A unanimous number one. Time for a patented Jack Hughes celly. Come see how the rest of the list shook out.
Well, not everything can be as dramatic as the Hunt for Red October (stick taps for one of the greats, James Earle Jones). So, it should come as no surprise that Jack Hughes finished at the top of this year’s Devils 25 under 25 list. It was unanimous, as it should have been. Let’s look at where the others landed.
#5 – Arseni Gritsyuk – RW/LW – Age: 23 – 2023-24 Team: SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) 2023 Rank: 12 Elite Prospects Profile
Leaping into the top 5 from 12th place is Russian winger Arseni Gritsyuk. I wrote the following in Gritsyuk’s write-up last year. Selected in the 5th round (129th overall) of the 2019 NHL entry draft, Gritsyuk brokeout in 2021-22 scoring 16 goals and 12 assists (28 points) in only 39 games for Avangard Omsk of the KHL. That season saw Gritsyuk earn the KHL’s Aleksei Cherepanov Award for best rookie and not only lead all U21 players in scoring but his points per game pace (0.72) was good enough for 9th all-time in KHL history for players in that age group.
Gritsyuk has been a steady contributor at the KHL level ever since. There was hope that the scoring winger was going to come over last season after his contract expired with Avangard Omsk. Instead, Grits signed a two year deal with SKA St. Petersburg and completed his first season with a career high in goals with 19 in only 50 games.
Gritsyuk is already on a tear to start the new season, putting up a pair each of goals and assists in his first four games. At 23, Gritsyuk should now be entering his prime and it will be exciting to see if he does finally come over when his contract expires at the end of the year.
#4 – Simon Nemec – RHD – Age: 20 – 2023-24 Team: New Jersey Devils (NHL) – 2023 Rank: 5 – Elite Prospects Profile
Simon Nemec lands in the number four spot on this year’s list. In 2022-23, Nemec finished strong after an early adjustment period to North American hockey, earning AHL Top Prospect Team honors, and ending the season with 12 goals and 34 points in 65 games. Since AHLtracker began tracking the stat in 2004, no D+1 defenseman had scored more points than Simon Nemec in the AHL.
Last season was supposed to be another year of AHL development for the then teenage defender. However, not all plans pan out and Nemec ended up suiting up for 60 NHL games last season, putting up a respectable three goals and sixteen assists and averaging a whopping 19:52 minutes of ice time for someone his age.
The Devils 1st round (2nd overall) pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Simon Nemec is proving to be the real deal, a steady puck mover, with offensive instincts. As Nemec adds more muscle to his frame, his physicality, something he never shied away from in lower levels, should be added to this game. Unfortunately, this summer Simon Nemec injured himself during an Olympic qualifier and, as of this writing, it is unclear of the extent of those injuries. Whether Simon Nemec starts the season on the Devils blueline or on injury reserve remains to be seen, but Nemec is expected to be a large part of this team moving forward.
#3 – Dawson Mercer – C/W – Age: 23 – 2023-24 Team: New Jersey Devils – 2023 Rank: 3 – Elite Prospects Profile
Retaining his number three spot on this year’s list is Dawson Mercer. It may be hard to believe but Dawson Mercer has only played three seasons for the Devils. Perhaps, it feels so much longer as Dawson Mercer has suited up for every single game in those three seasons.
As a rookie in 2021-22, Mercer tallied 17 goals and 42 points, numbers he increased to 27 and 56 the following year. Last season, Mercer took a little step back offensively and finished the season with only 20 goals in 33 points, the lowest point total of his short career.
At the time of this writing, Mercer and his agent are still in talks over an extension. What that will look like in term and in cap remains to be seen. Hopefully, something can be agreed to shortly as the Devils need Dawson Mercer in the lineup and it would be hard to watch a young ironman streak end due to a contractual dispute.
#2 – Luke Hughes – LHD – Age: 21 – 2023-24 Team: New Jersey Devils (NHL) – 2023 Rank: 4 – Elite Prospects Profile
Taking the Nico Hischier spot after his retirement from the Top 25 under 25 rankings is left-handed defenseman Luke Hughes. In 2020-21, Hughes backboned the U18 United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) scoring 6 goals and 28 assists in 38 games. His 0.90 points per game rate ranked 5th in USNTDP history among defensemen playing at least 30 games.
In 2021-22, Hughes the younger’s star continued to rise in the NCAA for the Michigan Wolverines. As a freshman, Hughes tallied 17 goals and 22 assists in 41 games, leading all defensemen and earning Hobey Baker Award considerations. In 2022-23, Hughes continued to shine for Michigan, upping his totals to an incredible 48 points in 39 games, earning his ELC and joining the New Jersey Devils at the tail end of the regular season. Hughes even joined the Devils late in that season’s campaign, earning playoff minutes and scoring a storybook game-winning overtime goal assisted by his brother in the final game to give the Devils a franchise best winning season of 52 games.
Last season, Luke made the full time jump to the NHL, scoring an impressive nine goals and 47 points in his first full NHL season, while averaging a whopping 21:28 minutes of ice time. Luke will likely have to wait to start this season; however, as the younger Hughes is currently injured and expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
#1 – Jack Hughes – C – Age: 23 – 2023-24 Team: New Jersey Devils (NHL)- 2023 Rank: 1 – Elite Prospects Profile
No reason to tease with a drum roll. It’s unanimous. Jack Hughes takes home first place honors on this year’s list and likely will do so again next summer. Jack Hughes is the main offensive catalyst for the New Jersey Devils. Bottom line: The Devils are only as good as Jack Hughes’s health.
Last season, Jack Hughes’s health cost him to miss twenty games and play injured much of the season, a year in which the superstar still put up 74 points in 62 games, good enough for 13th in the league with 1.19 points per game. Last season, the Devils were 7-12-1 without Jack Hughes in the lineup and 31-27-4 with him. Despite all the goaltending and defensive woes, it’s not hard to imagine the Devils still sneaking into the playoffs had Jack been fully healthy the entire year. Jack is that important to this franchise.
This season, Jack should be healthy coming into camp and ready to tear things up. It’s not hard to envision the Devils getting their first 100 point season sometime very soon. Could this be the year? If Jack stays healthy, it could very well be.
The Rankings
AATJ Writers and Community
As mentioned earlier, Jack Hughes was unanimous. Luke Hughes had only one dissenter for 2nd place — Jackson. A little under 0.3 points separated Dawson Mercer from Simon Nemec. Then a whopping 3.28 points separated Simon Nemec from Arseni Gritsyuk, one of the wider gaps in the rankings. Given that Arseni Gritsyuk only finished around 0.7 points higher than 6th place Seamus Casey, one could really consider this a top 4 list.
Congratulations to Jared and Chris for getting the correct order of 1-5. So, close Alex. So close.
Your Take
That’s it. Those are the rankings. Post your comments below.