The Michigan Three | PROSPECT WATCH

They are ranked No. 5 in the country but Devils fans should better identify the Michigan Wolverines with No. 3.
That's because the famed hockey program based in Ann Arbor has three Devils prospects playing for it, all of them defenseman: Seamus Casey, Ethan Edwards and Luke Hughes.
Eric Weinrich, the former NHL defenseman now working as a development coach for the club, has seen a lot in his life in hockey stretching all the way back to playing for the University of Maine and the 1988 U.S. Olympic team.
Weinrich, who has an easy way about him, struck an especially folksy tone talking about the Devils/Wolverines troika.
"It makes my job easier," said Weinrich, "I can see (three guys in one place)…and for them to be all defensemen, the position I played, is good too."
Interim head coach Brandon Naurato, a former Wolverine player who has also worked in the Detroit Red Wings organization in a similar development role as Weinrich, said it's nice to have a multi-pronged Devils connection.
"We have a really tight group anyway but them all playing together (here), they have that bond," said Naurato.

Taken fourth overall and with older brother Jack now in his fourth season on the Devils, it is understandable that Luke Hughes tends to be the first name that comes to mind. Hughes had an excellent freshman season in 2021-22 (41GP-17G-22A) and is well on his way to a similar campaign (14GP-2G-12A).
Hughes will be one of the leaders of the U.S. team at the upcoming World Junior Championship in the Canadian cities of Halifax and Moncton. Casey will be given a chance to make the team in the final selection camp in a couple of weeks.
Naurato and Weinrich are trying to strike a balance between letting their prized pupil use his considerable talent but also keeping an eye to how it projects in pro hockey.
Simply put, most times star players can get away with making mistakes in college hockey, eventually, the idea is to not create undo risk, especially as a defenseman.
"We talk to Luke about that," explained Naurato, who also worked with both Jack and Quinn Hughes in his previous gig with USA Hockey, "You have to know when to use the spin-a-rama and when not to."

Weinrich cites specific examples of talented college defensemen - like Hughes - who can skate laterally with the opposition and simply yank the puck off them or prevent them from getting it. That's fair enough and often the preferred method now, but typically it is frowned upon in pro hockey, where tight gap control, and skating backward head-on with the opposition is the standard way to defend the rush.
Naurato, a father of two kids, half-jokingly cited this example:
"You tell kids not to touch a hot stove, what are they going to do?"
Edwards is an interesting prospect in his own right. Plucked in the fifth round (120th overall) in the delayed 2020 NHL Draft, he was little known to casual observers and it took him a while to get comfortable with college hockey when he arrived last year in Ann Arbor. By the end of the year, Edwards was playing an important shut-down role.
That role has increased this season.
"He's a bit of freak athletically and he can just kill plays when they come in our zone," said Naurato, of Edwards.
"For Eddy, we know he's capable of a lot more offense but right now he knows that it takes a back seat to what (we need him) to do."

Casey, taken in the second round (46th overall) has already been profiled in this space. A Florida native with family roots in New York/New Jersey, he hit the ground running with the Wolverines and is often paired with Edwards. Both are playing top-four minutes in something of a mutt-and-jeff pairing for Naurato's squad. Like Hughes, Casey has 14 points (3G-11A), while Edwards has a goal and two assists in just 10 games after missing some time with an ankle injury.
It's one thing for a fourth-overall pick to be doing well when prospects picked later are flourishing, it's a credit to the system they're playing in and the Devils scouting staff for finding them.
"Our guys have done a really good job," said Weinrich, of the scouting staff's selection of both Casey and Edwards two years apart.
"There's no doubt that if Seamus weren't 5'9", he would have been a first-rounder."

With the organization's prospect cupboard now brimming with enticing options and little need to rush players, Michigan represents an excellent opportunity for Casey and Edwards to bide their time and simply have fun. Going to college and playing for a perennial contender should be the opportunity of a lifetime.
Though the same mentality applies, the timeline is likely quicker for Hughes.
"With top-five picks, keeping them for two years is a luxury," said Naurato, in reference to Owen Power (Buffalo), Matty Beniers (Seattle), and Kent Johnson (Columbus) turning pro after their sophomore seasons.
And down the road? All three of Casey, Edwards, and Hughes are staking their own path forward.
"I would expect all three to eventually get (to the NHL)," said Naurato.
The last word goes to Weinrich, who has seen them more than anyone in the Devils organization.
"They are all in a good spot and can stay there (in Michigan) on their (own schedule)," explained Weinrich, "the (coaches) at Michigan are top (notch)…it's a really good situation for the organization to have them all there together…we expect all three to be there for us (someday)."