A new front office usually means a new pecking order, and in New Jersey that could open the door for a handful of prospects to get their first NHL taste this season. With Sunny Mehta in place, the Devils’ pipeline looks a little more live than it did a year ago, and four names stand out as the most likely candidates to break through.
Anton Silayev is the obvious headliner. One of Mehta’s first moves was to announce the inevitable signing of the left-shot defenseman to his ELC, and the appeal is easy to see: a 6’7 skater with real offensive instincts.
Silayev followed a record-setting campaign with a tougher year in the KHL after a coaching change in Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod cut into his ice time and usage. The path to a roster spot in New Jersey isn’t exactly clear, either.
The left side is crowded at the NHL level, and even if Brendan Dillon or Jonas Siegenthaler are moved this summer, Topias Vilen is still in the mix, while Declan Chisholm and Vladislav Kolyachonok add more bodies to the competition. Still, none of that looks like a true roadblock.
Silayev may need some time in the AHL to settle in, but the expectation is that he’ll be in New Jersey before long.
Amadeus Lombardi is another player who seems to have landed in the right place at the right time. Mehta brought the 23-year-old center/winger in from the Detroit Red Wings for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft, and the general manager didn’t hide what he thought of the move.
In press conferences, he called Lombardi not just a depth addition, but a “bet” that the player is NHL-ready. That kind of backing matters.
Lombardi has put up 81 points in 92 games over the past two seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, and his speed gives him a real chance to force the issue in camp. He should get every opportunity to win a job.
In goal, the setup may work against Jakub Malek at first, but it also sets up a possible opening. New Jersey appears headed toward a three-goalie carousel with Jake Allen, Nico Daws, and newly acquired David Rittich, which would leave Malek as the odd man out to start the year in Utica.
That might not last long. Malek earned the Ian Anderson Award as the Comets’ most-improved player this past season after strong work down the stretch, and he has already shown he can handle success at multiple levels.
His first season in North America came with a slow adjustment period, but he still flashed real ability in the AHL. Mehta also seems more willing than previous GMs to roll the dice on a fresh face in net, and that combination makes Malek a strong candidate to get a look in New Jersey if the need arises.
Matyas Melovsky may be a little further down the board now that the center group has been reshuffled, but he’s still in the conversation. The 22-year-old was listed among Utica Comets “ prospects to watch ” and gave a solid account of himself as a rookie, finishing with 10 goals and 16 assists in 55 games.
He climbed the lineup as the season went on and even earned power-play time late, when he produced 7 points in his final 7 games. Melovsky is unlikely to crack the roster out of camp, but if that late surge carries over, his reliable two-way game could make him a natural injury call-up and a candidate for his NHL debut later in the season.
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Devils Came Painfully Close To Fixing Their Biggest Problem
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The deal never came together, but the framework around it showed how serious the discussion may have been. A package built around Mackenzie Blackwood, Adam Beckman and mid-round picks was floated, with contract talks also part of the equation as Hellebuyck sought top-end money. For New Jersey, the what-if is obvious, because a goalie of that caliber could have changed the feel of the 2023-24 season and given the Devils a very different path forward. [Read more 🡒]