The Devil Should Swap Nathan Behm in the 2025 NHL Draft – Hockey Writer – New Jersey Devils

The Devil of New Jersey is about to enter the draft, which is considered one of the weakest classes in recent memory. Worse, they didn’t even have First round picks, they gave up for Jacob Markstrom, who was outstanding in 2024-25.

Related: Devils benefit greatly from the NHL’s increase in cap space

They plan to do two picks in the second round (Overall No. 50 and 64), a round they usually have a successful one. Their final three-round picks were Seamus Casey, Lenni Hämeenaho and Mikhail Yegorov, all of which could be an NHL-level difference at some point in the near future. In recent years, their drafting in the second round (relative to the historical league success rate) is much better than the first round.

If no one is particularly attractive, it doesn’t make sense to force a draft pick. But, under a few positions below the first draft pick of the 50th, Nathan Behm of the Kamloops Trail Blazers from the Canadian Western Hockey League (WHL) may be offered as someone with some NHL over the sky. NHL Central Scouting expects him to finish 44th, 46th in the Prospects hockey draft, while TSN’s Bob McKenzie is 44th. Of course, if the Shadeur Sanders could fall to 141 positions in the National Football League (NFL) draft, it may still be possible that Behm will get some draft picks at 50. But it’s not worth it.

Past trade deadlines suggest that the NHL team will have a second-round draft pick like Candy. Oh, the devil has traded Earliest second Along Prospect Herman Träff played 24 games with 33-year-old Brian Dumoulin, and while very effective, this moment of his career was the bottom defender. One would imagine that it would take only the Devil’s fourth or sixth round draft to be promoted to 44ish and behm.

Behm’s profile

Behm is a 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound winger who can play on both sides. He was only 18 on April 18, making him one of the young players in the draft course. In 59 games, he scored a considerable 66 points (31 goals, 35 assists) in 59 games.

Unlike many other Canadian prospects, Behm is not playing with any superstar Caliber players. Kamloops has almost no talent this season and has a terrible record with a 24-39-5 record and finished tenth ranking (11). If he plays with the top NHL prospects that other WHL teams have, he’ll almost certainly come up with better numbers. Nevertheless, Behm’s 1.12 points per game (P/GP) are fifth among the 298 U18 WHL skateboarders.

As the season progresses, Behm struggles with consistency, which is something to be expected for a team of young players in a team that largely fails to win. But that could work with the support of the devil, as he was considered a near-locked majority ranking in the first round in January.

Behm is considered both a sniper and an organizer and he is able to dominate him. As his 198-point goal in these 59 games proved, he has been producing. Hockey writer’s Draft analyst Peter Baracchini said: “He has a very skilled gameplay and ability to generate offense and opportunities, but he can immediately change it to a more physical style whenever he needs it. He has great smart people and reads every situation well. He is tenacious in combat, showing a lot of suppression and strength when hitting attackers, and he can beat attackers.

He is particularly dangerous in transition, suitable for the devil’s game. This is a way, way, too early to say it, but Can Working with people like Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier in the future. Often, the prospect of a higher than P/GP but falling first round has problems with skating. behm is not so; he is fast and powerful, showing off great work and sometimes highlighting Reel Dekes.

Apart from the deadly shooting, it was like he had eyes sometimes. His passing ability can be extremely deceptive because these two traits combine to make him the one that the opposition always has to pay attention to. He also has some excellent hand-eye coordination.

You may be waiting for a “fatal flaw” and there is one flaw, but it may not be fatal: his defensive ability. Like many young players, Behm’s defensive involvement and decision making have some shortcomings. But the difference is that in the teams of many prospects, their collective overall talent and dominance masks this fact. As far as Behm is concerned, Kamloops lacks depth makes everything amplified. His minus 23 score isn’t even close to the team’s worst results. Some players are below minus 35. A regular lineup without a lineup (playing over 40 games) has a front/minus.

This is a different stance, but a similar situation: The Devil seems to have taken Russian goalkeeper Yegorov from the 2024 draft. His struggling American Hockey League (USHL) team destroyed his savings percentage (.892% at the time of selection), which caused him to fall beyond his results. Now, he is one of the most important goal prospects in the league.

If he is healthy next season, it’s no surprise to see Behm burst and become a 90-100-point player. Especially considering such a weak draft class, the Devil’s best move may be a deal and a snap-up.