New Jersey Devils: Devils Draft defenseman but is he the right one?
The New Jersey Devils did fill a need to bolster their defensive depth at every level. However, Ty Smith might not have been the best selection at 17.
The New Jersey Devils has a miracle season and made the playoffs. However, they still very much needed to have a really good Draft here.
The Devils did not have a ton of options this draft. The draft is not as deep as some might think and the Devils had just the 16th pick and few others in the later rounds.
Ray Shero and his crew have done nothing short of a stellar job since taking over in Newark. So, I am not going to go too crazy here in terms of doubting them.
However, the Smith selection just feels like a pick the Devils made based of merit. Defensemen are flying off the board including being the first overall position taken. They might have just wanted to get one before they were all gone.
The Devils do need defense but could have maybe done a little bit better. But, since is who they have let’s take it.
Ty Smith is a good hockey player and can skate and has been around enough teams and clubs to learn a lot of things. However, he is one of the smaller players taken in this draft thus far and needs to learn how to overcome his lack of size at the unmatched NHL level.
The upside too is that the Devils do not need him to come in right away. He is only 18 years young and will still grow and keep his eye on getting better.
The Devils might be okay to just stick with the crop of players they have right now to go back to the playoffs. But, eventually, and not too far from now, the Devils are going to need Smith to be NHL ready.
If he begins to not develop quickly enough, then this pick can become problematic. Perhaps Smith is just the victim of being the first round pick the year following the Devils winning the lottery and striking gold with Nico Hischier.
However, in terms of this draft, it looks like Smith might have gone where he was expected. However, the Devils need this workout and although Smith has the potential to be an elite passer for a defenseman, he needs to learn how to make up for his lack of size. Every inch counts.
Overall, it is not a bad selection, there are just a few more question marks then I would like in a first round selection. The key is how long will it take him to make a difference at the NHL level?