The New Jersey Devils locked in one of their brighter young prospects on Monday, agreeing to a three-year, entry-level deal with John Quenneville -- the club’s first-round pick (30th overall) at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Quenneville, 19, has some pretty strong hockey bloodlines. His brother (Peter) was drafted by Columbus in 2013 and his second cousin (Joel) is the three-time Stanley Cup-winning coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. His uncle (by marriage) is New York Islanders’ d-man Johnny Boychuk.
The youngest of the bunch, Quenneville’s spent the last three years with WHL Brandon and had a nice run through the 2015 playoffs, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in 19 games. He’s currently participating at the Devils’ prospects camp, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impression he makes on new GM Ray Shero and new head coach John Hynes.
New Jersey is in a transitional state and could be willing to give some younger players looks at the NHL level, though Quenneville may be another year away from making that jump.