Top Prosect Gets First Opportunity To Make Case To Devils That Size Isn’t Everything
Now that the Devils have transitioned from a program focused primarily on development to one that has the highest expectations—last season’s non-playoff campaign be damned—the fact that few top prospects are participating in this season’s Rookie Camp that opened on Thursday is no cause for alarm. New Jersey once again is slated to play three games at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, starting with Friday’s tilt with Ottawa, and the Camp roster is, in my opinion, underwhelming.
Obviously, neither of defensemen Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, New Jersey’s high lottery picks in 2021 and 2022, respectively, will be there since both earned positions with the big club last season and have moved on from “prospect” status. Furthermore, fans are awaiting an update on Nemec’s upper body injury following his tumble into the boards during Team Slovakia’s Olympic qualifying contest on August 30.
As for future Devils, three of their top prospects—Anton Silayev, Lenni Hameenaho, and Arseni Gritsyuk—have already begun their seasons in international leagues and can’t be in Newark for training camp. Silayev, New Jersey’s No. 10 overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, is only 18 and has two years remaining on his KHL contract while the intriguing Gritsyuk might possibly get a path to New Jersey next summer.
However, if there is one Devils prospect worth keeping an eye on this weekend, it’s diminutive defenseman Seamus Casey, whom New Jersey snagged with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2022 Draft. Casey, 20, spent the last two seasons manning the powerhouse University of Michigan blue line and then signed his entry level professional deal in May. By then, Utica’s AHL season was over, so this event will be Casey’s first opportunity to face men.
When I watched Casey at Michigan, my first thought was, “Oh my god—he’s Brian Rafalski!” The size, the skating, the deceptive right-hand shot, the instincts as to when to jump into the attack—Casey looked like he had the same toolkit as the three-time NHL All Star and three-time Stanley Cup champion who first needed to spend years in Europe before signing with New Jersey in 1999 at 25.
Rafalski was likely the victim of size bias, as he, like Casey, was (generously) listed at 5-foot 9 or 5-foot 10. Rafalski, though, was thicker, finishing his career at around 194 pounds, whereas Casey currently is just 162. Among NHL defensemen, only Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon (5-foot 9, 166 pounds) is that small.
Though Casey was a Tom Fitzgerald selection, the General Manager seems to have bulk on his mind these days as he attempts to build a sustainable winner in New Jersey. Upon his promotion in 2020 after serving as Ray Shero’s right-hand man, Fitzgerald began the process of sizing up his roster. Despite their lofty pedigrees upon their entry into the NHL, sub 6-foot defensemen Will Butcher and Ty Smith were unceremoniously (and appropriately) traded away in 2022.
What seems to matter most to Fitzgerald these days are his evaluations as to whether a player is “hard to play against.” That doesn’t necessarily mean fighting, but more about how a player engages in battles for puck possession along the walls and especially at the net front. A perimeter-oriented player like 2020 first-round pick Alexander Holtz received little rope here and became an ex-Devil this summer.
I’ll be interested to see how Casey handles those tougher assignments during his first go as a pro this weekend. Per reports from Thursday’s practice, Casey was paired with 2021 fifth-round pick Topias Vilen, who averaged over .5 points per game at Utica last season but has the approach of a shutdown d-man. Casey will obviously benefit from hitting the weight room over the next few years, but for the limited purposes of this weekend’s viewing, pay attention to how he reacts to the games’ physicality, such as whether he understands defensive positioning and can think quickly with the puck on his stick in the Devils’ zone.
A struggle in Buffalo isn’t the end of the world, for Casey’s path to the NHL appears to be blocked at the moment, with Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Nemec, if healthy, all set in stone as the Devils right-handed d-man. Fitzgerald also brought back Nick DiSimone and signed Johnathan Kovacevic for depth on that side. Still, if a player can play, a smart team will find a spot for him, no matter his size.
That prospect roster is ....something. But man, if Casey turns into even HALF of a Rafalski I'd be ecstatic! Although, I'm not sure changing his number to Ty Smith's #24 is going to help haha.