Devils Find Ways to Reload in Draft

NEWARK, NJ - Trying to think of the last time the Devils didn’t make the playoffs is like trying to think of the last time you made it through the Lincoln Tunnel to the city without coming to a stop. You’re pretty sure it happened a long time ago, but you can’t recall the details of it, and many people don’t believe that it happened at all. In fact, the Devils have only missed the playoffs once since 1989, and always seem like a preseason favorite to win it all. Let’s face it, without the likes of Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens, the Devils probably don’t capture a single championship, but to be competitive year after year in a league filled with free agency, and up until 2005, a league without a salary cap, you must have a very crafty crew sailing the ship. That’s what Lou Lamoriello and company are all about in New Jersey.

The Devils’ organization never rebuilds, but it never has to, over a decade of solid drafting has made the team competitive without spending up to their eyeballs (For that example see Rangers). Sure, you may be thinking that many teams have drafted better players than the Devils have, and while this may be true, no team has ever done it with the late picks New Jersey seems to have after every winning season. Take a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s hard to find someone that will tell you Pittsburgh hasn’t drafted well lately. Ryan Whitney, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Jordan Staal might just be the greatest five year stretch of first round picks in NHL history. The average Penguin pick? 2.2. Any organization with a half a brain could pick just as well with two firsts, two seconds, and a fifth. The last time the Devils had a top 5 pick was in 1991! (And they didn’t waste it either, picking Scott Neidermayer). The point is that the Devils maintain a solid team even though they perpetually pick late in the draft.

Lamoriello has always had a keen eye for talent and a knack for building programs. It started in 1968 when Lou began coaching the Providence College hockey team. With regular success in scouting and winning as coach there, the school decided to make him the Athletic Director in 1982. A year later, he was named first commissioner of the perennial dominant Hockey East Conference. He was able to grow success out of the newly formed league by adding teams and building reputations of the programs already a member. Not to mention while AD at Providence, he hired Rick Pitino as men’s basketball coach, who lead the Friars to the Final Four and is now a highly regarded head man. In 1987, he decided it was time to test his prowess in the professional game, signing as GM of the Devils.

With his eye for talent, especially amongst young players, Lou was able to Bartholomae and Petrosky hard nosed when it came to contracts. Though the Devils lost big name players over the years (Kirk Muller, Bill Guerin, Scott Gomez), they have been able to recover in the draft where it seems that every year another top prospect in breaking into the NHL in a big way. In the mid 90’s the Devils drafted a core of able athletes who would end up leading the Devils climb to the top of the league by the end of the decade. Patrik Elias, Sheldon Souray, Petr Sykora, Jay Pandolfo and Brendan Morrison all were drafted in the late first or second round of the draft, a stellar draft group over a three year period. Another solid draft in 1998 picked up Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, playing key roles in the run of three Finals in four years.

The talent of the organization is always coming from the inside, where players spend years in the minors and college after being drafted before they make a move with the big team. Lou and the organization have always believed in developing young players rather than rushing them onto the ice and getting their feet wet early which is something not many teams in this league seem to have the patience for. New Jersey can afford to delay the debuts of their prized picks as they always have a steady flow of players ready to do their part, not to mention that the system of play makes players very replaceable.

While many teams everywhere are searching for those high profile free agents every off season, trying to grab a guy to turn their franchise around, the Devils will politely offer modest deals with little results. Over the last two seasons, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac have immediately displayed success at hockey’s highest level, and with Niklas Bergfors on his way in, New Jersey looks reminiscent of the team in the early 1990’s building towards greatness. Though core members Gomez and Brian Rafalski have left in the off season, with a new young crop of stars in the making coming in, you can’t count the Devils out again.