Three Third Round Draft Targets for the New Jersey Devils
Profiling three players the Devils should heavily consider with the 90th overall selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Four-ish weeks ago, I started my many-part series deep-diving potential draft day fits for the Devils at all rounds of the draft — from the Devils’ two second-rounders (~50th and ~64th) to their sixth-rounders, I’m compiling a list of players I’d be pounding the table for on draft day should they be available. Naturally, I’m focusing more on the earlier stages of the draft, as that is where there is the most talent and intrigue. However, I do have my list of scouting reports and notes for players I think will be available come the end of the draft, too, which I am excited to share with you.
Targets so far:
50th Overall (Rd. 2): Adam Benák, Alexander Zharovsky, Ethan Czata, Conrad Fondrk, Cameron Schmidt
63rd Overall (Rd. 2): Theo Stockselius, LJ Mooney, Tomáš Pobežal, Filip Ekberg
90th Overall (Rd. 3):
99th Overall (Rd. 4):
114th Overall (Rd. 4):
161st Overall (Rd. 6):
178th Overall (Rd. 6):
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Over the past weeks, I have deep-dived into nine second-round targets for the New Jersey Devils, being that the team is currently in possession of the 50th and 63rd overall picks in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
With just one week remaining until the draft, it’s time to go fully into the targets I’ve had on my board with the remaining picks, even for the newly acquired 99th overall selection. For all you prospect nerds following along, this next week is all about you guys.
First up is the Devils’ sole third-round selection: 90th overall. There are a good few candidates who are worthwhile endeavors at this spot in the draft, and I would like to highlight three in particular:
Philippe Veilleux (LW/RW)
If it turned out that, in a few years, Philippe Veilleux turned out to be the steal of the draft, I would not be surprised in the slightest. The 5’9, 165-pound 18-year-old was one of the most prolific draft-year scorers in the QMJHL this past season, logging a grand total of 40 goals and 87 points across 64 games and being a finalist in the QMJHL’s version of the Lady Byng trophy in the process.
Veilleux took a massive step forward as a finisher in 2024-25, clearly putting in the work to make his shot just as dangerous as his high-level playmaking and facilitation skills. He developed a threatening, quick-triggered one-timer and turned his wrist shots into deceptive, pinpoint-accurate ones rather than the generally predictable, soft shots they previously were.
From a playmaking standpoint, Veilleux genuinely profiles as one of the most consistently high-level passers in the draft class. The game truly slows down for him, manipulating coverage with regularity en route to providing his teammates with tape-to-tape passes. Cross-crease plays, no-look passes, and assists from behind the net to high-danger areas of the ice are commonplace for the young winger. In particular, despite his size, Veilleux is able to make a ton happen from the perimeter of the ice, not caring whether or not he is stapled to the boards by a larger, physical defender.
Veilleux still has a ways to go with his skating, though. As a small player, this is exactly why he has dropped in his projection despite his production and skills. He generally lacks explosiveness, and though his edgework is solid enough to make do at the QMJHL level, he needs to add shiftiness to expand his dynamism further. The explosiveness is more of a concern, as with a lack of power generation with each individual stride comes an inability to truly separate from defenders at the drop of a hat. Veilleux’s top speed is just fine; it just takes him a while to get there.
Some have harped on his ability to absorb physicality from opposing defenders, but the reality is that he’s actually quite good at operating in the small areas of the ice. As I briefly mentioned in the blurb pertaining to his facilitation abilities, he is strong when operating as the puck carrier near the boards, taking checks well, being able to outmuscle and outmaneuver coverage, and doling out passes to high-danger areas from the perimeter with ease. Once Veilleux fills out a bit more and becomes stronger naturally, this will become even more of a strength for him.
In my mind, his size criminally underrates him in both scouts’ eyes and the NHLe models — I wouldn’t hesitate to project him as having NHL middle-six upside if developed properly. His shot and playmaking abilities, exemplary offensive IQ, and surprising strength when hounded by larger players make him quite an appealing target to me, especially if he can make strides (pun intended) with his skating over time.
*The videos above are via TC Hockey on YouTube.
Mateo Nobert (C)
Mateo Nobert, another QMJHLer, would be an excellent target for the Devils at 90th overall if he is still available (he’s projected to go in the mid-80s at this point in time). The 17-year-old center logged an above-point-per-game season in 2024-25, tallying 28 goals and 67 total points in 57 games. While he already possesses an appealing toolkit, it should only become more so as he continues to fill out — at 6’0, 166 pounds, he has at least another 20-25 pounds to add to his frame, which will further develop the tools he needs to succeed at the NHL level.
While the statline may lead you to believe that Nobert is a dual-threat forward, his playmaking chops are what make him more appealing than anything else.
Two-way IQ is the name of the game for Nobert, having turned himself into a solid defensive option for his team over the course of the 2024-25 season. His defensive positioning is sound, and he scarcely overcommits, all the while providing ample poke checks and stick pressure to the puck carrier. He will, however, need to improve in the faceoff circle, having only won 37.2% of his draws despite taking well over 400.
Offensively, Nobert’s IQ shines in a playmaking capacity. He sees the ice extremely well, and with space, is able to execute high-difficulty, high-danger plays on a consistent basis. Cross-ice passes are a shift-by-shift happening off his stick. In my viewings of him, he was comfortable in give-and-go situations and excelled at providing his team with scoring chance assists from practically everywhere on the ice. There were very few shifts that, when Nobert was in the offensive zone, he wasn’t the main facilitator on the ice. The play runs through his stick at all times out there, a testament to how confident he and his teammates are in his abilities to drive play from in the zone.
Nobert’s shot is just alright. His 28 goals on 144 shots were unsustainably high this past season, and more a product of his IQ than the actual mechanics. I don’t think he’s particularly threatening from distance, but he does have a nose for the net and a solid combination of hands, patience, and shot from in-tight. His one-timer is best utilized off the rush, where he excels as the non-puck carrier by virtue of his weak skating (which I will get into shortly) and high hockey sense. To the last point, his off-puck movement is truly high-level, and the culprit of his goal total and shooting percentage (19.4%). The sequence below is a good example of that — you can watch him notice that the defenders’ heads are turned away from him, and he slides into open space for the world’s easiest goal:
Like Veilleux, Nobert must develop his skating, though I believe it to be more of an issue with the latter of the two. His stride is choppy and short, limiting both his top speed and explosiveness. In an ideal world, his skating stance would be deeper, with his hips lowered and knees bent a bit more. This would inherently lead to more power generation with each stride, especially when taking into account the fact that he’s only going to get stronger as he fills out his currently lanky frame.
I’m not sure he has middle-six upside, but I can definitely see an NHL future as a bottom-six center. His skating is a limiting factor, but his IQ is already strong enough, and his two-way play will continue to develop into a true strength. As he fills out, his true colors will shine as a prospect, and there will be a better understanding of where his ceiling truly lies.
*The video above is courtesy of Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
Maxim Agafonov (RHD)
Maxim Agafonov is the first defenseman I’ve highlighted in this series, and for good reason — he already checks a ton of boxes in terms of playing a well-rounded, mature game at just 18 years of age. Production-wise, there isn’t much to write home about, though 14 points in 35 MHL games is nothing to scoff at.
Fundamentals are Agafonov’s calling card, sticking to a relatively simple game on both sides of the ice.
Offensively, he doesn’t provide a whole lot when already established in the zone. His playmaking game is uncreative and predictable, generally adhering to either throwing the puck on net and hoping for a rebound or passing it to a perimeter forward who lies in an undangerous area of the ice. I zeroed in on him for four games, and I don’t have a single note about him even attempting a high-creativity play.
Afagonov’s strength there relies on his work in transition, excelling as both the puck carrier through the neutral zone and as the facilitator, passing the puck smartly to available forwards rather than relying on dumping and chasing. He is relatively smooth-skating, with long, powerful strides, and has a penchant for puck protection while operating at full speed. That makes him a threatening option for zone exits and entries.
Defense is where Agafonov sets himself apart, playing with an extremely mature game and mindset. As you would expect from a defender with an NHL-ready frame (6’2, 198 pounds), he leans into physicality to seal off opponents when the puck carrier is playing along the boards. Despite not shying away from physical contact in the slightest, you’ll scarcely see Agafonov lay an open ice hit. Whereas some youngsters with a frame like his would run amok on open ice, chasing big hits, he understands that discipline is key in these situations and relies more on his masterful stickwork to get the job done. Forcing the play to the outside is his modus operandi, fully grasping that the best way to keep pucks out of your own net is to prevent them from getting into high-danger areas of the zone in the first place.
To me, there’s no doubt in my mind that Agafonov’s defensive game will lend itself to an NHL role down the line, though his offensive simplicity may limit how high up the depth charts he rises. In my eyes, his floor and ceiling are tightly-knit, likely capping out as a no-nonsense, third-pairing blueliner in due time.
These three players would all be excellent targets for the Devils at 90th overall. The highest upside player here, by far, in my opinion, is Philippe Veilleux — if New Jersey is looking for high ceiling at this spot in the draft, he’d be my guy. To bolster center depth with a player who has bottom-six projectability, Mateo Nobert would be a solid candidate. Finally, there’s Maxim Agafonov, who, to me, is likely to end up as an NHLer, even if he caps out as a fundamentals-oriented bottom-pair guy.
Either way, with any of these three guys, it would be hard to go wrong.