Devils Should Trade Up for Nathan Behm in 2025 NHL Draft

This past trade deadline showed that NHL teams will dish out second round picks like candy; heck, the Devils traded their earliest second along with prospect Herman Träff for 24 games of a 33-year-old Brian Dumoulin, who while immensely effective, is a bottom-pairing defenseman at this point in his career. One would imagine it would only take the Devils’ fourth or sixth round pick to move up to 44ish and take Behm.

Behm’s Profile

Behm is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger who can play either side. He only turned 18 years old on Apr. 18, making him one of the younger players in the draft class. In 59 games, he had a respectable 66 points (31 goals, 35 assists) in 59 games.

Unlike many other Canadian prospects, Behm wasn’t playing with any superstar caliber players. Kamloops was almost entirely devoid of talent this season, sporting a dreadful 24-39-5 record and a tenth-place standings finish (out of 11). He would have almost certainly put up better numbers if he were playing alongside already-drafted top NHL prospects that other WHL teams possess. Nonetheless, Behm’s 1.12 points per game (P/GP) slotted him fifth out of 298 U18 WHL skaters.

Behm struggled with consistency as the season went on, which is to be expected for such a young player on a team that is largely incapable of stringing together wins. But that could work in the Devils’ favor, as he slipped in most rankings despite being considered a near-lock for the late first round in January.

Behm is considered both a sniper and playmaker who is capable of dominating when he’s on. He’s constantly generating, as proven by his 198 shots on goal in those 59 games. The Hockey Writers’ Draft Analyst Peter Baracchini said, “He’s highly skilled with his playmaking and ability to generate offense and chances for, but instantly change that to a more physical style whenever he needs to. He has great smarts and reads each situation well. He’s tenacious when battling and shows great composure and strength when fending off attacking players. He can be very deceptive as you’ll be guessing whether or not he’s going to pass or shoot and vice-versa.”

He’s especially dangerous in transition, which suits the Devils’ game well. It’s way, way, way too early to tell, but that could work well alongside a guy like Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier in the future. Usually, prospects who are higher than a P/GP yet fall past the first round have issues with their skating. That’s not the case with Behm; he’s quick and powerful, displaying great edge work and sometimes highlight-reel dekes.

In addition to his lethal shot, it’s like he has eyes behind his head at times. He can be extremely deceptive with his passing ability, as the two features combine to make him someone that the opposition always has to have their eyes on. He also has some great hand-eye coordination.

You’re probably waiting for the “fatal flaw”, and there is a flaw, but it’s likely not fatal: his defensive ability. Like many young players, Behm’s defensive engagement and decision making leaves some to be desired. But the difference is that on many prospects’ teams, their collective overall talent and dominance hides that fact. In Behm’s case, Kamloops’ lack of depth made it all magnified. His minus-23 rating wasn’t even close to the worst mark on the team; some players were as low as minus-35. No lineup regular (40+ games played) had a positive plus/minus.

It’s a different position, but similar circumstance: the Devils have seemed to benefit from taking the Russian goaltender Yegorov in the 2024 Draft. His struggling United States Hockey League (USHL) team destroyed his save percentage (.892% when drafted), making him fall farther than he should have. He’s now emerged as one of the top goaltending prospects in the league.

It should not be a surprise to see Behm break out and become a 90-100 point player if he’s healthy next season. Especially given such a weak draft class, it’s likely that the Devils’ best course of action is to trade up and snag Behm.