Devils Draft Prospect Series: Colton White

The Devils Draft Prospect Series ends today with the last 2015 draft pick; I covered his best friend and teammate Blake Speers this morning. Before Devils development camp begins Tuesday, check out the rest of the “Draft Prospect Series” tag on this blog for every other 2017, 2016, and 2015 Devils draft pick.

The New Jersey Devils selected D Colton White 97th overall in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Entry-Level Draft. The 20-year old Canadian defenseman checks in at 6′ 1″ and 192 pounds; he shoots left. He’s played the last four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL) and was an assistant captain the past two years, while Speers was Captain; White was named an OHL All-Star as well for the first time. He will make his Devils debut this fall, either with Binghamton (AHL) or with New Jersey.

He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with (Blake) Speers last September and celebrated by getting 12 stitches.

Here are some of White’s stats:

White isn’t an offensive-minded defenseman but he can chip in every now and then. He describes himself as a two-way defenseman and has good hockey sense. He’s pretty good in his own zone; he’s not physical or aggressive all that much. He’s smart, he knows how to handle pucks, and he sees the ice well.

Here’s what Tyler Parchem of Elite Prospects had to say: “Also wore #8 for London Jr. Knights Gold Min Mdgt in 2011-12. White is a smart defenseman who skates well and makes good passes. He was buried on a deep Soo team this season so his numbers are lower then they could have been on a weaker team. He is not overly physical on the backend but has a good stick and is often in the right position to break up the play. Could potentially break out next season and could be a smart pick in the later rounds (2015).”

Here’s Hockey’sFuture’s talent analysis: “White is a smart defenseman who skates well and makes good passes. He is not overly physical on the backend but has a good stick and is often in the right position to break up the play. Recently, he has shown a surprising rise in his offensive talent and production. With his ability to keep pucks in at the blue line and how well he sees the ice on the point, the case could be made that he could work as a quarterback on the power play. He does have to improve his shot. Increased confidence at the point could open up new possibilities for the blue liner.”

In the same “stitches” article from earlier, White mentions fellow Devils defensive prospect, Steven Santini:

“White enters camp coming off a strong showing at the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, drawing plenty of opportunities on penalty kills and skating with another strong defenseman prospect, Steven Santini.

“The first game I was a little hesitant and stuff, but the second I think I was a little more confident,” White said. “Steve is a big confidence boost on the backend, and he’s actually my roommate here, so he’s been a good mentor for me.””

And he talks about training camp:

“”That’s huge for me coming in to camp, earning my first contract, sort of all my hard work paying off now,” he said. “More work starts now, and I need to compete for a spot on this team. If I don’t make it, I’ll go back to juniors and do big things there, hopefully make an impact there.””

White and Speers will be attending their third development camp together and I’m excited to watch both of them play.

White should have a good development and training camp. I wouldn’t expect him to make the team (New Jersey) straight out of training camp in September but I’d expect the team to take a few more good looks at him throughout the season. It would be nice to bring him up for a few games, especially if the Devils end up trading away a defenseman.  But for now, I’m eager to watch the both of them tear up the AHL with the Devils in the fall.