\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNov 25, 2025<\/p>\n
Utica, NY \u2013 Last week prior to the Comets\u2019 Veterans Day matchup against the Crunch, we sat down with Scott Lachance, Director of Amateur Scouting for the New Jersey Devils and the father of Comets’ forward Shane Lachance.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, hockey has been a part of Scott\u2019s life for as long as he can remember. Born in Virginia, Lachance grew up and spent most of his early life in Bristol, CT. His father was from Canada and had a passion for hockey which rubbed off on Scott and his two brothers. Scott\u2019s father had the boys out on their backyard rink at a young age and coached them for much of their childhood.<\/p>\n
It was around the age of 14 when Lachance realized that he might be able to make a career out of playing hockey. He had just started playing for the Hartford Jr. Whalers and was beginning to receive letters from colleges inquiring about campus visits. He said it really hit him a couple years later when he was playing amongst higher competition and started receiving scholarship offers. He ultimately chose to go to Boston University where he would spend just one season. As a Terrier, Lachance played for his future father-in-law, legendary Head Coach Jack Parker, whom he described as a great coach and mentor.<\/p>\n
The following year, Lachance was selected fourth overall in the 1991 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders where he played for eight seasons. While over half of his 819-game NHL career was spent with New York, he also made pit stops in Montreal, Vancouver, and Columbus. He said that his favorite memory was March 5th of 1992, the date of his first career NHL goal. The Islanders were playing the Blackhawks in Chicago and trailing 4-3. Ironically, it was current Devils\u2019 General Manager Tom Fitzgerald who set up Lachance on the goal that tied the game at four, completing a three-goal comeback in a game that ended in a 4-4 tie. Among the other highlights of his career, he says, was beating the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the second round of the 1993 NHL Playoffs and getting to play in front of some of the league\u2019s most passionate fans during his time in Montreal and Vancouver.<\/p>\n
After the 2004-05 NHL Lockout, Lachance played a year in Switzerland\u2019s National League A, the country\u2019s top professional league, the following season. The 2006-07 season was his last, which was spent with the Lowell Devils, the former AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, which served as a springboard to his current role with the organization.<\/p>\n
While Lachance never won a Stanley Cup during his playing career, he says that it has remained one of his main objectives since he started working for the Devils. Currently in his 19th season with the organization, Lachance spent 12 years as an Amateur Scout, six\u00a0years as the Head of US Scouting, and is in his first season as the Director of Amateur Scouting. When asked about his role, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s ever-changing; you go where the players are. Every year it seems to be different. One year you could be in Sweden two or three times, the next year it might be Finland, and from there you might go to western Canada, so we follow the players.\u201d<\/p>\n
In March of 2025, the Devils acquired Shane Lachance from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for facilitating an existing trade between the Oilers and Bruins for forward Trent Frederic. When asked about what it\u2019s been like having his son in the Devils\u2019 organization, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s pretty surreal. He never really saw me play in the NHL, he followed me more as a scout, so he\u2019s always loved watching the Devils and was happy to be traded here. All three of my kids are huge fans, so it\u2019s definitely fun to watch and cheer him on at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The advice Scott gives to Shane and other developing players is to embrace the grind of the AHL. The league, he says, is riddled with high NHL draft picks and a plethora of guys who were never drafted but are highly talented. If you make it a goal to get better every practice and adjust to the speed and strength of the game, you\u2019ll work your way up and opportunities will arise. He added, \u201cI\u2019m proud of what he\u2019s [Shane] done with himself up to this point. It\u2019s a long road for all the kids that are in this position. His dream, like anyone else\u2019s, is to make it to the NHL and stay there and you hope that it comes true. As much as he wanted to make the team out of camp, I told him it\u2019s not a sprint, it\u2019s a marathon. Enjoy the process because it goes by fast. You end up sitting where I am now before you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three days later, Shane was recalled by New Jersey and made his NHL debut on Saturday, November 15th against the Washington Capitals. It was\u00a0a milestone moment in his career and as he continues this marathon of his hockey journey, he can rest assured knowing he\u2019s got an ace in his corner in his father Scott.<\/p>\n
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