New braintrust Ray Shero and John Hynes will take part in their first draft with the Devils this weekend (The Record.com)

It’s the dichotomy of draft day, where teams that made the playoffs generally take a back seat to those that don’t.  While the Rangers and Islanders certainly had local hockey fans’ attention during the postseason, now it’s the Devils and Sabres’ turn in the spotlight as the 2015 NHL Draft is set to begin on Friday.  Even though there’s little suspense around Buffalo’s first pick – likely to be megaprospect Jack Eichel from Boston, the Sabres also have four other picks in the first two rounds of a deep draft, and have been among the teams rumored to be interested in Rangers backup goalie Cam Talbot – who’ll probably be dealt to get the Rangers back a first-rounder since they currently don’t have a selection till #59.  However, with the Rangers’ current lack of a first-rounder and the Isles’ first pick at #72 since they traded away their 1st and 2nd rounders, a lot of the early draft focus will shift toward the Devils as well as Buffalo.

New Jersey has three picks in the first forty-one spots of the draft, including the #6 overall as well as two early second-rounders (#36 and #41).  With a glaring need for scoring help all throughout the organization, it’s nearly certain the Devils will use at least two of the above picks on forwards.  In many ways this draft also marks a changing of the guard as it will be the first for Ray Shero as GM of the Devils.  After Shero and new head coach John Hynes hired assistants Alain Nasreddine and Geoff Ward to round out the staff, now their focus will shift toward drafting and signing players, with free agency also around the corner.  What the Devils do with the #6 overall pick could go a long way toward shaping the next several years.  There are a handful of scenarios that could play out on draft day, and with no prior track record here there’s no telling which way Shero will go.

Will the Devils trade the #6 overall for someone like the Leafs’ Phil Kessel?  It’s not unprecented for the Devils to trade a top ten pick for more immediate help, as the 2013 draft-day trade for Cory Schneider attests to.  However, Schneider solved a specific need, the Devils’ answer to who would succeed Martin Brodeur in net.  All acquiring Kessel will do is give us a winger without a center to feed him, and clog up our cap with a moody player that another rebuilding team can’t wait to rid itself of.  Not to mention the Devils having their worst season in over 25 years suggests they shouldn’t be making win-now trades to begin with.  If they do, it’ll be an ominous sign that Shero’s feeling pressure from new ownership to make a big, immediate splash to try to compete with the perrenial contending Rangers and the up-and-coming Isles.

Assuming the Devils do keep the pick, trading up or trading down is always an option, although trading up is unlikely given the top two picks are set in stone and the next tier of players is said to be three deep between forwards Mitch Marner and Dylan Strome from the OHL, and defenseman Noah Hanifin from Boston College.  Marner is 5’11, 160 pounds and projects as an elite scoring winger, putting up a tidy two points per game during his season with the London Knights this year.  Strome is 6’3, 185 pounds and projects as an elite two-way center, who nearly matched Marner’s production putting up 129 points in 68 games with the Erie Otters.  Hanifin’s a 6’3, 203 pound defenseman that is said to be an elite skater and has long been touted as the top defensive prospect in this year’s draft.  If either forward drops to the Devils it seems like an easy choice, but if Hanifin drops it’ll be a tougher call given the Devils have a ridiculously lopsided prospect pool, already stocked with four young defensemen on the NHL roster with other high picks like Steve Santini and Josh Jacobs not far away.

Plus, if you believe some analysts like TSN’s Craig Button, Hanifin may be overranked and not even the top defensive prospect anymore, as guys like the WHL’s Ivan Provorov (TSN rank: 8) and Michigan’s Zach Werenski (TSN rank: 11) have been creeping up the rankings.  You could certainly make an argument for Provorov, who put up 61 points in 60 games for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, while Werenski had a solid first season at Michigan and can create offense with elite passing skills.  And all three are left-handed defensemen where the Devils aren’t quite as stocked as they are with right-handed defensemen – both Santini and Jacobs are righties as well as NHL’ers Adam Larsson and Damon Severson.  On the left side the Devils’ depth is all at the NHL level, and Eric Gelinas actually played better on his off (right) side last year.  Still, given just how bad the Devils are at forward both at the NHL level and the prospect level, and the fact free agency doesn’t offer many appealing answers, the time is now to start restocking the prospect cupboard with forwards.

Even if Marner and Strome don’t drop to the Devils’ spot, there are still several intriguing options on the board up front, such as Czech C/LW Pavel Zacha, currently playing for Sarnia in the OHL.  Zacha is 6’3, 210 pounds and while his size suggests he can be an asset as a center, his skillset of being a pure scorer projects more as a wing.  While Zacha’s listed 6th in TSN’s rankings, he’s one of the most polarizing players with people saying he has the most boom or bust potential among the top forwards.  Another big forward is Lawson Crouse (TSN rank: 7), playing for Kingston in the OHL.  Crouse projects as a good power forward but not a big-time scorer and is probably the least likely of the top-ranked forwards to be drafted by us given that we need to find pure scoring talent with a top six selection.  While Matthew Barzal – ranked #9 at TSN – doesn’t have the size of a Crouse or a Zacha (currently 5’11 and 175 pounds), he projects as a dynamic playmaking center who sometimes won’t shoot to a fault but can potentially be at least a young Scott Gomez-type of a player, and if not for an injury during his WHL season with Seattle some scouts think he might have been included in the second forward tier with Marner and Strome.

Options if we trade back a few spots might include Finnish RW’er Mikko Rantanen – who’s more in the mold of a Crouse-type of a player.  Rantanen may not be an elite scorer but can play a physical, all-around game (already with a 6’4 frame and 211 pounds).  QJMHL right winger Timo Meier can play a power game too with his 6’1, 209 pound frame, but could also have more scoring upside, and put up 44 goals in 61 games for Halifax this season.  American left winger Kyle Connor is also an intriguing prospect who rates above average in just about every skillset, and is the top-ranked player from the USHL.  Connor averaged 30+ goals and 77 points per year in two 56-game seasons with Youngstown.

I’ve probably read more about this year’s draft than I have on any previous year’s draft combined given its importance for our team’s future (and the fact there likely isn’t much in the immediate present to look forward to).  I’d be lying if I said I had any clue whatsoever over who we could draft in the second round or later though.  I wouldn’t even be opposed to taking a defenseman with one of our two early picks in the second round given our recent success with second round defenseman.  However in a draft as deep as this there’s no excuse not to come out of it with at least one high-quality forward prospect at #6 and another one or two guys with upside in the second round.  Even after reading scouting reports and seeing all the hype I still have no clue what I want to happen with the #6 pick other than Marner/Strome dropping, though I’d prefer not to use any assets to trade up to get one.  Maybe a best-case scenario would be trading back a few spots and pick up still another high selection, if possible.  Anything could happen with our second-round picks including either a trade up for someone that falls late into the first round, or trading one of the picks for an NHL player.

Whatever happens, it’ll certainly be intriguing to watch.  Though I probably won’t be able to watch Saturday’s part of the draft (2nd round on) live, I’ll certainly be watching Friday night when the Devils draft.