NHL Prospect Watch: New Jersey Devils
Ahead of the 2024-25 hockey season, we’re diving into the WHL prospect pool for each of the NHL’s 32 teams. Throughout the series, we’ll highlight WHLers who have been signed to an NHL contract, were recently drafted, or are included in the NHL’s definition of a rookie.
NHL Prospect Watch continues with the New Jersey Devils.
Tyler Brennan
Netminder Tyler Brennan got his feet wet in his first season of professional hockey in 2023-24. The 6-foot-4, 181-pound goalie went 5-5-0 with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder, posting a 3.16 goals-against average, a .896 save percentage and his first pro shutout. The 20-year-old’s campaign was highlighted by a 30-save clean sheet in a dramatic 1-0 shootout win against the Reading Royals on February 3 and a career-high 43 saves in a narrow 4-3 loss to the Florida Everblades on November 29. Selected by New Jersey with the 102nd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Brennan played parts of five WHL seasons with the Prince George Cougars and backstopped the Cats to the second round of the WHL Playoffs in 2023. The Winnipegger left junior with a 38-42-6-2 record, a 3.19 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage and seven shutouts.
TYLER BRENNAN FIRST PRO SHUTOUT 🧱 pic.twitter.com/F0nXlsooGE
— Adirondack Thunder (@ECHLThunder) February 4, 2024
Josh Filmon
The Devils’ 2022 sixth-round pick averaged more than a point per game for a second-straight season with the Swift Current Broncos. Filmon tied for second in goals on the team with 27 lamp-lighters and 40 assists for 67 points and a +16 rating in 64 games. He tied All-Star Conor Geekie for the team lead in game-winning goals with six and kicked off the season with a seven-game point streak (four goals, seven assists). The 6-foot-3, 170-pound winger also proved effective in the postseason, leading the Broncos with seven goals in nine matches and tying for second in points with nine. Filmon, another Winnipeg, Man. product, signed his three-year, entry-level deal with New Jersey back in March of 2023 and made his professional debut with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, that spring. Filmon scored his first professional goal against the Rochester Americans on April 8, 2023.
Josh Filmon absolutely WIRES his fourth of the #WHLPlayoffs and the quick-strike @SCBroncos are out front 2-0.@NJDevils | #NJDevils#FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/lxSynVIJ4Y
— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 13, 2024
Max Graham
Kelowna Rockets alternate captain Max Graham proved that where you’re drafted- or if you’re drafted at all- doesn’t have to define your career. After being passed over in the WHL Prospects Draft and twice at the NHL level, the 6-foot-3, 203-pound forward was chosen in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Born in the Yukon before moving the Kelowna as a youngster, Graham is coming off a career season in the Okanagan that saw him bury 20 goals (including two game-winners) and 22 assists for 42 points in 67 matches. In the postseason, Graham found the scoresheet in all six matches against the Wenatchee Wild in Round One, potting three goals and four assists to help the Rockets move on to the second round. Graham finished fifth in goals among Rockets skaters and won the team’s Unsung Hero award upon the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign.
Max Graham has the 2023 Teddy Bear Toss goal for the @Kelowna_Rockets!🧸 pic.twitter.com/SSfFFXSBTT
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 26, 2023
Kasper Pikkarainen
Kasper Pikkarainen is preparing to make the jump overseas after being drafted twice in one summer. Shortly after hearing his name called 85th overall in the third round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound winger was selected by the Red Deer Rebels with the 44th pick in the 2024 CHL Import Draft. Pikkarainen has since signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the club for the 2024-25 season. The 18-year-old tallied 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 34 games with TPS Turko U20 in his native Finland in 2023-24. He’s represented Finland at the World U17 Hockey Challenge (winning bronze), the IIHF World U18 Hockey Championship, and, most recently, hit the ice in Plymouth, Mich. for the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase.
The @Rebelshockey have signed Finnish forward Kasper Pikkarainen to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.
The @NJDevils prospect was selected 44th overall at the 2024 CHL Import Draft.
— The WHL (@TheWHL) August 7, 2024
Isaac Poulter
With a fresh new contract in tow, netminder Isaac Poulter looks to take another step forward in his third professional season. An undrafted free agent who clawed his way into the pro ranks, Poulter went 17-8-1 with a 2.55 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and four shutouts to lead all Utica netminders in 2023-24. He also earned some practice time with the Devils. One of his most dominant performances came in a 32-save shutout in a 4-0 victory over the Rochester Americans on January 26. The Winnipeg, Man. native is one of nine AHL goalies to record three or more clean sheets this season. Poulter, who stands 6-foot-2, 174 pounds, signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Devils on February 15 with the expectation he’ll play in Utica next season. The 22-year-old also had a brief pit stop in the ECHL this year, going 5-0-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He played parts of four season with the Swift Current Broncos, piling together a career 35-87-8-4 record with a 3.76 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage and six shutouts, picking up a place on the WHL Central Division Second All-Star Team in 2022.
Isaac Poulter Signs His @NHL Contract | The Full Cut pic.twitter.com/361kV5vlPh
— Utica Comets (@UticaComets) February 16, 2024
