New Jersey Devils defenseman, Brett Pesce, suffered an injury on Thursday night against the New York Rangers that saw him miss the third period of the 3-1 preseason win.
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Pesce, 30, blocked two shots at the end of the second period that appeared to make him uncomfortable. However, the nature of Pesce’s injury is currently unknown.
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe explained after the game that he had no update on Pesce. On Friday morning, Pesce was missing from practice with the NHL group of players, and Dennis Cholowski skated in his place.
In a post on X Thursday night, Pesce’s father, Brian Pesce, claimed that the Devils defenseman will, “be fine.”
On Friday morning, Keefe explained to the Devils media, “No real update [on Pesce], just continuing to be evaluated. That’s really it… We’re waiting on it. He’ll be skating later today, but in terms of impact on next week, we’ll see.”
Pesce wasn’t the only injured defenseman missing from both groups on Friday morning. Seamus Casey has been absent for the last few days, dealing with a lower-body injury. Keefe’s update on the top rookie prospect was less than encouraging.
In 72 games last season, Pesce scored three goals and 17 assists.
“[I’m] not expecting to see Casey back on skates in the near future,” Keefe said. “He’s had something nagging him … We shut him down to give him an opportunity to heal and be feeling good about it, and not something that will hinder him throughout the season. The exact [timeline], we’re not quite sure on that. It won’t be in the near future.”
Casey was a key contributor in limited minutes for the Devils in 2024-25, scoring four goals and eight points in 14 games.
Stefan Noesen was on the ice with the second group in full gear and no jersey on that indicated he couldn’t take contact. However, Keefe explained Noesen is not close to playing. Additionally, Juho Lammikko will be out with an injury within the near future.
The Devils are set to open their season on October 9th against the Carolina Hurricanes. Time will tell if Pesce, a key piece to the Devils’ top-four, will be on the ice. It’s certainly worth monitoring, considering he’s Luke Hughes’ defensive partner.
