James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now calls Amadeus Lombardi the most NHL-ready player among New Jersey prospects who haven’t yet made the show.
As Nichols points out, that doesn’t mean Lombardi will make the team in training camp. With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier at No. 1 and No. 2, the Devils are deep at center.
But it sounds as if there is an expectation that Lombardi will be on the roster at some point in 2026-27.
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“Lombardi has three AHL seasons, two of them at nearly a point per game, and a game that already looks like a bottom-six center’s job,” Nichols writes.
He ranks Lombardi as the Devils’ No. 7 prospect. Because Lombardi is brand new to the organization, the Devils seem to be concentrating on his strengths, particularly his skating and offensive flair.
At the end of Lombardi’s time in Detroit, the Red Wings had concerns about his size, injury history and deficiencies in his overall game.
One criticism about the Steve Yzerman regime is that they didn’t give prospects enough opportunities to rise up. We will see whether they were right about Lombardi.
