Why Devils' Michael McLeod wants to make jump to NHL next season

NEWARK -- When Devils prospect Michael McLeod was ejected from Game 4 of the OHL finals for a major slashing penalty, his Mississauga Steelhead teammates didn't know what to do.

McLeod, the Devils' first-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, carried his team throughout the postseason, culminating a brilliant second half. Mississauga had plenty of other talented players, but fellow Devils prospect Nathan Bastian said it was still strange to trudge on without McLeod.

"And all of a sudden everyone's looking down the bench," Bastian recalled. "'Where's Mikey? What do we do now?'"

Mississauga's playoff run ended one game later, and while McLeod had an early exit from one game, he capped off his season…