NEWARK - Taylor Hall watched the Edmonton Oilers try to rebuild through the draft and youth during his first six seasons in the NHL, but it never led to a playoff berth.

Now in a new situation with the Devils, he sees the team doing something similar, but he's not expecting the same outcome.

While the Devils are also looking internally to keep building the team back into a contender, Hall has more optimism that it can be successful in New Jersey.

"That's what they tried to do in Edmonton. It didn't quite work out, but I think the drafting here, if you look at the track record the past couple years, there's some pretty good players already," Hall said. "That's exciting for me, that's exciting for our organization."

Hall was drafted with the first overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft by Edmonton, and he was the first of three straight top overall picks for the Oilers. But despite the good draft position and adding prospects, the Oilers are still searching for a way to snap a now 10-season playoff drought.

With the Oilers sending Hall to the Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson -- someone who filled a big need for the Oilers -- Hall joins another group trying to make a playoff push. Hall sees what's around him on the Devils, and he's optimistic.

"I like to think of myself still as a young guy, I'm 24. So playing with guys around your age group is great," Hall said. "I think what we've seen from guys like (Reid) Boucher and (Joseph) Blandisi, hopefully we can take a step for the team next year."

While Hall might be in the same age bracket, the three-time all star certainly has a leg up on the Devils' younger talent and will be leaned on immediately.

But those Devils looking to join Hall understand the challenge in front of them.

"If we look across the league, it's a lot of young guys making big booms now," Blandisi said. "So it's up to us to help the team score goals and bring the energy night in and night out. You want to be consistent, and I think that's something I need to work on."

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