The 2024 NHL Draft has concluded at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire NHL Network broadcast of the second day of the draft – and parts of ESPN’s broadcast of the first round – was all about size. You can’t teach greatness. Greatness is back. The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup because they were big and aggressive — sorry, Sergey Bobrovsky, but you didn't fit the mold. This is a copycat league, so a lot of teams want to be big and aggressive. And so there was big talent all over the place in this year's draft class. No, most of those players won't be that far for at least two or more seasons (most won't be that far at all), and by then someone else will have won the Cup and set a new mold. As dismissive as I am of these kinds of trends, they can't be ignored because the draft as a whole was all about guys with bigger builds. A whopping 27 players officially listed at 6' or shorter were selected today from the 225 players selected.

The New Jersey Devils have been instrumental in selecting tall players. Their entire draft class is officially at least 6'2″. It would have been 6'0″ if Matyas Melovsky, their last pick of the day, had been an inch taller instead of just 6'2″. Unlike previous draft classes where size over ability would have been a concern, most of the players the Devils have drafted appear to have a future at the professional level. Here are the seven players the Devils drafted at the Sphere, with links to the posts about each of their selections.

• First round, 10th overall: Defenseman Anton Silayev, Torpedo Nizhny Novrogod (KHL)
• Second round, 49th overall: Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, Omaha Lancers (USHL)
• Third round, 85th overall: Right winger Kasper Pikkarainen, TPS Turku U-20 (U20 SM-sarja)
• Third round, 91st overall: Right winger Herman Träff, HV71 J20 (J20 National)
• Fifth round, 139th overall: Center Max Graham, Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
• Fifth round, 146th overall: Goalkeeper Veeti Louhivaara, JYP U-20 (U20 SM-sarja)
• Sixth round, 171st overall: Center Matyas Melovsky, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)

Note: All links lead to a flash poll where you can find out your reaction to each selection. Please vote as the Silayev poll closes tonight at 8pm and the other six close tomorrow at 8pm.

Of those seven players, Melovsky is the shortest at 6'2″. All the others are taller, with Anton Silayev being the massive leader of the class at 6'2″. But there's more to most of these picks than just their size.

Silayev was considered a top-ten pick in this year's draft, partly because he's a really good skater for his frame and has already established himself as a regular in the KHL at 17 years old. Silayev may not have the offensive potential you'd want from a top-ten pick, but the Devils don't necessarily need that in their defense with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey in the organization. That Silayev was even available at tenth was a surprise and the Devils didn't hesitate to take him.

Both goalies, Yegorov and Louhivaara, are not only big, but they are goalies with promising futures. Yegorov did quite well on a truly terrible Omaha team, showing how to get into position on shots and handle difficult nights in the crease. Louhivaara is more mobile, can move well through the crease, and can even stay in butterfly form. Yegorov has committed to Boston University for 2025-26, and Louhivaara has an option year with JYP after 2025-26. Both goalies can be left to their own devices, and the Devils can bring them along in the coming years as they progress.

Pikkarainen made his name in the draft as a solid defensive forward with good puck-passing skills. Träff is getting closer on offense and has the ability to help others on offense get there as well. Melovsky has rebounded from an injury-shortened draft year by moving to North America and showing how he can set up goals for others with both Baie-Comeau and the Czech WJC team. The only big body who is more or less a “big presence” is the over-aged Max Graham. The other three forwards mentioned here have more to offer. I can respect that.

I can also respect some of the trades made on the second day of the draft. General manager Tom Fitzgerald kept the 10th overall pick. He traded up to the second round, trading John Marino and the 153rd overall pick to Utah for the 49th overall pick and Edmonton's second-round pick next year. That led to the selection of Yegorov. Marino was a rumored prospect to be traded, and he was, as the Devils want to get Brett Pesce on July 1. Being able to move up to the second round and add another 2025 second-round pick (they have three now) helps. As does trading back twice in the third round from 75th to eventually 85th for the Pikkarainen pick. This gave the Devils the 146th overall pick – replacing the fifth lost in the Marino trade – and San Jose's sixth-round pick in 2025. They could have selected Pikkarainen 75th and that would have been it. I can welcome the addition of draft capital, however small it may seem. It increased the class by one over the picks they had entering the sphere.

How about sending Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid to Las Vegas for the fourth line? Winger Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in 2025? I thought that was terrible. It has nothing to do with this year's draft and will therefore not be discussed here. I have a separate post about it anyway, even though it ruined the afternoon for me and many of the People Who Matter.

What's related to this year's draft is that I still have questions about it. Did the Devils really need to draft two goalies? Yegorov was a good pick; I still don't understand Louhivaara's pick, other than he's just throwing a dart into the future. I can agree about picking too old players late, but why Max Graham in the first place? While size was the theme for much of the NHL at this year's draft, I can't help but think other choices would have made the class stronger for the future. I like Yegorov's pick, but picking him ahead of Teddy Stiga, Nathan Villenueve (for those who want a troublemaker), or Jack Berglund (a big project for center) made me raise my eyebrows. The same goes for not taking Luke Misa and Joona Saarelainen in the fifth round. It's a good class overall, but a change here or there would have made it better for the future.

I'd like to point out that the Devils' 2024 draft class is also very European. Not so much in terms of where they played, as Yegorov and Melovsky played in North American junior leagues. However, Graham is the only player born and raised on that continent. The Devils haven't shied away from Russian-born or Russian-based talent. The 2023 class was the first in a long time where they didn't take anyone from there. It's no surprise they've picked that up again. Along with their trend of taking one goalie; although I think there was no need to take two. But no Americans, no OHL-based players, and one Canadian. That's perhaps more of a side note than anything significant. More significant is that the team is trying to make it work with Finnish talent, a country the Devils haven't had much success with in the past. With Lenni Hämeenaho, Topias Vilén and Samu Salminen, they are clearly trying to counteract this with the new signings Pikkarainen and Louhivaara.

Overall, I'm mostly happy with what the Devils did in the draft this year. As much as they chased the trend of getting bigger and more powerful, they didn't sacrifice skill or other, more valuable aspects of hockey in the process. As much as I wish they hadn't taken two goalies, I'm happy with the ones they did select. As much as I didn't like the pick of Graham, I liked the other pick of Melovsky, who scored twice as many goals. They could have done a lot worse today. We'll see how this all plays out in five years. This is a reminder that you may think the Devils need to get bigger today, but these picks aren't going to help the Devils today. These are all picks for the future. But today, “fine” is the word that keeps coming to mind.

Now I want to know what you think about the Devils' performance at the 2024 NHL Draft. What do you think about how they drafted players overall? Is their decision to follow the trend of going bigger a good one? Which of the seven talents are you most excited about in the next few years? Should the NHL enforce a trade horn for all transfer warnings (yes)? Please leave your answers and other thoughts on this year's draft in the comments.

I want to thank James for leading the coverage of young players this year. I want to thank Chris for helping us with the picks posts today. I want to thank Chris, James, Jackson and Alex for helping us with young players over the last few months. Most of all, I want to thank you for reading and participating in our draft coverage. Devils development camp begins tomorrow, free agency starts Monday and the NHL schedule will be announced Tuesday. More information to come soon. We'll do our best to cover everything for the Devils. Thanks again for reading.