NJ Devils 5 Main Takeaways From Training Camp & Preseason

NJ Devils 5 Main Takeaways From Training Camp & Preseason

Welcome back Devils fans. It is your host Ace here on Running with the Devils where we are talking New Jersey Devils hockey all year long. Please hit that subscribe button, smash the like, share with a friend. Thank you very much. And we’re almost here, guys. Tomorrow will mark the start of the 2526 NHL regular season for our beloved New Jersey Devils. I am fired up. Lots to be excited about. New year, team looking to bounce back from the underwhelming year that was last season. And it starts right back where it all ended in Raleigh, North Carolina against the Canes. Hopefully we could start the season with a big performance there and kind of ease some of the pain. Obviously a regular season win is not going to erase a playoff devastation, but it’d be a nice way to start the season. But I thought I would come on here today to talk about my five main takeaways from the Devils training camp and preseason. And there was a lot to talk about throughout this time period. some exciting things and I am very positive on the season. Unlike many of you who live in constant negativity and dwell in just bad ju guu and omens, uh I’m coming into the season very positive. But I will start with my number five on the list of my main takeaways thus far and it is the depth is beautiful. Oh yes, my friends, the depth is absolutely beautiful on both offense and defense. We’re already seeing it come into play a little bit with the injuries, but the depth is there. Last season, we saw a lackluster bottom six rotation that featured guys that were mostly fringe AHL players, and you saw what happened. Uh, was not pretty. We have plenty of guys on the blue line and up front that I believe are near NHL ready. In terms of defenseman, we all know Sheamus Casey. He looks like he’s going to be a player in this league for one team or another. He will be a player in this league. believe his path to the NHL currently slightly blocked on the Devils because of this amazing depth. But Sheamus Casey is a guy that is going to be damn good. I really believe Sheamus Casey is going to be a player. And we also have Ethan Edwards. Ethan Edwards, I believe, is going to be an NHL contributor as well. Hopefully with this New Jersey Devils club hopefully in due time. I don’t want to see someone injured and see Edwards thrown out there, but I do believe he’s close to ready. He’s going to be in Udica for this season playing with the Comets along with some of our other prospects. But just Casey and Edwards alone is a nice luxury to have along with Dennis Chilowski. A lot of people criticize that move when Fitz made it. But in this league, you need to be deep. And on the blue line, we have plenty of guys that are capable of stepping into the lineup when injuries inevitably occur. We already saw it in the preseason a little bit. Peshi is going to be good to go for opening night, which is great news. So, we will not have to rely on further defensive depth. But we lost Kovvich and it doesn’t seem like this team is going to skip a beat on the blue line. And then obviously up front, my two most exciting prospects that I think are near NHL ready as well. Shane Lechance and Lenny Hamo. They both look like they could be contributors at this level as well. I think one or both of them will be called upon when injuries inevitably occur. It just seems like that. Lovely chance. I’ve talked about him. I might do a separate video on him. But the depth is great, guys. and you need it to be a good team and you need it to go far in the playoffs. Injuries obviously happen and we have guys waiting in the wings on both offense and defense that I believe can step in and help this New Jersey Devils club. We get to number four. The bottom six will produce this season. Oh yes, my friends, the bottom six is going to score goals and it is going to be beautiful. Last season, we saw a situation where, again, due to lack of depth. Bottom six featured a lot of guys that would not see NHL time regularly on other clubs. And it’s unfortunate. It was the situation we were in. We saw a bunch of guys given a game or two as an audition. No one really ran with the opportunity. And the bottom six just was not getting it done and was not good enough, quite frankly. And on nights when the top dogs were struggling a little bit, the bottom six did nothing to bail us out. And it was super unfortunate and one of the many pain points of the 24-25 season. But we look at the scoring from last season. The big dogs were the big dogs. Obviously Brad had 88 points in 81 games played. Jack had 70 points in 62. Nico, Mr. Consistency, 69 points in 75 games. Teemo had 53 and 80. But then we start looking right um at the bottom six and Nason wasn’t in the bottom six all season, but decent season for Nason after starting off hot, super hot. He had 41 points in 78. But if you look at the guys that were really mostly bottom six, Mercer with 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 82 games. I mean, not terrible, but obviously I think this is a big season for Dawson Mercer. He’s going to get a lot of opportunity. Top six minutes, power play time. I’m looking for a big season out of the dog. Uh, but Paulie Carter 16 and six for 22 points in 79 games. I love Paul Carter bringing the hits. Set the single season Devils hit record last year. Love to see that. But then guys like Holla, you know, and I like Eric Holla, but 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in 69 games. Not getting it done. Tomas Tatar, seven goals, 10 assists for 17 points in 74 games. Not getting it done. Nathan Bastion, 59 games played, four goals, six assists for 10 points. Not getting it done. Justin Dalling, 52 games played, two goals, five assists for seven points. Clearly not getting it done. And you know, not to bash these guys, but it is what it is. You know, last year it was just underwhelming. Curtis Lazar, love him as a as a man. loved them on the Devils, but 48 games played, two goals, three assists for five points. We’re going to need more. We’re absolutely going to need more. Uh the deadline acquisition of Daniel Sprung that many people celebrated uh for whatever reason, but 11 games and he had two assists. And then you see, you know, the Hardman’s of these guys that got a couple games. Hardman, Mccclaclin, Nolan Foot, Shane Bowers, Nathan Leari. I like him. I think he could be a guy we might see at some point if there’s injuries. But bottom line is when you look at the scoring, just simply not good enough and not even close to being good enough. And I do think we are going to see a different bottom six this season. We’ve already seen two duos that could potentially find some nice chemistry and do some damage throughout the year. First one being Connor Brown and Andre Palott. Obviously Palot is a somewhat polarizing figure for Devils fans. I do like Andre Palot a lot. Obviously, I wish we were paying him less than the six million bucks, which is where I think most of the criticism towards him derives from. But in a bottom six role with a guy like Brown, can we see a resurgence of Andre Palot? Can we get an energized Andre Palot in the bottom six who is a meaningful impact player for this team with Connor Brown? I think it could definitely happen. Two veteran players that I think have a lot of experience, have that fire to win. I’m looking for them to be a nice duo throughout the season. And one of the reasons the bottom six should look much better this season. Really should. And then the other one is the most exciting one. And now we don’t know how long this is going to stay together for obviously due to other variables. But the duo of Paul Carter and Arceni Gritsuk is looking lethal. Oh, it looks so good. Now a lot of people are going, “Oh, I hope Gritsuk ends up in the top six, blah blah blah.” And if that ends up happening, then so be it, right? If that ends up happening, great for him and hopefully he makes the best of the opportunity. But as it stands right now, he’s gonna start in the bottom six. And him and Carter have been deadly. They’ve worked really well together. They both have great speed. I think they both truly have top six skill. Now, whether they both could regularly play in the top six remains to be seen. It seems like Carter has been kind of earmarked for a bottom six role, and I’m okay with that. I love Pauliey’s game. He brings that sandpaper, that intensity, throws the hits. filthy filthy hands on Paul Carter as all of you know he could finish in a lot of different ways and just has that explosive offensive upside. Him and Gritsuk together I think is going to run absolutely wild on fourth lines all season long or for as long as they stay together going to be matchup nightmares. Fourth liners going against the Devils are going to be like what the hell is this? Because we have two guys that are like I said top six skill level. Top six skill level and we saw them connect multiple times in the preseason. bottom six. I am very excited for it. It was a muchneeded improvement and I do think with the way the team is formed right now, we are going to see actual production from the bottom six and regularly and I’m looking forward to it. Gritsuk and Carter, what a what a duo. What an absolute duo. And we get to my number three takeaway and that is special teams will be lethal again. The special teams an amazing strength of your 24-25 New Jersey Devils and I believe the trend will continue. Last season, the Devils were third in the league on the power play at 28.2%, trailing only the Golden Knights at 28.3% and the Jets at 28.9. They were right there top three power play in the league. I expect that to be the case once again. And when you look at the units that the Devils have on the power play, let’s talk about this. Power play one, courtesy of Amanda Stein on X earlier today. Power play one. Luke, Jack, Nico, Brat, and Mercer. What a lethal lethal power play one. Luke getting that quarterback position. A lot of people were kind of wondering whether it was going to be Douggee spot on power play one or it’s going to be Luke. It looks like for now it will be Luke with brother Jack, Nico, Brat, and Mercer. And this is going to be fun to watch. Absolutely going to be fun to watch. And I believe they’re going to do significant damage throughout the season on the man advantage with power play one. And then we get to power play two. Power play two also lethal. Douggee Hamilton, team Omire, Andre Palot, Arseni, Gritsuk, and Afghani Danov. What a beautiful power play two. I think they’re going to produce as well. I hope they do get more than like 30 seconds. It seems like last year a lot power play one would stay out there forever. And I, you know, I get it. It makes sense. But I hope they get a little more time than we’ve seen in recent times. But Douggee Meyer, Pla, Gritsuk, and Daddov, I think that power play unit is capable of doing tons of damage. And when you look at the two units, I mean, what do you do as an opposing team on the penalty kill? There’s not much you could do. The Devils could just keep bringing that pressure. And I’m expecting to see it all season long. And I expect the power play to once again be a massive strength to this club. Now, hopefully they’re not heavily relying on it like we saw last year. Even strength, five on-5 scoring was an Achilles heel for this team. It cannot continue if they have aspirations of being a very good hockey club and going deep in the playoffs. You must be able to score five on five and I’m hoping this year’s team is able to do it. But you also have to capitalize when you’re on the power play and I think this team will certainly be capable of doing just that. But five on five scoring, hopefully it picks up. I think it will. I do think the overall lineup is much more balanced. I think we’re going to see scoring from all four lines throughout the season and I’m pumped for it. But the power play, good luck to the opposition. And then the penalty kill last year was amazing. Devils second in the league at 82.7% on the PK, trailing only the Hurricanes with 83.6%. Everyone’s back. I expect another great year on the penalty kill for this club. I think the PK picks up right where they left off last year and they’re going to be damn good. I am looking forward to seeing what we do short-handed and hopefully we get a couple shorties this year. I’d love to see some offense created uh while short-handed, but in the end, penalty kill will be another big big element for this Devils club. And hopefully they just keep keep it going right where they left off last year. I think special teams definite strength for the team once again this season, but hopefully they’re not overrelying on it. You got to pick up that five on scoring, but special teams is something to be excited about. Number two, Arceni Gritsuk may be the real deal. Oh, my friends, Arini Gritsuk, the highly talked about, touted prospect that we drafted years ago, finally coming over to North America after a stint in the KHL. And lots of people have grand grand hopes and dreams for this kid. I hope he fulfills all of them. But you look, last year in the KHL with St. Petersburg, almost a point per game, 17 goals, 27 assists for 44 points in 49 games. A lot of people are already screaming top six, top six prior to training camp. And I do think the training camp in preseason has only added to the kind of grits hype train, but so far it seems like the hype is real. This kid has speed. He’s got hands. Seems like a great locker room kind of guy. Seems like he’s willing to do extra work. He’s posted on Telegram on his off days. He’s shooting pucks wherever he is. He’s posting all sorts of other interesting stuff that people are loving. But it’s hard not to fall in love with a guy like this. He’s hungry. He wants to win. He wants to do well. And thus far in the preseason, he seems, as advertised, five games in the preseason, he has two goals and two assists for four points, 12 shots in the five games, 2.4 shots a game. Can he keep it up in this regular season? I mean, wow. 8 points a game through five preseason games. Again, I’m not going to put too much stock into it. It is preseason, but a lot of people were like, uh, you know, the sky’s is the limit for this kid. Top six, he’s going to get 70 points. I’ve seen some wild predictions around Arensi Gritsuk. Some of them I think are somewhat unrealistic and kind of, you know, unfair, I think, for an NHL rookie coming over from the KHL. But I have high hopes for him. And I think at a minimum he is going to do damage in the bottom six as long as he stays there. And I certainly believe he does have the potential to play his way into the top six. Whether that’s because of injury or guys struggling, we may see him get his shot with Jack and Brad. We saw it for the one preseason game. It wasn’t anything too spectacular obviously, but small sample size. Does he end up with Jack and Brad at some point? Do they try him with Nico and Teemo? We don’t know. But all I do know is that this kid will be lethal, I think, wherever he plays in the lineup. It seems like wherever he gets slotted, he will certainly create and cause nightmares for the opposition. Looking forward to Arseni Gritsuk. I personally would be thrilled with a 40point season from him in the bottom six role with some of that power play two time. If he somehow creeps into the top six for any significant stretches of the season and with that power play time, I would not be shocked if he’s able to sniff 60 points. I mean, again, very lofty aspirations for a rookie, but I think it would be possible given those scenarios. But I’ll be thrilled with 2020 out of him, you know, 25 and 15, however you want to slice it up. 40 points in a true bottom six role with a little power play time I think would be phenomenal for a rookie, but we’ll see. I am pumped about this kid. I know many of you are. It seems like the sky is the limit. He is looking like the real deal and I think he is going to be a key factor for this Devils club throughout the season. And then I get to the number one takeaway from the preseason and training camp and that is the time to win is now. The time to win is now. Not a new narrative or thought from your boy Ace. I have said the time to win is now for the past few seasons. I’m not going to get into the weeds of, you know, the moves that were made or not made. But in the end, it seems as though the organization realizes the window is truly open and the time to win is now. Fitzy was able to bring Jake Allen back on a super team friendly deal. Shout out to Jake Allen for just being an absolute legend and signing for 1.8 eight times 5 years when there was rumors of teams willing to pay him $4 or5 million in the summer because of the weak goalie market and not a lot of options out there. Tons of teams are going to be interested in him. He wants to stay in New Jersey. He likes it here with his family. He likes the Devils. Wants to try to win another cup. And so Jake Allen, absolute legend. But bringing him in on that kind of deal with Marky here as the other tandem guy for this season and there’s been talks from Fitz of extending Jacob Marstrom. I’m not worried about the age. I know a lot of you are kind of worried about two old goalenders. I’m not worried about that. Kind of a topic for another day. But in the end, going with a veteran tandem like these two guys for the foreseeable future. You know, Marky’s here for all this season. Even if he gets a one-year deal, that’s still two years minimum of these two guys. And I think Marky will probably end up getting a two-year deal if I’m being honest. So then you’re looking at a world of Jake Allen and Marky for this 25 26 season. Next season 26 27. and then the following season 27 28 these are aging goalenders that are going to be a great asset to a win now team win now a lot of the core is right in their prime years we’ve brought in some more veterans which I do like I always have said I do think true Stanley Cup contending teams are a nice blend of kind of the prime years players which most you know our core is with some veterans and then a couple young guys um and I’m liking the makeup of this team. I really do. With the core in place, with some of the vets we already had, guys like Dilly, Nason, Peshy, to now inject three more veterans. Three veterans were brought in this offseason in the form of Connor Brown. Lots of playoff experience coming off of back-to-back trips to the cup finals with the Oilers. He must hate the Panthers, by the way. Connor Brown must absolutely hate the Panthers. But Connor Brown, Afghani Ddanov, and Luke Glendenning, that is a wealth of experience and knowledge. And adding those three guys to the leadership group of a team that already had a few of those guys along with Andre Palad, obviously, it is now a more seasoned lineup. It does not feel like those kidish, you know, youth devils anymore. Doesn’t feel like that anymore. Jack going into his seventh season. Brder and Nico going into their ninth. I mean, these guys are vets now themselves. And now when you have guys like Brown, Donovan, Glenn Denning brought in, it just seems like it’s coming together to kind of get that perfect mixture of the types of guys you need to go deep in the playoffs and win a cup. And I do believe this team is firmly capable of winning a cup in the next few seasons. I really do. Obviously, we have to stay healthy. A lot of other things have to go right. Some guys have to overachieve a little bit, but in the end, you need a degree of luck to win a cup. A lot of things have to go your way. It’s not always just the best team on paper that wins. You need a lot to happen for you to win the cup. But I feel like this team is almost there. If I’m being perfectly honest, obviously I would probably be in love with this team with the addition of a big skilled top six gritty kind of winger to play with Jack and Brad. But let’s see how Donov does. I mean, a lot of people are already, you know, complaining about that. And I am just all sunshines and rainbows right now, guys. The puck hasn’t dropped on opening game. While I would have liked to see that big top six guy brought in in the summer, we all knew it was going to be hard. The cap space is what it was. But I do like this team overall. It feels a little different to me from seeing the interviews and reading all the things from camp uh and after the preseason games and the team just has a little bit of a different swagger to me. And for that reason with a new season, I am extremely optimistic. I’m trying not to get completely ahead of myself and yada yada. It does happen to me often and I am always excited at the beginning of a year, but this one does truly feel a little different and I do think the time to win is now. It seems like the organization is making some moves to kind of put us on that path. And who knows if this team is playing well towards the deadline. Maybe Fitz does go out there and look to make a big move to bring in an impact player for the playoff run. I would love to see it. I would absolutely love to see it and I think it’s definitely in the cards, but this team has to perform. But I’m liking the the vibes I’m getting from the team. It seems like they’re taking a little bit of a more business serious approach. Uh and we’re gonna see how it goes. But overall, uh I’m very excited for Puck Drop tomorrow. I’m jacked for the season. I’m jacked to be back here with you guys for the postgame lives. If you’re not familiar with those, check out the live tab. I do a post postgame show after the postgame goes off the air on MSG where we talk about the game and bring up some of your comments and respond to those and all that sort of fun stuff. It’s been a nice fun community we’ve built for the most part uh with most of you. Uh so check that out if you haven’t seen that. But in the end guys, I am fired up. A new season of Devils hockey is upon us. And in summary, my five biggest takeaways, depth is beautiful. The bottom six will produce this season. Special teams will be lethal again. Gritsuk may be the real deal. And the time to win is now. My five main takeaways from training camp and preseason. And I’m fired up. I Oh man, I can’t wait for tomorrow. It cannot come soon enough. Returning to the House of Horrors in Raleigh. I want to beat those guys so bad. I want to beat them so bad. I’ve hated the Canes for so long. Second most hated team only to the New York Rangers. Uh in unrelated notes, thought I’d bring this up. Sportsminded Unlimited, for those in New Jersey or close enough to New Jersey to make the trip, is doing a dual signing, a dual signing from the the folks at Sportsminded Unlimited, the greatest place for New Jersey Devil signings. I have been going there for years. Emily, who runs the shop, is amazing. Great store. They are getting Douggee and Dawson Mercer on Sunday, October 19th from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. It is $120 for the combo ticket which gets you an autograph from both Douggee Hamilton and Dawson Mercer. You can buy extra things uh to get signed. They have stuff to get signed there. You could purchase, you could bring your own stuff. Amazing atmosphere. They do it the best. I’ve been to millions of signings in my life and a lot of them kind of rush you through and it’s kind of a chaotic cattle herd type thing. Uh not at Sportsminded. Great experience. You get up to the table, you’re able to talk to the players for a little bit. Nothing too crazy. Don’t be sitting there trying to tell them your life story, but you have a nice little interaction with the players. They sign your item, you can take a photo with them, they take it on your phone. Great setup. Couldn’t be better. Highly recommend. So, check that out if you’re a collector or want to meet the players. Douggee and Dawson at Sportsminded on the 19th, 12 to 2 p.m. I will put a link in the description to get tickets. Uh, should be another great event at Sportsminded. And wow, fired up, kids. fired up. Tomorrow it all begins. The long road to hopefully Stanley Cup number four. But I said a lot in this video. Let me know in the comments what you think about anything I said. Anything, everything New Jersey Devils hockey, throw it out there in the comments. I enjoy talking to most of you. Let’s have a good season, kids. Let’s have a good season. The 25 26 New Jersey Devils. High hopes. High hopes. I’ll be back soon. Tons of things in the works. Keep it locked. Keep it locked on Running with the Devils. We will be back with lots of stuff throughout the season and very soon my season preview predictions. Big long video will be coming out tomorrow. Been working on that. That’s all I got for you guys. That’s all I have for you now. I’ll be back soon. Thank you all for watching. I love you all. Like, comment, subscribe, and all that jazz. Until next time, friends. Let’s go. [Applause]

The New Jersey Devils will open up their 2025-2026 tomorrow in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

There is a lot to be excited about for us NJ Devils fans heading into this season.

In this video I discuss my 5 Main Takeaways from Training Camp and Preseason.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Get your tickets for the Dougie Hamilton and Dawson Mercer signing at Sports Minded Unlimited below:
https://www.sportsmindedunlimited.com/event-details/dougie-dawson-public-signing-1

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