The New Jersey Devils have added an interesting goaltending prospect to the pipeline, signing Nico Daws to a three-year entry-level contract. The young goalie recently finished his first season of professional hockey, suiting up ten times for ERC Ingolstadt in the German DEL. This contract will kick in for the 2021-22 season.
Daws, 20, was the 84th overall pick in 2020, a year after he went completely undrafted. That meteoric rise was helped by a selection to the 2020 Canadian World Junior team and outstanding performance for the Guelph Storm when he went 23-8-6 with a .924 save percentage. The big, flexible goaltender takes up a huge portion of the net but has struggled with his lateral puck tracking against top competition at times.
Still, the young netminder will be able to jump into the Devils development program and get his feet wet at the AHL level next season without any real rush to climb the ranks. With 24-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood still the team’s starter at the NHL level, New Jersey can take their time with Daws and allow him the time to learn how to best use that 6’4″ frame.