Season Roundup | PROSPECT WATCH

The season has wound down at most levels of amateur hockey and is slowly getting there among the minor professional ranks.
It's time to take stock of Devils prospects from around the globe.
University of Michigan defenseman Luke Hughes and Utica Comets forward Alexander Holtz, the club's top picks in each of the past two NHL Drafts, tend to generate the most interest.
During a conversation two weeks ago, Devils assistant general manager Dan MacKinnon said it was a "reasonable assumption" that Hughes will return to the Wolverines for his sophomore season.
Hughes, having just turned 18, started strong in Ann Arbor and only got better, eventually earning one of the 10 Hobey Baker finalist nominations. Hughes ended the season with 17 goals and 22 assists in 41 games as the Wolverines won the Big 10 title and made the Frozen Four, exiting in the national semi-finals after an OT loss to the eventual champions, University of Denver Pioneers.

Holtz, who was recalled to New Jersey Wednesday, has had a terrific rookie pro season in North America, with 26 goals and 25 assists in 52 games. He also suited up for the Devils in seven games (2A).
At the back end, Kevin Bahl's progression remains on schedule with 15 NHL games (1G-3A) this season to go along with the seven (2A) he played in 2020-21. Nikita Okhotiuk was rewarded with a callup after a solid AHL campaign, scoring in his NHL debut. A similar call went out to Reilly Walsh, who was the leading Comets blueliner in terms of points (9G-33A) this season.
Walsh made it a night to remember, picking up an assist in his debut in Ottawa on Tuesday night. That goal, one of two by Nolan Foote, was also set-up by Fabian Zetterlund, giving it a distinctly Comets feel.
The D corps play in front of goaltenders Nico Daws and Akira Schmid, who both had stretches with the Devils, well ahead of originally planned. To that end, their NHL numbers are not the most relevant barometer, though Daws had his moments (10 wins) in his extended NHL stay.
In Utica, Schmid (2.54 GAA, .913 SV%) and Daws's smaller American Hockey League sample size (2.39 GAA, .918 SV%) were impressive, especially when you consider that Schmid came directly from the United States Hockey League and Daws played just 10 games, all in Germany, in 2020-21. The Daws/Schmid tandem was perhaps the biggest reason why the Comets started the season with a record 13-game win streak.
Up front, Zetterlund twice earned a callup (12GP, 1G-4A). Foote also was up twice and is finding his stride in his first full season of hockey since 2019 that was not interrupted by injuries and/or pandemic issues.
Foote and Tyce Thompson often play on the same forward line in Utica and are on about the same projection curve in their development. Thompson has 13 points in 15 AHL games sandwiched around a shoulder injury he suffered in his second game with the Devils. The 2019 draft pick is finding his stride right now after his almost four-month layoff due to surgery.
Chase Stillman was taken with the Devils second pick of the first round (29th overall) last July and battled some injury issues of his own. He was also suspended, traded and his new club, the Peterborough Petes, are playing the top-ranked Hamilton Bulldogs in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs right now. If the Petes are eliminated, Stillman could report to the Comets for possible playoff action.
A.J. Greer and Chase De Leo, 25 and 26, respectively, are not conventional prospects but both forwards were, along with Zetterlund, the Comets most consistent forwards. It's not hard to imagine one or both of Greer and De Leo remaining part of the organization next season, either to provide insurance upfront and/or continue their mentorship of younger forwards on the Devils affiliate.
Graeme Clarke and Mike Vukojevic played their first professional season after taking part in last year's abridged AHL campaign as teenagers with a special exemption because the OHL season was cancelled. Both, like Aarne Talvitie, are plugging away and should be a significant part of the Comets playoff push and bear watching at Devils camp in the fall.
College grad Brian Halonen (Michigan Tech) was, like Hughes, a Hobey Baker finalist. He scored in his second game with the Comets and will begin his two-year NHL contract starting next season. The Devils signed the 23-year-old as a college free agent and he is playing now as an amateur.
College players whose rights remain with Devils through the draft include defensemen Ethan Edwards (Michigan) and Case McCarthy (Boston University), forwards Patrick Moynihan (Providence) and Artem Shlaine (UConn) and goaltender Cole Brady (Arizona State). It was reported after the NCAA season ended that Shlaine and Brady may be looking to transfer.
Edwards, 19, is an intriguing prospect. His freshman campaign with the Wolverines started slowly but he was perhaps his team's most improved player by season's end. It stands to reason that Edwards will further increase his presence at Michigan in 2022-23.
In Europe, Finn Samu Salminen is coming to the U.S. to go to college and is expected to play for Denver next year. He was a point-a-game player with famed Finnish club Jokerit's U20 squad, where he also served as captain.
Goaltender Jakub Malek had a good year in Czechia and showed well in a brief spell at the cancelled World Junior that has since been rescheduled for August.
Despite the murky status that surrounds all Russian prospects because of the war in Ukraine, the Devils trio of players from that country all offer promise. Defenseman Shakir Mukhamadulln, one of the club's three first-round picks from 2020, has already signed, and fellow D Daniil Misyul, who was taken in the 2019 Draft, remains in the bigger picture.
Up front, Arseny Gritsyuk, was a force with his KHL club, Omsk, but also at the Olympics where the Russians won a silver medal in Beijing.
The Devils prospect pool will be bolstered at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal. The club has nine selections, one in each of the seven rounds with two more in the fourth.
The lottery to determine the holder of the No. 1 overall pick will be held on May 10.