In Conversation with Utica GM Dan MacKinnon | PROSPECT WATCH

With his multi-pronged role as GM of the Utica Comets and Assistant GM of the Devils, Dan MacKinnon sounds exactly like you might expect.
The organization is making progress in both the NHL standings and with its cupboard stocked with prospects. But little has changed the big picture with development.
A few players are no longer prospects because they are playing with the Devils; many more are spread out still playing college/junior hockey or in Europe. A few of those in the latter category took part in the World Junior Hockey Championship, which will wrap up on Thursday with medal games in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"Rising tide floats all boats," said MacKinnon, repeating the term of how that depth tends to help boost everyone. "That is one of my favorite sayings."
That doesn't mean that the situation isn't evolving. Does, for example, having multiple bright defensemen playing around the globe and others at all positions in Utica while currently residing inside the playoff bracket change how the hockey club views drafting and development?
"I would say that you don't want to stray from the master plan," explained MacKinnon. "Everything is fluid and with some players you want to accelerate, in others you (almost) want to slow down the path to get them more (experience)."

Devils fans will understandably be looking to the World Junior that has taken place over the past two weeks and wonder about where three defensemen - Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and Topias Vilen - stand.
Michigan's Hughes, who has served as USA captain at the World Junior, will likely turn pro after his sophomore season this spring.
Vilen,
featured in this space last week
, has grown by leaps and bounds this season and will be gutted to have lost a nail-biting quarter-final to archrival Sweden. Until Finland was eliminated, Vilen led the tournament in ice time. The 19-year-old Finn will likely move from Lahti Pelicans to Utica sometime in 2023.
Nemec, captain of a Slovak team that extended Canada to overtime in another quarter-final on Monday, has also done well in his 24 games for the Comets so far.
Speaking before the World Junior, MacKinnon said that the Devils were closely monitoring last summer's second-overall selection before he left to play for his country.
"We see him in Utica, monitor him and (his) situation on a daily basis," said MacKinnon of Nemec. "He's an 18-year-old kid. The AHL is a tough league, it's a man's league with a lot of bubble guys that (are close) to playing in the NHL…it's a steep learning curve for every young player."
"We do game ratings every game in Utica, (Nemec) seems to always get the highest ratings."

Speaking more broadly about the entire pool of Devils prospects and before injuries triggered call-ups for Nikita Okhotiuk, Tyce Thompson, and Tyler Wotherspoon, MacKinnon said that assessing who is next in line for a prolonged look is a bit more complicated than simply rewarding the top performers down on the farm.
"Fitzy (GM Tom Fitzgerald) points out in our meetings, what seat on the bus are you trying to fill?"
The names of Comets forwards Nolan Foote, 22, and Graeme Clarke, 21, did not get mentioned specifically during the recent chat with MacKinnon. But given that both players have been scoring with aplomb in the American Hockey League, it's not hard to imagine getting some time in Newark this season.

And what of Russia? Well, it's complicated, given the geopolitical situation and the war in Ukraine, though it's less so for Okhotiuk. He's been in North America since his time with the Ottawa 67's, where he played with Clarke. There are two other Russian defensemen, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Daniil Misyul, who the organization is high on that are both playing in the KHL.
Mukhamadullin, who turns 21 next week, is already signed and played well in a short AHL playoff cameo last season. The 2020 first-round pick (20th overall) is currently back on loan to Ufa. Misyul, 22, is unsigned and is playing for Yaroslavl but remains part of the Devils framework since the club drafted him in the third round (70th overall) in the 2019 draft.
Omsk Forward Arseni Gritsyuk, 21, won a silver medal playing for Russia in last year's Olympics (the war started shortly after throwing the status of Russian players in flux.). He was selected by the Devils in the fifth round (129th overall) in 2019.
Speaking generally, MacKinnon said the organization takes an open approach to its Russian prospects.
"Everyone is on a different timeline, you see some examples of Russian players coming over and going straight to the NHL but it's rare," said MacKinnon. "In other cases, they need time in the AHL (or) prefer to stay longer in Russia. Every individual situation is different."