DRAFT: Devils Prepared for Unique Draft

One thing is for certain in these uncertain times. The New Jersey Devils have done their homework and prep work leading up to a very important and, above all else, very unique NHL Draft.
For the Devils, who currently hold three picks in the first round, this is a massive opportunity to increase and build upon the number of quality prospects in their system or, if the price is right, flip a pick for a cost-controlled, NHL-ready talent who fits in with the skill level and age group of the Devils young core.

"There is a lot of talent, especially in the top 10. Lots of talent. And the top 12, and you could probably expand it even beyond that. The hardest thing is they're all different but very good."
By all accounts, including Fitzgerald's with his above assessment, 2020 hosts a very deep hockey draft pool, particularly in the first round.
"I think the top 10 to 12 players that will be picked in this year's draft… you're getting great building pieces for the future of an organization," said Fitzgerald. "The hard part is ranking them and putting them in order."
But the Devils, like all the other NHL clubs, have prepared for that difficulty.
"That's something we've been doing since the middle of March," said Fitzgerald. "To be honest with it, it's not an easy task because you're talking about 17 year-olds. You're talking about 18 year-olds, and you're trying to project what they're going to look like at 24, 25 years-old… it's hard.
"It's the deepest I've ever thrown myself into a draft, that's for sure," he said. "It gives me a sense of really what it's like to be an amateur scout. And it's probably the hardest job there is in an organization because of the projections of these young 17, 18-year-old kids. You try to figure out what can be their upside, what's their ceiling? You want to hit the home run. But a lot plays into it and why kids [do or don't pan out]. And that's something that I don't know if you can solve with mental side of the game and the cognitive side of the game. But we've got our army of people that look into things like this and can get a good picture of really what a kid's psyche is and can this kid be coachable? Can he reach his ceiling? And that's a tough thing, but that's the exciting part. The unknown. And where we projected kid and what he's going to turn out to be."
With limited in-person viewings of some of these prospects, Fitzgerald has had to turn to the tape which has only bolstered his preparation ahead of Tuesday night.
"A lot more video, that's for sure. I've watched video in the past, but not to this extent. In the past, I would be in attendance at the U-18 tournaments and watching all the kids and having a feel for what they are. And having a voice, but a lower voice because I wasn't exposed to them like I feel I have been now with watching more video. I guess it's a teaching moment for me with more video down the road. It's been a great tool for us. I think our guys have really enjoyed it and have kind of really confirmed what we'd seen earlier in the year. Then there are some kids you see the good the more you watch them too. For me, it's been a great experience doing that and really being part of the list building and at the end of the day having the final say on who goes where on the list."
In addition to all of their scouting prep, the New Jersey organization has been hard at work making selecting these players possible. It's been a unique summer for the hockey operations group, who has had to tap departments they would normally interact within a limited capacity to put on games in the arena, not a behind-the-scenes digital hockey event like the draft. Hockey Operations connected with IT, Building Ops, and Marketing, including Content and Game Presentation, and Communications to get to a spot where they could attempt a flawless virtual draft. They've also gone outside of their own organization, speaking with teams across several other leagues which have been a part of recent virtual draft scenarios, like the NFL, NBA and MLB, including the New York Giants and Yankees, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Boston Red Sox, in addition to MLB Network.
With the NHL Draft going digital this season, the Devils hockey brain trust will all be in one room at Prudential Center, socially distanced of course. It could lead to much more conversation than in year's past, considering the limited amout of seating on a normal draft floor. But the Devils have also had to solve for technical issues, COVID-19 regulations, and a host of other problems that have needed solving since the League announced the draft. Fitzgerald is in awe of the prep work that has gone into getting hockey ops what they need before Tuesday.
"We've done a great job and [Director of Pro Scouting Operations] Kate Madigan has done a great job setting up our war room with social distancing, six-feet apart. In the war room, we'll have my executive scouting group of about five with myself, Marty [Brodeur], [SVP/Assistant General Manager] Dan MacKinnon, Kate, [Manager of Hockey Operations] Scott Litwack, and [Director of Amateur Scouting Operations] Scott Harris."
But even with all this preparation, it's still going to feel different when the first pick officially comes on the clock, setting the first round in motion.
"It's just something that the hockey world isn't used to it," said Fitzgerald. "We don't do this. We're together on a floor, in an arena, and freely walking around and talking to other teams and that that's going to be the different, where instead of, 'hey, their phone's busy,' and they're two tables behind you, you just walk back and say, 'hey, are you looking to do something here or you want to move up, move back?'"
It's a challenge, but challenges are fun for people like Fitzgerald whose drive has pushed them to a position of leadership.
"It should be fun," he said. "The virtual part of it should be fun. I get a little bit nervous just in case of things breaking down, but our staff has done a great job of setting us up, doing our homework, and touching base with other leagues that do virtual drafts or have war rooms. So we're very much prepared. I can't imagine there is another organization more prepared than us when it comes to the technical part of it and the video side of it and all that. We've got a good team. They've done a great job and all that's left to do is just get to the draft and do our job."