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I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Now that summer has quietly arrived, we can start looking ahead to the 2024 NHL Draft. To that end, we offer another profile of a potential target for the New Jersey Devils in the upcoming draft: Jacob Battaglia. Battaglia is a winger from the OHL who has been having a stellar season. Could he join the Devils?
let’s start.
Who is Jacob Battaglia?
Jacob Battaglia was born on March 17, 2006. According to Elite ProspectsBattaglia is a right winger who plays with the ball in his left hand. At 6 feet and 205 pounds, he is not particularly tall, but has a solid physique for his age. He may need to further refine his physique. Battaglia was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where he has spent essentially his entire career.
According to Elite Prospects, Battaglia’s junior hockey career doesn’t go back that far. The earliest data we have on him comes from his time with the Toronto Little Canadiens U16 AAA team in the 2021-22 season in, you guessed it, the U16 AAA Hockey League. Battaglia had a stellar year, scoring 37 goals and 92 points in 57 games for a 1.61 points per game average. He ranked fifth in the league in goals and fourth in total points, so he was clearly one of the elite players in the league that season.
The following season, Battaglia made his debut with the Kingston Strikers of the Ontario Hockey League. In his rookie season, he scored seven goals and 27 points in 66 games, which was good for a rookie, but nothing special. However, this past season, Battaglia made great strides. In 67 games, he scored 31 goals and 65 points, nearly getting a point in every game. In five playoff games, he scored three goals and also contributed an assist. Needless to say, this was a very successful sophomore season for Battaglia.
So, as far as Battaglia’s youth/teen career goes, we have one excellent season, one decent season, and one great season. In two of those three seasons, he was a top scorer, which is always a good thing for a potential draft pick.
Where does Batalha rank?
Central Scouting: Ranked 42nd among North American skaters (Ranking rose from 56th in the midterm elections)
Smart Reconnaissance: Overall ranking 45th
The Hockey News (Ferrari): Overall ranking 63rd
Craig Barton: Overall ranking 64th
Recruitment Scouting: Overall ranking 82nd
You may notice that there are fewer outlets than usual in the “Where does he rank?” section of these profiles. That’s because many of the outlets where we collect these rankings don’t list Battaglia in the top 32, 64, or even 96 at all. dober prospect corp. For example, he wasn’t even listed in the top 96 or in the honorable mention category. As such, the Recruit Scouting rankings above serve as a rough representation of where Battaglia would rank if these unlisted outlets expanded their lists further.
What others are saying about Jacob Battaglia
Let’s start with Smaht Scouting, which ranked Battaglia the highest among all the scouting reports and rankings. Here’s what Josh Tessler of Smaht Scouting had to say about the big winger:
Has excellent ball handling and mobility, able to get around half-wall pressure. His straight-line speed still needs further polish, but his edge skills have proven to be quite strong. Battaglia can turn quickly, delaying the attack, allowing teammates to slide into position and provide Battaglia with quality passing lanes. Battaglia will not be the primary ball handler on the line, but will play an excellent supporting role.
My assessment of his skating skills reminds me of Jack Hughes in that their edgework was the real attraction of their skating ability, not their straight-line speed. Obviously Hughes skated at a higher level than almost everyone else in the world, but my point is that Battaglia seems to be another player whose edgework outweighs his raw speed.
Moving on to recruit scouting, Battaglia ranks lowest on our list of outlets for which we have numerical rankings:
Jacob Battaglia isn’t the most skilled player on the ice at any given moment, but he’s likely the hardest working one. He hits the ice with great speed every time he jumps across the boards, and has an impressive way to get involved in all kinds of plays. He makes an impact every time he switches positions, even if it’s small or ultimately inconsequential. But finding ways to leave those small marks is something a lot of players this age need to work on — and Battaglia has put a lot of work into it this year.
So we could be looking at a player with a high level of competition. Given his size, a solid player with a high level of competition sounds like a player who could cause a lot of chaos for opposing teams. Battaglia has made a lot of progress in the “little grades” this year, which is also intriguing to me, especially considering the Central Scouting rankings above. CS currently ranks Battaglia as the 42nd best North American skater, but that’s an improvement from the mid-term rankings where he was ranked 56th. So we could very well have a late bloomer in Battaglia, who in a few years will move up significantly in the redraft rankings.
Finally, we have Jordan Oss of The Hockey Writers. He had analyzed Battaglia himself about a week ago.This article begins with this overview:
After a slow start to his time with the Kingston Strikers in the 2023-24 season, Jacob Battaglia slowly made the transition from playing on the bottom line to playing on the top line and becoming one of the team’s strongest power play players. His relentless work ethic and drive helped him do this while his Kingston team was having a less than ideal start to the season.
This fits in with the rise in the Central Scouting rankings and what we’ve seen reported in the rookie scouting profiles about his rising price and high competitiveness. Battaglia appears to be a prospect that is rising quickly on the draft board. Maybe he hasn’t made it all the way to the top of the draft board yet, or even into the first round, but he is a potential stock.
Oss also noted that Battaglia possesses advanced skills with the puck, great motor (which is also what recruiting scouts want), and an excellent hockey IQ. Oss listed skating as his biggest weakness, though he did point out that his skating skills aren’t bad. It’s just that he needs to work on it to be successful at the next level.
A short video
Confession: I can’t find a lot of great videos about Battaglia. We’ll make do with what we have.
First, here’s a clip of a highlight-reel goal he scored for the Frontenacs last season:
Here we clearly see the skills and hockey IQ mentioned in some of the above scouting reports.
Next up we have a power play goal that Battaglia scored a few months ago:
Granted, the video is hard to follow, but Battaglia helped his team win a battle in the corner by bringing the puck back to the wall for a support point. He then followed the play and caught the rebound for a score. That’s the high-speed action and level of competition we’ve heard about.
As far as meaningful videos go, that’s about it! Like I said, the selection is slim. Sorry, the video section here is pretty short.
A certain point of view
My kingdom, waiting for the second round. Jacob Battaglia seems like the type of player who is ranked too low for the Devils to use their first round pick on him, but ranked too high for the Devils to still have him on the roster when they draft in the next round (CapFriendly ranked 75th) scroll. That being said, I don’t think this will be a Main It would be shocking if he still has a spot in the early third round. If he is there, I think New Jersey should definitely consider signing him.
I know these profiles are mostly focused on whether New Jersey should consider a certain prospect at the 10th pick, but I do think Battaglia would be a perfect pick for their third round pick. The combination of great skills, a very high competitive level, and a very high hockey IQ makes me excited about Battaglia’s potential. Many media outlets have said he’s moving up the draft board significantly, which also makes me optimistic about his future. Again, maybe not optimistic at 10th. But 75th is an excellent landing spot for him.
Your opinion
Now that you’ve heard my thoughts on Jacob Battaglia, it’s your turn to weigh in. What are your thoughts on Battaglia? Do you think the Devils should take him at No. 10, or wait until the next draft? Are you in favor of acquiring him via trade? If so, how much would you be willing to pay? As always, thank you for reading!
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