New Jersey Devils: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about

6. Reilly Walsh

The New Jersey Devils appear to have made a very good Third-Round selection at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft when they selected defenseman Reilly Walsh with the 81st overall pick. Going into the Draft, he was coming off a rookie season in the USHL with the Chicago Steel in which he had 10 points in 24 games. Those totals didn’t cause much excitement amongst Devils fans, however, but what he’s done since certainly has.

The 21-year-old has spent the last three seasons playing for Harvard University. He had a very impressive freshman season, scoring seven goals and 20 points in 33 games. He followed that up with an even better sophomore campaign, putting up 12 goals and 31 points in 33 contests, and had yet another great year in 2019-20 with eight goals and 27 points in 30 games. The Devils were able to get him signed to an Entry-Level Contract in August, meaning he will make his professional debut once the AHL season gets underway.

5. Tyce Thompson

Another great college prospect the New Jersey Devils have is Tyce Thompson, who they selected in the Fourth-Round (No. 96 overall) at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. The now 21-year-old forward was drafted after his freshman year of college in which he had eight goals and 25 points in 42 games with Providence College. While those were solid totals, it was the 2019-20 season that established Thompson as a high end prospect, as he was able to score a team leading 19 goals along with 44 points in 34 games.

Thompson is currently in his third season with Providence College. In 16 games, he has six goals and 12 points, totals which he should be able to improve on as the season goes on. Tyce, who is the brother of Buffalo Sabres forward Tage, appears to have a very bright future ahead of him, and the Devils will need to do everything in their power to get him signed to an Entry-Level Contract in the near future.