Devils continue rebuild with three first-round picks at 2020 NHL Draft

The New Jersey Devils used three picks in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft on Tuesday as an opportunity to bolster their future after they were unable to help the current roster.

Tom Fitzgerald conducted his first draft as Devils general manager; he replaced Ray Shero on Jan. 12.
"I'm not going to lie. We tried to do some things, we just got shut out," Fitzgerald said. "We tried moving up; it didn't happen. Teams, they weren't interested. We tried to go look at some different things that we felt could help the organization in the long term, but we didn't.
"So at the end of the day, you make your picks. You build your list, you stay true to that list, and you make your picks."
RELATED: [2020 NHL Draft first-round results | NHL Draft coverage]
The Devils kept all three selections and drafted forward Alexander Holtz from Djurgarden of the Swedish Hockey League with the No. 7 pick, center Dawson Mercer from Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the No. 18 selection, and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin from Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League with the No. 20 pick.
The Devils have six more picks when the draft continues with Rounds 2-7 on Wednesday (11:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN1): No. 84 in the third round, Nos. 99 and 120 in the fourth round, No. 130 in the fifth round, No. 161 in the sixth round and No. 192 in the seventh round. After finishing 14th in the Eastern Conference (28-29-12, .493 points percentage) and missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time in the past eight seasons, the Devils can continue to add to their rebuild.
They're unlikely to receive any immediate help from their first-round picks; Holtz, Mercer and Mukhamadullin have begun the 2020-21 season with their team, and Fitzgerald said they won't attend Devils training camp whenever it begins. The NHL is targeting Jan. 1, 2021 to start the regular season.

But when they're ready to join the Devils, Fitzgerald said he believes they will complement the young players they already have, including centers Jack Hughes, a 19-year-old who was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and Nico Hischier, a 21-year-old who was the No. 1 selection at the 2017 NHL Draft.
Holtz (6-foot, 192 pounds) led under-18 skaters in the Swedish Hockey League with 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) while averaging 12:53 of ice time in 35 games in 2019-20. After being promoted to Djurgarden's top line, the right wing has one goal in three games to begin 2020-21.
"It's hard to score goals in [the NHL], and that's what this kid projects to do," Fitzgerald said. "Then, on top of it, you get a little giddy when you get a chance to think about the centers that he's going to be able to play with."
Having played for Sweden against Hughes and the United States in the 2019 Under-18 World Championships, Holtz said he would love the opportunity play alongside him.
"It's really exciting," Holtz said. "He's an incredible player, so I'm really looking forward [to it]."
Mercer, who was selected with the first-round pick the Devils acquired from the Arizona Coyotes as part of the trade for forward Taylor Hall on Dec. 16, 2019, can play center or wing. The 18-year-old scored 60 points (24 goals, 36 assists) in 42 games in 2019-20, including 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 16 games for Chicoutimi after being acquired in a trade with Drummondville on Jan. 6.
Fitzgerald said he envisions Mercer (6-0, 180) possibly slotting in behind Hughes and Hischier as New Jersey's third-line center. Mercer said he tries to model his two-way game after Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron and is excited about the Devils' future.
"They have a lot of young prospects and a young team there now that has some high-end talent from the last couple years, and I think the future is going to be bright for them," Mercer said. "Right now, I think there's a lot of development throughout these young guys coming in, and all I can see is when we all turn [out] at our highest potential, there's going to be great things happening."

Mukhamadullin (6-3, 178), who was chosen with the first-round pick the Devils received from the Tampa Bay Lightning (previously obtained from the Vancouver Canucks) in the trade for forward Blake Coleman on Feb. 16, may have seemed like a reach to some because the 18-year-old was ranked No. 17 among International skaters by NHL Central Scouting. But the 18-year-old possesses a big left-handed shot and improved his stock with a strong start to 2020-21, scoring six points (one goal, five assists) in the first 14 games.
Mukhamadullin was noticed while the Devils were scouting Ufa forward Rodion Amirov, a first-round pick (No. 15) by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
"Every time we watched Amirov playing for Ufa, I just kept [asking] 'Who's the big kid, mobile kid?'" Fitzgerald said. "And the more you watched him and the more you watched him, the more you think, 'Why aren't we talking about this kid?'"

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