On May 4th, 2015 the New Jersey Devils hired Ray Shero as their new General Manager, the first man to acquire that title in 27 years. Shero arrived to find a prospect pool starved of high skill level players and one that had not produced a major NHL contributor since Adam Henrique was drafted in the third round, seven years prior.
That year, the NHL Entry Draft was a mere month away, and Shero had to rely on veteran scout David Conte, who had unearthed talent like Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, Scott Gomez, Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta in the early 90’s, which led to an incredible amount of success in New Jersey for 20 years.
Shortly after the draft, Conte parted ways with the organization, and Shero reached out to Paul Castron, formerly the director of amateur scouting of the Columbus Blue Jackets, to help achieve Shero’s vision of a fast, attacking, supportive brand of hockey, that was more suited to today’s NHL.
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