The New Jersey Devils have selected 462 players to date at the annual NHL Entry Draft, which began in 1963. The Hockey News will continue its series on the franchise’s top five picks from each round leading up to the 2024 event on Friday, June 28.
Historically, New Jersey has drafted 26 players in the ninth round, nine of whom have appeared in an NHL game and six of whom have played for the Devils.
The organization's first ninth-round pick was Brian Kurliak (145th overall) in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, and their most recent one was Valeri Klimov (282nd overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
The NHL has not held an Entry Draft with more than nine rounds since 2004, limiting the selections to seven rounds starting in 2005.
Join us each week to see who makes the cut as the best-drafted player in Devils' history.
Note: Dates, achievements, and statistics obtained from Hockey-Reference.com and EliteProspects.com .
Top New Jersey Devils Draft Picks From the Ninth Round
5. Andre Faust – 173rd Overall 1989
NHL stats: 47 GP – 10 G – 7 A – 17 Pt s
New Jersey stats: Did not play
Andre Faust is one of the few Devils draft picks from the ninth round who has never played with the organization. After four seasons at Princeton University, where he served as captain in his senior year, he opted to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992.
From 1992 to 1996, Faust split time between the NHL and AHL before venturing to Germany to play professionally for six seasons. He won a league championship in the DEL in 2002. Eventually, he skated in Sweden and Switzerland, retiring in 2004.
4. Jeff Toms – 210th Overall 1992
NHL stats: 226 GP – 22 G – 33 A – 55 Pt s
New Jersey stats: Did not play
Jeff Toms never played with the Devils since the franchise traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in May 1994. While with the Lightning, he made his NHL debut and stayed in the league for 236 games over eight seasons.
Toms played for six NHL franchises and several organizations in the IHL and AHL before moving to Europe in 2003-04 to continue his career.
Despite a brief stint in the NHL, Toms was an OHL champion, plus won the CHL Memorial Cup in 1993. A decade later, he won the Spengler Cup with Canada in 2004.
3. Jamie Huscroft – 171st Overall 1985
NHL stats: 352 GP – 5 G – 8 A – 38 Pt s
New Jersey stats: 65 GP – 2 G – 6 A – 8 Pt s
Jamie Huscroft was the Devils ninth-round pick in the 1985 Entry Draft, who debuted in 1988. Over three seasons, he skated with New Jersey, scoring eight points in 65 games.
In 1992, Huscroft became a free agent and joined the Boston Bruins, kickstarting his journey across the NHL, which included stops in Calgary, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Arizona, and Washington.
Huscroft also played in the AHL, IHL, and SUHL from 1987 to 2001 and won the CHL Memorial Cup in 1987.
2. Jaroslav Modry – 179th Overall 1990
NHL stats: 725 GP – 49 G – 201 A – 250 Pt s
New Jersey stats: 52 GP – 2 G – 15 A – 17 Pt s
Jaroslav Modry is the ultimate definition of a journeyman NHLer. After being drafted in the ninth round of the 1990 Entry Draft, he played 52 games with the Devils before a trade to the Ottawa Senators in 1995.
From Canada's capital city, Modry suited up for the Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers.
Between all those NHL appearances are stops in the AHL and IHL, plus some international competitions with Czechia.
After a professional career of over two decades, Modry got into coaching in retirement and is set to make his AHL debut in 2024-25 after a few seasons behind the bench in his home country.
1. Steve Sullivan – 233rd Overall 1994
NHL stats: 1,011 GP – 290 G – 457 A – 747 Pt s
New Jersey stats: 58 GP – 15 G – 21 A – 36 Pt s
Steve Sullivan is another NHL veteran who collected a lot of frequent flyer miles during a 16-year career. Initially drafted in 1994, he debuted with the Devils the year after they won the Stanley Cup in 1995.
His tenure in New Jersey was brief, just 58 games, before being a part of a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that brought future Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour to East Rutherford in 1997.
After a stay with the Maple Leafs, he played with the Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Arizona Coyotes. Sullivan returned for nine games with the Devils in 2012-13.
During his career, he won the CHL Memorial Cup and an AHL Calder Cup and was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2009 for overcoming a fragmented disc in his back that forced him to miss nearly two seasons.
Like so many former players, Sullivan went into coaching and management. He worked with the Coyotes from 2014 to 2021 before returning to grassroots hockey, where he now coaches an 18U AAA team in Phoenix.
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