THREE THINGS: NHL Draft Lottery

When the first round of the NHL Draft is held on July 23, the Devils will step up to the microphone early on.
After all the balls had dropped on the lottery machine, the Devils will pick fourth in the upcoming draft. It will be the third time in the last five drafts that the Devils will select in the top four, with Nico Hischier going No. 1 in 2017 and Jack Hughes at one in 2019.
Hischier and Hughes are two key players for the up-and-coming core of the New Jersey Devils and with this fourth pick coming up, general manager Tom Fitzgerald sees yet another opportunity to add to his young crop of high-end talent.
"With this pick we know we're going to get high quality," Fitzgerald shared. "Everybody in this organization, the fanbase should feel extremely excited about what kind of player we're going to get."

1. Staying Put

As the lottery balls fell, the Devils had a 10.3-percent chance at moving into the No. 1 spot, but it was not to be this time around (the team has won the lottery twice in the past four lotteries), with the Devils staying in their No. 4 spot, where they began the evening.
The bright side here is that the team didn't move back in the draft, with the possibility of falling as far back as sixth. Regardless of having no say in the outcome, there's still always nerves involved, anxious to see exactly where the random draw will seal your fate.
"There was some nervousness actually when the cards were being flipped, I'm not going to lie because it's an exciting time for this organization," GM Fitzgerald said. "We feel that we're going to get an impact player at No. 4. We feel fortunate for that. We're going to add to the riches of young talent that we already have."

2. Projecting the Future

There's always that question surrounding the draft, do you select the best player available or are you selecting by need. Fitzgerald has his own philosophy when it comes to those two debated options, and it starts with building a grading system in evaluating the prospects.
"Well, I think the first thing we have to identify is, you project these kids' levels, whether it's a numerical grade or letter grading, where they can maximize their abilities, and if you have multiple talents, at the same level, then yeah, maybe it is a position of need.
"But you really shoot to draft the best prospect that's available, that's the ultimate goal because you're trying to draft these young stars. So, if that's what you're looking for, players who actually can reach that potential and become the stars that they're projected to be."
And that really is the crux of drafting players, who will they become some day for your team. While it's not an exact science, looking at a player's past may help determine an outlook of their future.
"You've got to lean on past viewings. You've got to lean on years past," Fitzgerald said. "Where were they at 16? Where did they go to at 17? Did they grow their game by watching video in the past? What can they take for steps at 17-, 18-year-olds for this year? And then try to project that out, which is hard.
"It's a hard business to project a kid's skill level and talent, and what they can max out at. But you have to do it. You have to try to project out what these kids are going to be when they're 22, 23, 24 years old. It's a unique year for sure. We've done everything we possibly can do."

3. Right To Work

While the scouting department, headed up by vice president of amateur scouting, Paul Castron, has been hard at work for months preparing for the upcoming draft, Fitzgerald will now "dig in" himself into the scouting part of the draft, with a particular focus on the top 10 to 12 prospects on New Jersey's draft board.
There's plenty of work to do leading up to the draft and the Devils are already in the thick of their draft work, with interviews with prospects already underway and picking up over the next few weeks.
"We're going through the process right now," Fitzgerald said. "We'll continue to refine that list. Nothing has been settled right now."
Fitzgerald is also expected to visit some of these prospects in person, an important part of any draft process to get a better feeling of who these young men are as people. This is often done at the NHL Combine, with players meeting personally with teams but due to the pandemic, the combine will not be held once again this year.
The fourth pick will kick off the first of eight picks the team currently holds for the 2021 draft, including a second selection in the first round, which is at a yet-to-be-determined spot with the NY Islanders still playing in the postseason.
Rounds two through seven will be held on July 24.