The Florida Panthers capped off the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal by selecting American forward Jack Devine in the seventh round with the 221st overall pick.
A product of the U.S. National Development Team Program, the 18-year-old appeared in 36 games with the NCAA’s Denver Pioneers during his draft season, producing three goals and 19 points, which ranked 11th on the team. He blocked 18 shots, amassed 16 penalty minutes, had four multi-point outings and finished his freshman campaign with a plus-12 rating.
Devine scored his first career goal and added an assist on December 3, 2021 in a road game against the Arizona State Sun Devils. He registered a career-high three points (1G/2A) on New Year’s Day versus Alaska Fairbanks and was named NCHC Rookie of the Week two days later. Devine played in all four of Denver’s contests in the NCAA Tournament and had an assist in the national championship game vs. Minnesota State on April 9 as the Pioneers took the title.
Devine was ranked 75th in Neutral Zone’s 2022 NHL Draft Final Rankings Top 305 and carried a B grade (Low probability of playing NHL games before 22-years-old; some NHL potential).
Neutral Zone had this to say on Devine:
To be: He had 19 points as a true freshman playing for Denver University averaging 12:45 TOI as they won the National Championship. He won 54% of his puck battles. Although slight at 176 pounds, he understands how to use his body to protect the puck thus extending the cycle. Not to be: As right shot forward he is most comfortable attacking the offensive zone outside the right dot lane. To be effective in professional hockey he will need to learn how to feel comfortable attacking the offensive zone between the face-off dots. He was not used very often as a penalty killer during his freshman year.
After attending Panthers Development Camp and taking part in USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp in July and August, Devine returned to the Pioneers for his sophomore season.
He jumped from three to 14 goals and finished the year with 31 points. His 14 goals and six power-play tallies were each the third-highest mark on the team, and his point total placed him sixth on the roster. He registered 90 shots on goal (up from 61 as a freshman), notched four game-winners, and posted a plus-18 rating.
After starting off the season slowly, Devine finished it strong. He collected his first multi-goal game in the NCAA by scoring twice and adding an assist in 6-2 win over Minnesota-Duluth on February 24. A day later, he scored a goal and assisted on three others to establish a new collegiate-best in points in a single game in a 6-5 loss to the Bulldogs. On March 10, he produced another four-point outing by pouring in four goals in a 6-2 rout of the Miami RedHawks to open the 2023 NCHC Tournament. He scored his final goal of the season a day later as the Pioneers beat Miami 7-2 to advance to the quarterfinals where they were eliminated 1-0 by Colorado College. Devine registered three shots on goal in Denver’s 2-0 NCAA Tournament-opening loss to Cornell.
Devine is back in South Florida attending his second development camp with the Cats. After racking up nine goals and 15 points in the final ten games of the season, there might be more to Devine’s offensive potential than first thought. It will interesting to see if he can continue that kind of production when he returns to Denver in the fall. Like most players his age, he needs to add size and strength. If Devine keeps trending upwards he could turn out to a seventh-round steal.