In Lou We Trust

According to Chere, the New Jersey Devils have signed Alexander Vasyunov. He has been assigned to Lowell and this is excellent news for the Devils' prospect. According to Gulitti, a driver for this move was Vasyunov's playing time in Russia - rather, the lack of it. He played in only 2 games for his KHL team Yaraslavl Lokomotiv and so he wanted out. Now, he'll be in Lowell getting minutes every night for the AHL affiliate. This is exciting for him and for fans of the Devils' prospects. He's quite talented, he's represented his country in the U18 tourneys and in the World Junior Championships, and now he's going to get proper development in games while being close to the parent franchise. The Devils don't have a lot of offensively skilled players in their system with top-six forward potential outside of Bergfors and Tedenby, so this is great news for their system.

If you don't know who Vasyunov is, there's a comprehensive profile of Vasyunov at Hockey's Future. The big concern in the profile was whether he would get the playing time he needs to progress. He should have no problem with that in Lowell if stays healthy. Given that he's played in the KHL already this season - albiet not that much - I think he might have to clear waivers to transfer to New Jersey. So I expect him to spend the season in Lowell short of injury concerns. I think we're going to hear and see much more about him in next season's preseason anyway. If you're wondering how the Devils' system of prospects look, take a look at Jared Ramsden's audit of the Devils' pipeline at Hockey's Future. It's looking a lot better than it did a few years ago; and should Vasyunov improve with playing time in Lowell, it will be even greater.