Devils prospect Nathan Bastian started playing center in the second half of the season with the Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL, and New Jersey liked what it saw.

The move to playing some center took longer than the Devils expected. Before the Devils drafted Bastian as a right wing with 41st overall pick in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Mississauga coaches told the Devils Bastian was in their center plans for the start of the season.

But once Bastian made the move in the second half, Devils Director of Amateur Scouting Paul Castron saw a natural transition.

"He seemed to look really comfortable doing it," Castron told NJ Advance Media. "He's a big body with great reach and range, very effective down low protecting the puck, and he also has the smarts to make plays off the rush."

Castron said the Devils drafted him with the projection of being a winger once he turns pro, but playing some center now will give Bastian a chance to show what he can do in the middle and show him what he needs to improve.

"Maybe he will have a chance to be a center down the road," Castron said. "To do that, he will need to improve his foot speed. Think he made some progress there, but in the NHL or pro hockey in general, the centermen really have to be able to move on both ends of the ice."

Even if Bastian does remain as a winger throughout his development, having the versatility and knowledge to step into the middle at a moment's notice helps, too. Castron said gaining some experience there now will take away any shock of stepping into the middle down the road.

Playing some more center also helped Bastian close the 2016-17 season with a strong second half. He missed a few weeks with a knee injury in the middle of the season, and like fellow 2016 draft pick and Mississauga teammate, Michael McLeod, Bastian got off to a slow start.

But he surged at the end of the season to finish with 16 goals and 29 assists in 58 regular-season games. He carried that play into the playoffs where he finished with seven goals and seven assists in 20 games to help the Steelheads reach the OHL finals.

Castron also credited some of the team's success to Bastian moving to the middle.

"Like Mikey, he also had a bit of a rough start, and you also have to tack on the injury, but he came on real strong and was a big factor in the playoffs," Castron said. "Really him playing center, instead of them being a one-line team, they became a two-line team, and just gave them more depth. I think he really enjoyed it and had some success there."

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.