Shane Lachance
Lachance is a big, well-regarded 22-year-old prospect getting a real look on a crowded Devils fourth line in camp and preseason, but he still looks more likely to open the season with AHL Utica than to hold a full-time NHL roster spot.
Role
In New Jersey's first two preseason games (NHL.com previews, Sept. 20 and Sept. 24, 2026), Lachance skated on the fourth line, first flanking Ryan Schmelzer with Cam Squires (vs. Islanders, Sept. 20), then on a Lachance-Schmelzer-McLaughlin unit (vs. Rangers, Sept. 24). No power-play unit placement for him has been reported. He is one of several players (alongside Rodrigues, Boqvist, Noesen and Amadeus Lombardi) competing for the final bottom-six wing spots, per NHL.com's 'Five Questions for Camp' piece, Sept. 16, 2026.
He is a 6-foot-4 college captain whom GM Tom Fitzgerald has publicly praised alongside fellow prospects Gritsyuk and Hameenaho as players with 'NHL upside' who could 'make it hard' on the club to send them down; he has drawn a fourth-line assignment in both of the Devils' first preseason games rather than being buried in extra-camp scrimmages.
He spent last season (2025-26) mostly in the AHL with Utica, by his own description at rookie camp (Sept. 11-14, 2026) a 'rollercoaster' year that included only a short NHL recall before being sent back down; a Yahoo Sports projected-lineup piece from July 2026 slotted him only in the organizational depth tier behind Tufte, Lombardi, Steeves and Bjugstad, and he is fighting a genuinely deep bottom six that includes a healthy Stefan Noesen returning from an injury-shortened 2025-26.
Where analysts split
The specific question is whether Lachance's fourth-line preseason reps translate into an opening-night NHL roster spot, or whether he begins 2026-27 back in Utica once cap-strapped New Jersey sorts out its bottom six. The Hockey Writers and Yardbarker have argued the Devils should give him a long look and let him claim a fourth-line job, while more conservative depth-chart projections from July 2026 still pencil him in as an AHL or depth option rather than a lock.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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