Earlier this evening, the Las Vegas Golden Knights announced their initial roster during the 2017 NHL Awards Ceremony. They would do so throughout the night, announcing their thirty selections in four groups. The New Jersey Devils faithful wondering who the Knights would take did not have to wait long. In their first group of selections to be announced, defenseman Jon Merrill was named as being selected by the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
The Devils decided to protect four defensemen and four skaters along with Cory Schneider. Merrill was one of multiple defensemen exposed along with Ben Lovejoy and Dalton Prout.