelista is the new wall. Right wing. Twenty-four. Career-high 44 assists. He is not fighting Hämeenaho for extra duty. He is taking the minutes Hämeenaho would have been chasing.
Noesen is the other wall. He is still on the books at $2.75 million through this season. Last year was a wash — 38 games, seven points, and injuries. Two years ago he scored 22 goals in New Jersey. That version of him is the one the organization paid for. Unless he is moved, Hämeenaho and Lombardi do not sneak past a veteran. They have to beat him.
The jobs that are left
Look at the wings first.
Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Connor Brown, Anthony Mantha, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Evangelista. That is a lot of NHL right sides and left sides before you even get to Jesper Boqvist and potentially Evan Rodrigues sliding around. Hämeenaho’s path is the 13th forward or a third-line wing if someone gets hurt. It is not a top-six audition anymore. Evangelista closed that door.
Now the middle.
Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes are locked. Mercer can take a center shift. Rodrigues, Cody Glass, Jeser Boqvist, and Nick Bjugstad are already in the building. Lombardi’s path is an extra center who can play the wing, or the first recall when one of those names misses time. He does not beat Glass and Boqvist in September without an otherworldly performance.
So the “roster spot” both of them are chasing is really the same seat: the last forward. Noesen and Bjugstad are sitting in it until someone takes it.
Who is closer on merit
Hämeenaho is closer because the league has already seen him.
He survived NHL pace. He did not look overmatched along the wall. The finishing was light and the minutes were sheltered, but a solid sample exists. Coaches remember that. When a winger goes down in November, the call is easier if the player has already dressed for 33 games in this building.
Lombardi is closer if the need is a center.
He can take a draw. He can play both sides. The AHL scoring the last two years was real, not empty. The problem is the NHL level has not confirmed any of it. Speed that works in Grand Rapids has to work against Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton in camp, not against AHL third pairs. Until it does, he is the better prospect to stash and the worse candidate to trust on opening night.
Compete is not the separator. Both play. Size is not the separator. Hämeenaho is a shade bigger. Sense is close enough. The separator is proof.
What camp actually has to look like
Hämeenaho has to look like a winger Keefe can use on a checking line without the power play. Win the wall. Make the simple play. Do not give the puck away in the first two exhibition games. If Noesen looks like he has not overcome last year’s injury as opposed to the 2024-25 version, that is the opening.
Lombardi has to look like a center, not a small winger who happens to take faceoffs. Win enough draws, separate with speed against NHL penalty killers, and stay strong enough on the puck that a third-pair defenseman cannot just take it. If Glass or Boqvist has a quiet camp, that is the opening.
Neither one should expect a spot because the organization likes them. Evangelista was expensive. Mantha was signed. The veterans are still here. Prospect affection does not beat a 23-man sheet.
Verdict
Hämeenaho gets there first.
Out of camp would be a surprise. It would also mean he’s reached another level and the Devils have yet another weapon. But, that is the honest read unless Noesen is traded or someone gets hurt in September. The more likely version is Utica to start, then the first wing recall when the lineup thins out. He has the NHL games. He plays the position Evangelista did not fully close — the extra right wing, not the top six.
Lombardi’s first look comes later, and it comes down the middle. A center injury in December puts his name on the list immediately. A healthy roster keeps him in Utica playing 18 minutes, which is not a slight. It is the job the Devils actually have for him.
Both can still make the team this year. Evangelista just made it less likely that either one does it in week one. Noesen is the name they have to beat if they want the seat that is already in the room. Until that changes, the race is not for a regular shift. It is for the first phone call. Hämeenaho has already answered it once. That is why he answers it again first.