Earlier this morning, the New Jersey Devils announced their 24-man roster for 2024’s rookie camp. This will be the roster that goes to the 2024 Prospect Challenge. It will be without an injured Josh Filmon, with five invited players, and featuring Seamus Casey.
The New Jersey Devils have announced their roster for their rookie camp. Which is also the same roster they will be going into the 2024 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. That is a short, three-game pre-preseason run of games that begins tomorrow and ends on Monday morning. The big news up front is who is not on this roster: Josh Filmon.
Unlike certain reporters, I am not going to tease out that bit. Neither were the New Jersey Devils. Amanda Stein, who works for the team reported on X that Filmon has an “upper body injury” and is “week to week.” What happened? I do not know. What is the injury exactly? I also do not know. The important thing is that he is not active for the next three games and, I presume, preseason action. Which is a bummer. Filmon was easily one of the reasons to pay attention to the next three games as well as preseason. He was a prolific scorer in major junior. At Swift Current with 99 goals and 189 points in 212 WHL games. He flashed offensive talent; possibly to make the sixth round selection of 2022 to be another gem unearthed by the Devils’ scouting department. This is his first pro season – he will be joining Utica – and could have been in a position to stand out on this roster. Alas. I hope he recovers fully and gets off to a good start with Utica whenever that will be.
With that out of the way, here is the roster from the team’s official website:
Forwards (14): Tag Bertuzzi, Jace Isley, Landon Sim, Cole Brown, Jack Malone, Cam Squires, Kocha Delic, Matyas Malovsky, Chase Stillman, Andre Ghantous, Xavier Parent, Dylan Wendt, Max Graham, Kasper Pikkarainen
Defensemen (7): Seamus Casey, Mikael Diotte, Will MacKinnon, Igor Mburanumwe, Spencer Sova, Jackson van de Leest, Topias Vilen
Goaltenders (3): Tyler Brennan, Zach Pelletier, Isaac Poulter
If you are a fan of the Utica Comets and the Adirondack Thunder, then you can recognize most of these names. Ghantous, Isley, MacKinnon, van de Leest, Vilen, and Brennan all saw some time with the Thunder last season with Isley being there mostly for 55 games. Malone, Diotte, Bertuzzi and Wendt are additions to Utica for this coming season. Several Devils prospects are playing overseas or college-bound. This explains the lack of Anton Silayev, Lenni Hameenaho, Ethan Edwards, and Mikhail Yegorov among others in the system. This also means that there are plenty to highlight in terms of newcomers and invited players.
Newcomers to Utica/Adirondack: Jack Malone, Dylan Wendt, Tag Bertuzzi, Mikael Diotte, Seamus Casey
Among this group, the one to easily watch for is Seamus Casey. He is an offensively talented defenseman who played big minutes at Michigan. He was very capable behind bigger names (Luke Hughes) and when he was to be the top player on their blueline. Casey has pretty much done what he needed to do in college. Of all of the players on this roster, he has the brightest future.
The other four are players that New Jersey or Utica signed ahead of this season. Wendt had a standout season at Michigan Tech and it earned him an ELC. He had a brief run with Utica last season for five games. This will be his first full pro season with the Comets. Like Wendt, Jack Malone is an undrafted college free agent. He signed out of Boston College to an AHL contract, so he is set for the Comets only for 2024-25. Diotte was an undrafted defenseman out of Drummondville of the QMJHL. While he stood out in his fourth season on the scoresheet for a defender, the expectation is that he is more of a defensive option. This will also be his first pro season. Tag Bertuzzi was brought in on a trade by Adirondack (!) for Travis Broughman and Vinnie Purpura in July. Bertuzzi has mostly been in the ECHL as a player but the Adirondack report stated that he has a one-way contract with Utica. We shall see where he ends up out of this year’s training camp.
Newcomers from the 2024 Draft Class: Kasper Pikkarainen, Matyas Melovsky, Max Graham
I am surprised to see Kasper Pikkarainen from the 2024 class on this roster. I was under the impression that he was going to stick with TPS in the Finnish Liiga. That is not the case. Back in August, he signed an agreement with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. The Rebels picked him in the 2024 CHL Import Draft and convinced him to come over from Finland. EliteProspects lists it as a loan, so TPS may still have his rights in Liiga. That may have to end before New Jersey can sign him to a contract. What this means is that Pikkarainen will be playing in North America for 2024-25. It also explains why he is in this year’s rookie camp.
Melovsky and Graham are not as surprising as they were both double overage draft picks. They are 20 years old. They could sign deals today and suit up for Utica. It is entirely possible that is the plan during or after this rookie camp. I’m interested in what Melovsky can do as he had good seasons in the QMJHL and a very productive World Junior Championships appearance with Czechia earlier this year.
The Invited Players: Landon Sim, Kocha Delic, Igor Mburanumwe, Spencer Sova, Zach Pelletier
My favorite part of these kinds of posts is looking into who was just brought in for the camp. If anyone has reason to treat these camps seriously and put in an effort, it is these players. A good performance here may lead to a contract later on. Even an AHL contract still means playing professional hockey. Which is something they have to consider given where they are in their junior careers.
Landon Sim, London (OHL), Center/Right Wing: This is Jon Sim’s son and he just turned 20 in July. He was drafted by St. Louis in 2022 in the sixth round, but the Blues opted to let his rights go. Sim has been a consistent 20-30 point scorer in the OHL for the London Knights. That may explain why he is available. He is set to enter his overage season with the Knights. This is a chance to show another organization what he could bring to the table.
Kocha Delic, Sudbury (OHL), Center: Delic has been a productive player in junior hockey. After putting up a lot with Toronto in AAA hockey, he made his debut with the Wolves in 2021-22 (COVID wiped out 2020-21 for the OHL). He put up 46 points in 65 games and even made Canada’s World U-18 Championship team. While his production improved in the following seasons, he never got drafted. Delic is set to return to the Wolves for his final season. I would expect he wants to prove he has a future beyond major junior hockey.
Igor Mburanumwe, McGill University, Defenseman: Mburanumwe is set to go play Canadian college hockey at McGill. This follows a full run of seasons in the QMJHL. Three with Victoriaville and his last one with Acadia-Bathurst. He is tall (6’5”) and lean (187 pounds) with a left hand and a QMJHL championship in his experience. With a career high of 20 points in major junior, offense was never his thing at that level. We shall see if his defensive prowess is enough to get pro consideration after McGill.
Spencer Sova, Brampton (OHL), Defenseman: Sova has been a leader with the Erie Otters. He moves well and his talent was enough to get him on Canada’s World U-18 Championship team in 2022 along with Delic. While he has been a productive defenseman with the Otters, he too has been passed over in drafts. He wore an ‘A’ with the Otters in 2022-23 and a ‘C’ in 2023-24. He will be suiting up for his overage season with Brampton in this coming season. I believe the Devils have looked at Sova before so do not be too surprised if he ends his junior career with some kind of contract with the organization.
Zach Pelletier, Gatineau (QMJHL), Goaltender: Unlike all of the invited players, Pelletier is 18. He did not get picked in the recent NHL Draft. However, that is not a guarantee that he will not be picked. He is fairly large at 6’3” and 179 pounds. He just finished his first full season of major junior hockey with an 87.5% save percentage in 43 games for a not-so-hot Gatineau team (they finished with fifth from last) in an all-rookie goalie tandem. Should he show signs of improvement in 2024-25, he may have more interest. At the least, he will get some looks at the Prospect Challenge if only because the Devils are playing three games in four days.
Anything Else of Note: Two things. First, per Stein, Kevin Dineen appears to be in charge at camp. Which makes sense as most of this roster is going to be in Utica for 2024-25. Another reason for the invited players to make a good impression for their potential future coach. Second, while jersey number choices are no longer the guarantee they used to be in this franchise, it may be something that Seamus Casey is now wearing #24. A sign that he could be considered beyond Utica given his talent level. Bryce Salvador appropriately approves of the change in number.
Your Take: This is the Rookie Camp roster for 2024. It is a bummer that Josh Filmon is injured and will not participate. I think the forward group would be more competitive with him in the three exhibition games coming up. It is what it is. I expect Casey to stand out and it would be a positive if a number of the Comets take a step forward. I also hope Melovsky and Graham get their contracts if only to secure where they will play in this coming season. And I hope the invited players make some kind of positive impression for their own sakes. Now I want to know what you think. What do you make of this year’s Rookie Camp roster? Who do you think will stand out among this group? Is this a reason to be excited, knowing the season is less than a month away? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about this roster in the comments. Thank you for reading.