Meet the New Jersey Devils 2023 draft class

The New Jersey Devils did a few trades during the 2023 RHL draft that impacted their draft ranks. 

First they lost two 4 rd pick (TBL and MTL) that were included in the Ty Dellandrea and Mads Sogaard trade. After that they acquired EDM 2023 4th vs MTL 5th 2023 + NJD 5th 2023 + SJS 7th 2023. Then, they traded two 5th rd pick (CGY and BUF) for Mikko Kokkonen, Domenick Fensore and a CHI 2024 7th. They strike again by moving back a little bit by trading SJS 3rd vs MTL 3rd and WPG 5th. And finally, they acquired a late pick, VAN 7th vs a CHI 7th 2024 and Benjamin Brinkman. So all in all, 7 picks: # 40-90-107-112-123-158-216. Enough of details, let’s meet the new guys!

Pick #40 

Name: Charlie Stramel 
Position: C
Height: 6’3’’
Weight: 223 lbs
Place of birth: Rosemount, MN, USA
Team: Univ. Of Wisconsin

Why we drafted him: He was consider a top prospect at the start of the season but then dropped in the draft rankings after an underwhelming season in NCAA D1. That said, he was a young freshman playing on a bad team. We hope that Charlie will step up next season and show that he’s a strong power forward with more upside than a 3rd line center. 

Pick #90

Name: Noel Nordh
Position: 
Height: 6’2’’
Weight: 201 lbs
Place of birth: Soderhamm, Sweden
Team: Brynas IF 

Why we drafted him: Nordh has a high floor and an incertain high ceiling that will greatly depend on his ability to upgrade his skating. We think our development team can help him in that regard and we feel that playing with Brynas IF on the big ice in the SHL will also help him a lot.  

Pick #107

Name: Drew Fortescue
Position: D
Height: 6’2’’
Weight: 176 lbs
Place of birth: Pearl River, NY, USA
Team: USNTDP

Why we drafted him: Fortescue may not be a flashy pick but we are confident that this kid will play in the NHL one day. We feel that he can becomes a solid bottom pairing d-men. We also like the fact that he will play with Boston College next year with a few of his former USNTDP teammates (Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Gabe Perreault and Adam Minnetian). 

Pick #112

Name: Jesse Nurmi 
Position: LW
Height: 5’11’’
Weight: 168 lbs
Place of birth: Valkeala, Finland
Team: Kookoo

Why we drafted him: Nurmi is a skilled speedy winger with a high compete level. We really liked his U18 world championship where he recorded 1 goal and 4 assists in 5 games. At this event he definitely passed the eye test, it was easy to notice him because he was always involve in the action. 

Pick #123

Name: Jakub Stancl
Position: RW
Height: 6’3’’
Weight: 203 lbs
Place of birth: Praha, Czech
Team: Vaxjo Lakers HC

Why we drafted him: One word, Size. We must admit that we didn’t spend a lot of time scouting Jakub. At #123 we think we have quite a value pick. Stancl was ranked #26 among European by RHL Central Scouting. He was recently drafted #12 overall by the Kelowna Rockets in the CHL import draft. We would like to see him come over to develop his offensive skills in the WHL with a high end talent linemate like Andrew Cristall. 

Pick #158

Name: Tuomas Uronen
Position: F
Height: 5’11’’
Weight: 187 lbs
Place of birth: Kerava, Finland
Team: HIFK

Why we drafted him: Last season Tuomas made the Finland U18 team as a U16. He was impressive at this year U18 world and he produced at a good pace in the U20 SM-sarja  (43Pts/39GP) finishing just behind his fellow Devils prospect Jesse Nurmi (50Pts/41GP). Like Stancl, Uronen was drafted in the CHL import draft. The Ottawa 67’s selected him and we told him that it was up to him to decide between the OHL and Liiga for next season where he may play on a line with Kasper Haltunen a Calgary Flames top prospect. 

Pick #216

Name: Abram Wiebe
Position: D
Height: 6’3’’
Weight: 198 lbs
Place of birth: Mission, BC, Canada
Team: Chilliwack Chiefs

Why we drafted him: Abram was passed over in 2022 RHL draft and work his ass off this season to get back on our scout’s radar Well, he just won the BCHL top defenseman award and it was quite impressive that he leads his team in scoring with 53 pts in 54 GP. Next season he will play for a great NCAA D1 program in North Dakota.