In last week’s article, I commented on the state of the prospect pool and I asked for three things at the draft: Offensive Wingers, Centers, and a Goalie. Let’s look at the results.
Offensive Wingers
After Lenni Hameenaho, who will likely graduate from the pool into a full time role in the NHL this season, the Devils have a deficiency of offensive wingers in their system. The Devils addressed this need by trading down to select overager Matias Vanhanen with the 37th selection in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Read Chris’s
excellent write-up on Matias Vanhanen here.
Vanhanen is certainly offensive. A top 10 point producer in the WHL, Vanhanen led the offense for the Everett Silvertips with 87 points in 62 games last season with his elite passing and playmaking skills.
With a lack of other options, Vanhanen clearly slots in as the top Devils winger prospect after Hameenaho.
Centers, Centers, Centers
Last week, I asked for centers, centers centers. Instead, we received centers, centers, centers, centers, centers as Sunny added five pivots to the prospect pool over the weekend.
The first was obtained via trade as the Devils acquired Amadeus Lombardi for a 4th round pick. The 23-year-old Lombardi has been dominant in the AHL for the past two seasons with 42 points in 47 games last season and 40 in 44 the year before that. A speedy pivot with skill, who also plays wing, Lombardi is on the cusp of becoming an NHLer and instantly became the closest center prospect to making the jump with Matyas Melovsky in the mix behind him.
The Devils added four more centers in the draft: Alexander Command (12th), Lavr Gashilov (119th), Luke Wilfley (172nd), and Quinn McKenzie (222nd).
The more I look into Alexander Command, the more he seems to embody everything this team needs: an aggressive on the puck, two-way player, who hates losing, hits everything, forces turnovers with a hard forecheck, will lead a locker room by calling out bad play, and has some high-end offensive skills. While there are some issues about his offensive ceiling at higher levels, the odds of Command having a very bright future in the NHL are high given his skillset.
Command played six games for Orebro HK in the SHL last season and will likely transition to a full-time role this year. After that, it should not be long until Command comes over to North America.
Devils selected three others centers late in the draft, though it is possible that some of these players may shift over to wing. Gashilov, in particular, may do this at higher levels given his lack of explosive speed. Gashilov is the most purely offensive of the three, leading his draft class (and sixth overall) in points in the MHL last season. Wilfley and McKenzie are late round picks. We’ll see how they develop.
More Goalie Darts
Lastly, I asked for more goalie darts and we got one in the draft. While my personal favorite prospect, Dmitri Ivchenko, was selected much earlier than I anticipated at 78th overall, the Devils choice of Daniil Rusakovich is a very similar-type prospect. Both excelled in the MHL last season putting up similar numbers with Rusakovich sporting a 1.94 GAA and .913 SV% compared to Ivchenko’s 1.91 GAA and .922 SV%. So, overall, given who was available when the pick was made, I could not be happier with this player.
Final Thoughts
The Devils also obtained a pair of defenders. First, Etiene Morin, a 21-year-old physical, transitional defenseman, who showed offensive skills in the QMJHL, but struggled in his first year in the AHL was obtained as an extra piece in the Simon Nemec trade. Lastly, the Devils drafted Nikita Shcherbakov, a towering, yet surprisingly mobile 6’5” left-handed defender, who unsurprisingly draws comparisons to Anton Silayev. Both are solid prospects and add to an already-stacked pool on defense.
As to the draft itself, for the most part I love the mindset of the playstyles of the players selected. The Devils could use more players who are hard to play against and most of these picks fit that mold. These are playoff hockey type players, especially Command. Time will tell who amongst them will make the jump to the NHL one day, but the skillsets are intriguing.
Overall, this draft improved the pool quite a bit, certainly more than in 2025.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
