The Florida Panthers capped off the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal by taking forward Jack Devine in the seventh round with the 221st overall pick. At this point, the selection continues look like a very good one, indeed.
A product of the U.S. National Development Team Program, Devine 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.
He 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 season-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 claimed the college crown.
After attending Panthers Development Camp in July and taking part in USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp in August, Devine returned to the Pioneers for his sophomore season.
He increased his goal total by eleven 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-winning goals, 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 lighting the lamp four times 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.
Given top line minutes during his junior season, Devine absolutely exploded, leading the Pioneers with 27 goals and 56 points. His goal total was fourth-highest in the nation while his point total was seventh. His 142 shots on goal, nine power-play goals and 16 power-play points were also team-highs. He was named an All-American (West First Team) for the first time in his career and was a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
He served notice early that a big campaign was in the cards by scoring twice and adding two helpers in the season-opener against Alaska Fairbanks. He followed that up by scoring twice against the Nanooks a day later. While Devine didn’t register any hat tricks, he put up nine multi-goal games. His biggest performance of the season, and NCAA career, came on January 19, when scored twice and assisted on three goals against the Omaha Mavericks. Devine did go a bit cold towards the end of the season, collecting just three assists over Denver’s last seven games. He registered three shots on goal in the NCAA championship game as the Pioneers blanked Boston College 2-0, making him a two-time title winner.
Devine attended his third development camp in South Florida in the summer of 2024 and decided to forego turning pro to return to Denver for his senior season. After pouring in the goals as a junior, he completely flipped the script statistically as a senior, leading the nation in both assists (44) and scoring with 57 points. He finished his NCAA career as the highest-scoring player in the modern era of Denver hockey with 163 points (57G/106A). Although he only scored 13 times during his senior campaign, 11 of his goals came after the New Year and he produced seven goals during a nine-game stretch from February 14 to March 14.
He began the season with a career-long eight-game point streak that ran from October 5 to November (1G/15A), which was also the longest assist streak of the year by a Pioneer skater. Devine started the streak off by racking up four power-play assists in the season-opener at Alaska Anchorage. He matched the streak with second eight-game run from November 9 to December 13 that saw him score once and collect ten helpers. His final NCAA point was an assist in the 3-1 victory over No. 1 Boston College in the NCAA Northeast Regional Final on March 30 to secure Denver’s spot in the Frozen Four for the second-straight season, where they were bounced by Western Michigan.
On April 12, 2025, Devine signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Panthers and made his professional debut with the Charlotte Checkers on a PTO on April 16, assisting on Charlotte’s first two goals in a 3-2 road win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. He played two more regular season games, a back-to-back against the Springfield Thunderbirds, registering just one shot on goal.
Devine made seven appearances in the playoffs, producing two goals and three helpers. He picked up an assist in both Game 4 and Game 5 of the final series against the Abbotsford Canucks and scored Charlotte’s final goal on the season in the 3-2 Game 6 loss that saw the visiting Canucks win the Calder Cup at Bojangles Coliseum.
The 2025-26 campaign saw Devine excel in his first full professional season with the Checkers, posting 18 goals and a team-leading 25 assists for a total of 43 points, which was second on the team behind Ben Steeves’ 45. There were a couple of other “seconds” for Devine. He appeared in 63 of 72 regular season games, which was second-most on the squad (again behind Steeves), and his 18 goals tied him with Wilmer Skoog for second-best on the team (behind 23 from Steeves). Devine also displayed an edge by finishing with 57 penalty minutes. In the first round playoff loss to Sprignfield, Devine assisted on two goals in three games.
In addition to making forward progress with Charlotte, Devine had a brief stint with the Panthers, making his NHL debut in 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on November 20, and appearing in five more games before he was sent back down on December 8. He has yet to collect his first big-league point, but did total six shots while averaging 8:26 of ice time.
Devine is a skater with stellar offensive instincts. Combine that a good motor and you’ve got a player that will produce points for sure – at the AHL level. That’s not a jab at Devine. It’s just where’s he’s at right now. The 23-year-old will likely be the primary red light threat for the Checkers during the upcoming season, but he doesn’t appear that close to making the big club. That’s fine, with a ferocious-looking top-nine set in Sunrise, there is plenty of time for him to develop. While he might not be an everyday point-producer at the top level, the expectation is that he will be an NHL player, if he gets the chance at a middle-six opportunity. That chance might have to come elsewhere as space in Florida’s top nine will be limited (unless there is a run of injuries) and Sandis Vilmanis is ahead of him in the pipeline.