Color of Hockey: Kaplan leans on older brothers in quest to reach NHL

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Devin Kaplan, a forward from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program who ranked No. 61 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft July 7-8.

Devin Kaplan watched and learned from his two older brothers when they advanced to play college and professional hockey.

"I was able to soak up everything from my older brothers," said Kaplan, a right wing for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. "As the youngest, I was always the one having to catch rides, go to their games, go to their practices. Being able to take in what I was able to, being with them, was unbelievable."

Kaplan's brothers and his parents will be watching at Bell Centre in Montreal to see if the 18-year-old from Bridgewater, New Jersey, will be selected in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft July 7-8.

Kaplan (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) is No. 61 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the draft, up from 65 in the midterm ranking. He scored 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 53 games for the U.S. National Under-18 team and 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 22 games for the NTDP team in the United States Hockey League.

He had six points (one goal, five assists) in six games for the U.S. at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Championship in Landshut and Kaufbeuren, Germany, held April 23-May 1. The U.S. won the silver medal in the eight-nation tournament, finishing second to Sweden.

"My identity is a big athletic power forward who makes space for other people, but can also produce and make space for myself," said Kaplan, who'll play for Boston University this fall.

Kaplan said he inherited his passion for hockey from his father, Scott, who fell in love with the sport when he was a student at Colgate University. He passed that love onto his three sons, who each took a different path to playing elite-level hockey.

"Devin grew up playing AAA (New Jersey Avalanche), I went to boarding school (at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut) and the middle guy (Jalen) went and played New Jersey high school hockey (Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey)," oldest brother Jordan Kaplan said. "And 'Dev' was going to all those games, so he's basically seen it all, every style of hockey."

Jordan, 25, was a rookie forward for Adirondack, the New Jersey Devils' ECHL affiliate, this season and scored 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 65 games. He scored 58 points (26 goals, 32 assists) in 116 games through three years at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and one at the University of Vermont from 2017-21.

Jalen, 22, completed his senior season with NCAA Division III Colby College in Waterville, Maine, in March. The defenseman had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 40 games from 2018-22.

Despite the three of them being on the go during hockey season, Devin regularly stayed in touch with his brothers and picked up playing tips and insight on being a college and pro player.

"For Jordan, now hockey is like a job," Devin said. "He talked about the trials and tribulations of pro, the emotional stuff, the mental stress. I'd talk to him about my problems, too, whether it was bouncing around the lineup, not knowing where you're going to play that day. He would always tell me, 'You're there, you're playing, just go make the most of it and play.'"

Jordan said he tries to share some of the tricks of the trade "that I wasn't told about growing up, things that give you an advantage or maybe something that a coach might be looking for that a younger kid wouldn't recognize on his own."

"Devin's a sponge," said Jordan, a free agent. "He's a very smart kid and he loves learning. He's been watching hockey a long time. I just tell him little things I know he'll be able to implement, and I think he's been doing a great job, as you can tell."

Devin said Jalen is largely his conversation escape valve from hockey. Jalen went from the rink to Wall Street, working as an analyst for BNY Mellon in New York after earning a bachelor's degree in economics at Colby.

"He loves hockey, but not as much as me and Jordan," Devin said. "With Jalen, for me he's that friend who's there just to talk about anything that's not hockey. He's kind of my escape guy, escape friend that I have."

Still, hockey manages to make its way into their chats.

"I think my message to him is mostly about work ethic," Jalen said. "It's pretty obvious that he has all the physical tools, the size, the skill. I think with him it just comes down to, how bad do you want it? You have to be willing to outwork other people."

USNTP Under-17 coach Nick Fohr said it took Devin some time to get comfortable in the role of power forward.

"The games where he plays the best," Fohr said, "and is most productive for himself and the team, are when he's physical, he's skating hard, he's attacking the net, playing like a power forward, using his big body and his speed to get in front of the net.

"I think it's a hard adjustment for a kid to make at 16, 17 years old, and to be super-consistent. And I think he did it. It got better and better and better as we went."

If Devin continues that upward trajectory at BU, "you're going to see him in the NHL for a long time," Fohr said.

Devin said he's looking forward to attending BU, which has produced NHL power forwards like Mike Grier, a ninth-round round pick (No. 219) by the St. Louis Blues in the 1993 NHL Draft who played 14 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks, and Jordan Greenway, selected by the Minnesota Wild in the second round (No. 50) of the 2015 NHL Draft, and has played five seasons with the Wild.

"I kind of always looked up to Jordan Greenway because he's an African American player and he's from the East Coast (Canton, New York)," Devin said. "So there's kind of a connection there, but it's a coincidence that I'm going to BU."

Photos: USA Hockey, Adirondack Thunder, Colby College