Devils Add Critical Mass of Talent in Day 2 | DRAFT

Mark Dennehy settled in at the media lectern on Friday and gave an apt description of his first NHL Draft in his new role as Devils chief of amateur scouting.
"I feel like a short order cook with a full restaurant," said Dennehy.
If so, Dennehy served up quite a menu over two days in Montreal. One option that could one day agree with the palate of Devils fans is Seamus Casey. The club took the USNTDP defenseman in the second round (46th overall) after the club traded down to get goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals.
"They say right-shot defenseman are hard to get," explained Dennehy, "and we took four of them."

Indeed, and Casey was second of that quartet behind Simon Nemec, who the club picked second overall the previous evening. Charlie Leddy (USNTDP) and Artem Barabosha (CSKA Jrs), both right D, were taken later Friday.
The 18-year-old Casey grew up in the Florida Keys - you're reading that right - but "moved up to Fort Myers when I was still decently young and that's when I started playing." And while Casey's childhood hockey rearing came in the shadow of palm trees, his family heritage is New York/New Jersey with, as you may have guessed with his name, a splash of Ireland through his mom.
"I'm super pumped," said Casey of his family connection to New Jersey, "my dad was really into hockey and he got me into it down in Florida (but) we have a ton of family (in New Jersey) and they're all Devils fans.
"When (the pick came) I had a feeling it could have been New Jersey and I was tapping my Dad and said 'this could be it'…I'm just so happy."
Dennehy made the point that Casey could have went much higher and some independent thinking ahead of the draft confirmed that way of thinking.
"He's got very good four-way mobility," said Red Line Report chief scout Kyle Woodlief, who compared Casey to Nashville Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro in his final draft recap.
Casey is headed to Michigan and that is interesting because of Luke Hughes and Ethan Edwards, two Devils defense prospects taken last year and in 2020, respectively, presence on the Wolverines roster.
"It's a great program and they should have an opportunity to contend for a national championship," said Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, while pointing out that the club's development coach, Eric Weinrich, will be a frequent presence in Ann Arbor this coming season.
With a lull in the third round - the Devils sent that pick to the Capitals in the Vanecek trade - the club's remaining six selections followed a logical order and Dennehy referred to a few at his post-draft wrap-up.
"We came in with a good list, we came in with a game plan, I think we executed it really well and I'm excited about this draft," said Dennehy, while deferring the credit to his staff.
Two more selections bear mentioning for similar reasons: the Devils got left wing Josh Filmon in the sixth round (166th overall) and Russian defenseman Barabosha in the last round, 32 picks after Filmon.
Both players were significantly higher on most pre-draft boards, in Filmon's case more than 100 spots.
Filmon is interesting because he's amid a growth spurt that saw him put on 20-plus pounds with possible more "good weight" to come as he fills out. He plays hard and Dennehy joked that he may - or may not have - gotten an interesting reaction from one of the club's Western Canada scouts for that selection.
"A heart emoji," quipped Dennehy, "I can't confirm or deny."
The situation involving Russian players can be murky at the best of times but especially so now with the war in Ukraine. But Barabosha was called "highly underrated" by Woodlief while playing for CSKA's junior club in Moscow. He's listed at 6-foot-3 and 189 pounds, and a nasty presence at the back end, just like Filmon is up front.
And with that, another draft is in the books. Every draft is different and this year was in the sense that the Devils did not have multiple first round picks, instead adding eight more names spread evenly out in the process. They now join a growing list of prospects. Fitzgerald recognized that a critical mass has formed to a degree that competition is more of a factor than in previous years, be it in training camp, in Utica of the American Hockey League, or playing with/against each other on their amateur clubs, for those that are still in junior or college.
Some will become more prominent in the Devils' plans, others will fade away without being signed, it's all part of the process.
"You only get 50 contracts," pointed out Fitzgerald, "but it's a chance for them to play and grow together (as part of the organization)."
The last word goes to Dennehy, who described the draft's importance in a succinct way that applies every year.
"This is where you go to get players you can't get in trades and oftentimes (not) in free agency because teams don't give good players up."