Devils Sign First Round Draft Pick, Pavel Zacha

The New Jersey Devils announced on Tuesday, that they signed first round draft pick Pavel Zacha to a three-year entry level contract.

The sixth overall selection in the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft spent last season with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League averaging almost a point per game. In his 37 appearances with the Sting he put up 16 goals and 18 assists. The eighteen year old forward was ranked second amongst Sting forwards with six power play goals and tied for fourth on the team for all goals despite missing 31 games last season.

While finishing tenth in scoring in the OHL, Zacha was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team. Prior to playing in Sarnia, the Brno, Czech Republic native played 38 games in the country’s top league, with the Bili Tygri Liberec White Tigers. One of his mentors, former NHLer Petr Nedved, has been a big influence in his transition to North American hockey.

Zacha participated in the last two World Junior Championships. In five games in the 2015 tournament, he scored a goal and an assist. He has represented his country three times in the under-18 World Junior Championship, while earning a Silver Medal in 2014 with three goals and two assists in seven games. As a 14 year old in 2011, he played for the Czech Republic’s under-16 team and also skated for both the under-17 and under-18 teams the following season.

Devils General Manager, Ray Shero announced that the 2.78 million dollar entry level deal will carry an average annual value of around 925,000 dollars. The team expects Zacha to compete for a spot on the roster this upcoming season.