Unpacking concerning developments in the Devils' prospect pool

A few of the team's top prospects are off to underwhelming starts this season.

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By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

Despite their injuries, the New Jersey Devils currently sit second in the Eastern Conference and should be regarded as one of the top dogs in the NHL.

These teams generally have middling-at-best prospect pools with limited high-end talent. Atypically, the Devils actually have a few highly-touted prospects within their system.

The unfortunate news is the Devils’ best prospects have largely been underperforming thus far. Instead of ascending, each of New Jersey’s best are trending the wrong way.

Anton Silayev

No better example of this exists than Anton Silayev, who was selected by the Devils 10th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Presumably, he was selected for two reasons: despite his size — 6’7 — he was inarguably the best skater in his draft class and has the speed and recovery time of someone a foot shorter than him, and that translates to elite shutdown defense.

Within his game, that leaves puck-moving capabilities as a paramount point of development. This has almost completely stagnated.

While point production isn’t necessarily a symbol of a lack of development in puck-moving capability, it is important to note that Silayev has put up one singular assist across 30 games in 2025-26 despite recording 11 points in the same league as a 17-year-old.

The more concerning trend, to me, is the stark difference in deployment year over year. At 17, he was playing upwards of 22 minutes a night in the KHL.

After being drafted, he played between 16-23 minutes per game. This season, he’s down to an average of 13 minutes despite starting the year in the 16-23 minute range.

The clear counter-argument there is “Well, Silayev is coming over to North America so they’re punishing him with fewer minutes,” and I have to disagree.

It was known he was coming over well before the 2025-26 season started, and still Silayev remained as a 16+ minute member of the blueline.

In my opinion, his time on ice has diminished as a product of a lack of trust from his coach. A huge part of that is the panic he goes through when pressured with possession of the puck — a necessary growing pain to get over in order to develop puck-moving aptitude.

I’ve had the opportunity to watch about a third of Silayev’s games this season, and the reduction in ice seems reasonable considering what he does when he gains possession of the puck.

The problem with Silayev isn’t his lack of production or his genuinely elite defensive work, it’s his lack of steps forward in the areas of his game most needing them.

He panics with the puck. He treats the puck like a grenade whenever it gets to his stick rather than surveying the ice for passing opportunities. He looks off clear passing lanes in the name of getting it off his stick shortly, and often turns over the puck in doing so.

Perhaps he is being taught to throw development to the wind in the name of defensive play, but I find that hard to believe.

I simply think he isn’t developing as anticipated, and isn’t being given the time on ice to fight through those mistakes.

I hope he is given that opportunity in Utica next season.

Mikhail Yegorov

The Devils’ top goaltender prospect has struggled in year two, though he certainly gets more of a pass by virtue of Boston University’s overall struggle.

The 19-year-old goalie has dropped to a save percentage of .886 this season after posting an unbelievable .927 in his rookie campaign.

Yegorov has played 13 games this season. Since his first three starts, he has only put up a .900+ in two of 10 games.

Again, a decent chunk of that has to do with BU’s putrid defensive play. Head coach Jay Pandolfo has reamed himself and the team for their on-ice results, not once blaming Yegorov for the team’s struggles and instead putting the fault on their defensive efforts.

Yegorov is certainly facing higher-danger changes (and more of them) on a nightly basis, but I’m not sure he’s doing himself any favors, either.

I don’t think he is seeing the puck quite as well as he was last year and is a smidge slower to react to plays. It also seems like he’s letting the frustration of playing behind a weak defense get the better of him.

I’m sure he’s going to rebound, as will the entire BU team, but it does stand true that he is not performing nearly as well as he did last season.

Lenni Hämeenaho (and all of Utica)

The Devils’ (now) top forward prospect, Lenni Hämeenaho, has struggled in his first professional season in North America.

With just two points — both goals — in 13 AHL games this season, he hasn’t made the immediate impact many expected.

In a recent episode of the Let’s Go Devils Podcast, Hockey News reporter Kristy Flannery noted that Hämeenaho has been hard-focusing on the defensive side of the puck, likely because the perception there is that that is what will earn him a call-up.

While I don’t necessarily disagree, the expectation is that he will be able to contribute on both sides of the puck in a middle-six role.

Right now, given his offensive production in the AHL, I’m not sure he’s making a very good case for himself.

Granted, the entire Comets’ roster is struggling heavily. Their top point-producer, Xavier Parent, has seven points in 13 games. The team is averaging a league-worst 1.64 goals per game.

That’s surely unsustainable for a full season. So while Hämeenaho is struggling in his own right, the team around him is likely to improve and thus, better his individual production. Still, it’s not been a great start for the young winger.

Despite the bad news on the top-prospect front, the Devils have seen a couple of breakthroughs in their prospect pool this season, so not all is lost.

Daniil Orlov has lit up the KHL, transforming into a bona fide #1 defenseman for his team and putting up 15 points in 27 games in that role.

Gustav Hillström, whom many regarded as an excellent pick at the time, has potted nearly two points per game in the U20 Nationell.

Trenten Bennett, a reach pick at the time of his selection in the 2025 NHL Draft, has had quite a good start in the OHL this season outside of two games.

Overall, though, the outlook of the Devils’ pipeline is a tad worse than it was prior to this season, predominantly by proxy of the poor starts of their top prospects.

The good news there is that they won’t need to rely on those players to contribute to their current NHL success.