Prospect analysis takes a bit of guesswork. So, sometimes to predict the future it’s helpful to reflect back on the past. Today we take a look at five former defensemen prospects for the Devils and what happened in their careers.

Adrian Foster

In short

Never made the NHL but did play for Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, which is a fantastic name for a hockey club.

In long

Scott Cruikshank of the Calgary Herald sums up the problem with Adrian Foster’s career.

As a 16-year-old with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, he collected 32 points in only 18 appearances. But slamming into an unforgiving post one night, the fearless forward cracked his right hip.

Mechanics thrown off, body out of whack, the other hip suffered. Then came abdominal troubles and subsequent operations — one side, then on the other.

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Nevertheless, New Jersey was sold.

Sold they were. The Devils selected Foster in the first round (28th overall) selection in the 2001 NHL entry draft, a bit of a reach at the time, due to his injury history. Unfortunately, for Foster and the Devils, the defenseman’s injury woes did not end there. The article continues.

buoyed by a clean bill of health after a stretch in the American Hockey League — concussions spoiled more winters.

Then in a single 60-game stretch — spread over three hobble-filled seasons — Foster suffered two high-ankle sprains, a broken foot, a broken ankle.

Somewhere amidst all that hobbling, Foster skated in 205 AHL games before finishing his career in a two-game stint plus eight playoff contests in 2015-16 for the Stony Plain Eagles of the Chinook Hockey League.

Matthew Corrente

In short

Bad shoulder, but finished NHL career with exactly twice as many penalty minutes (68) as he had games played (34).

In long

Drafted by the Devils in the first round (30th overall) in 2006, there was considerable hype amongst Devils faithful in Corrente at the time. Development came slow, as it often does for physical defenders, but Corrente filled in with the big club in limited minutes during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. Unable to stick in the Devils lineup, by the time Corrente was entering his prime, injuries proved to be the final nail in the coffin of his career, culminating with a season-ending shoulder injury in 2012. This was after missing much of the previous season with another shoulder injury in 2011. After the shoulder surgery in 2012, Corrente played two more seasons bouncing around the AHL before bowing out after a demotion to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL in 2015-2016.

Brandon Burlon

In short

Once put up 27 points in 30 games in one strong season for the Oilers, the Stavanger Oilers of Norway’s Fjordkraftligaen.

In long

The Devils 2nd round pick (52nd overall) in 2008, Brandon Burlon always seemed to be on the fringe of conversation, but always outshined by the next shiny new defensive prospect added to the system. Surpassed by players such as Reece Scarlett who once finished 11th on this site’s Top 25 Under 25, who like Burlon, never got the call, the 2nd rounder did give the Albany Devils five respectable seasons of defensive hockey, even breaking out with 36 points one year. Burlon would finish his playing career in 2019-20 after bouncing around Europe in Germany, Sweden, Norway and the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Per LinkedIn, Burlon is now a site operations manager for TMG Builders, a Canadian condominium building company.

Alexander Urbom

In short

Upset many Devils fans when the Washington Capitals claimed him off waivers. Was reclaimed by the Devils twenty games later. Never played in the NHL again.

In long

Urbom showed a lot of promise early on for a defenseman drafted in the third round, especially on a team that had few legit prospects in the early 2010s. (For example, Urbom finished 5th in the ILWT Top 25 Under 25 in 2012). Urbom earned cups of coffee with the Devils in three consecutive seasons starting in 2010-11 before he was claimed by the Washington Capitals at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. This upset many Devils fans, who thought Urbom had a future. The large defender played 20 games for the Capitals that year, the most of his career, before being reclaimed by the Devils and stashed in Albany. That would be Urbom’s last stint of North American hockey, bouncing around the KHL, SHL and some lesser leagues later in his career, which ended in a short playoff run with EC Salzburg of the ICEHL in 2020-21.

Jeremy Davies

In short

A 7th round pick who after earning some hype with a stellar college career, became part of the P.K. Subban trade and played in 23 NHL games to date.

In long

The Nashville Predators actually got more usage out of Jeremy Davies than they did the more-established defender in the deal, Steven Santini. Davies suited up 22 games for the Predators over two seasons, while Santini only played two games in Nashville before signing with the St. Louis Blues. Davies’s career is still ongoing and overall, despite his limited call-ups, the 7th rounder must be considered a successful pick as most players drafted there do not make it to the NHL.

Final Thoughts

Now it is time to tell us what you think. Should I do more articles like this as summer rolls on? Give me your thoughts in the comments below.

Four lottery players in New Jersey won $10,000 or more last week playing Powerball and Mega Millions and another 17 won big playing New Jersey Lottery games.

The New Jersey Lottery announced its weekly winners on Monday. Here’s a look at where these tickets were sold from July 22 to July 28:

• $4 million, Mega Millions, July 23: sold at Laurel Market on Laurel Avenue in Hazlet (Monmouth County)
• $1 million, Mega Millions, July 26: sold at ShopRite on North Olden Avenue in Ewing (Mercer County)
• $50,000, Powerball, July 24: sold via third-party app Jackpocket
• $50,000, Powerball, July 27: sold at Quick Chek on Route 23 in Franklin (Sussex County)

New Jersey winners

• $1 million, $1,000,000 Diamond Spectacular scratch-off, July 21: sold at Wawa on West Spruce Avenue in North Wildwood (Cape May County)
• $1 million, Cash 4 Life Doubler, July 22: sold at ShopRite on Morristown Road in Bernardsville (Somerset County)
• $612,515, Jersey Cash 5, July 24: sold at Allen Liquors on McBride Avenue in Paterson (Passaic County)
• $100,000, $100,000 Lightning Bingo, July 24: sold at Quick Chek on Riverview Drive in Totowa (Passaic County)
• $75,000, Jersey Cash 5, July 25: Sold at Mini Mart Deli & Grocery on New York Avenue in Union City (Hudson County)
• $75,000, Jersey Cash 5, July 25: sold at Smart Savings $.99 Cent & Up on Main Avenue in Passaic (Passaic County)
• $50,000, $50,000 Loaded scratch-off, July 21: sold at Quick Chek on Hampton House Road in Newton (Sussex County)
• $50,000, $50,000 Loaded scratch-off, July 25: sold at River Place Food Store on Main Street in Butler (Morris County)
• $30,000, Big Money Spectacular scratch-off, July 24: sold at New Junction Liquors on Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City (Hudson County)
• $25,000, Crossword Bonanza scratch-off, July 27: sold at Country Farm on Main Street in Bradley Beach (Monmouth County)
• $20,000, Crossword scratch-off, July 23: sold at Monroe Wine & Liquor on Monroe Street in Passaic (Passaic County)
• $20,000, $20,000 Loaded scratch-off, July 25: Township Stationary on Pascack Road in Washington Township (Bergen County)
• $10,000, Power 20x scratch-off: sold at Acme on Route 35 in Ortley Beach (Ocean County)
• $10,000, Wild Cash scratch-off, July 21: sold at ShopRite on Route 70 in Manchester (Ocean County)
• $10,000, $10,000 Loaded scratch-off, July 22: sold at Hackensack Liquors on South River Street in Hackensack (Bergen County)
• $10,000, Power 10X scratch-off, July 26: sold at Quick Stop Deli on New Brunswick Avenue in Perth Amboy (Middlesex County)
• $10,000, Power 50X scratch-off, July 26: sold at Shell Service Station on 12th Street in Jersey City (Hudson County)

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. Must be 18+, 21+ in AZ and 19+ in NE. Not affiliated with any State Lottery. Gambling Problem? Call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY); 1-800-327-5050 (MA); 1-877-MYLIMIT (OR); 1-800-GAMBLER (all others). Visit jackpocket.com/tos for full terms and conditions.Lottery players.

It’s been a tough season for The Real Housewives of New Jersey — well, a tough few seasons. Amid cast shakeups in other franchises, it seems like Andy Cohen and the powers that be at Bravo have finally taken a hint and are rebooting the ‘wives of the Garden State.

On a recent episode of Andy Cohen Live on SIrius XM, Cohen took a call from a very disgruntled fan named Joanne who was bored to death over the recent storylines and wanted a change and soon.

“Well, I mean, have you heard that we’re gonna do big changes to the show?” Cohen asked Joanne, who had not heard that.

Joanne is fully into her complaint about how upset she is about the storyline between Melissa Gorga and Margaret Josephs — and don’t even get her started on Joe Gorga — when Cohen reassures her that change is indeed afoot.

“All right, so we’re rebooting the show, thank you, Joanne,” Cohen said when he could finally get a word in edgewise. “We’re gonna reboot it. We’re gonna do something different.”

Joanne is not done, however, and she wants OG Housewife Teresa Giudice to stick around, claiming she “will always get in trouble, that’s how she is,” but everyone else is boring, and “their only storyline is Teresa.”

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“Okay,” a clearly exasperated Cohen continued, “So you want Teresa to stay on the show?” Joanne doubles down and declares that “Teresa is the show,” then backs the car up and careens through the Lincoln Tunnel back to her original point of how boring everyone is, except Teresa, by which point Cohen has had enough.

“Okay, all right, okay, we got it,” Cohen said. “We’re gonna see what we do. We’ll see. I don’t know. Maybe just all fresh faces.”

While Joanne seems like a saint among people, she’s wrong about Teresa. It’s time for her, and the rest of the cast to go. Well, maybe not Dolores Catania, the Switzerland of RHONJ.

This season saw the women split into two factions: On one end, there’s Gorga, Josephs, Rachel Fuda, Danielle Cabral, and Jennifer Fessler. And on the other, there’s Giudice, Jennifer Aydin, and Jackie Goldschneider. Catania somehow manages to get along with everyone, which is why she deserves to stay. We, as viewers, need a calming presence, a level head, a voice of reason, if you will. And that will never be Teresa.

Still, when Entertainment Weekly interviewed Giudice last year ahead of the 13th season, she had no intention of going anywhere.

“Listen, I started this. I’m the OG, and I’m sticking,” Giudice said. “I want to ride the wave till it’s done. Because right now I’m so happy. I just got married. I think every year I bring it to you guys. Right?”

And while she indeed does bring it to us at every ball, one can’t help but feel she’s given enough — too much — to this show and deserves to bow out gracefully. Just a few weeks ago, however, Giudice again resisted the idea of retirement, telling Kelly Ripa, “I’m not leaving. I started the show. When Bravo wants me to leave, that’s when I’ll leave.”

Because of these dueling factions, there will be no season 14 reunion, but instead, Page Six reports, the cast filmed two separate watch parties to view the season finale. That sounds…great. Of course, just about anytime a franchise skips a reunion means somebody or somebodies are getting fired (see: the completely rebooted Real Housewives of New York). At this point in the game, that’s probably for the best.