James Nichols
It’s just the first game of the preseason, so the wins and losses don’t matter. What does matter is how the players battling for a roster spot are performing. Yes, the New Jersey Devils lost to their rival on Sunday afternoon, however, as bad as it sounds, there’s certainly some good to take away, too.
Amid the first taste of preseason action, we didn’t see much of the Devils’ regulars. What the people in New Jersey came to see was the first look at Arseniy Gritsyuk, and how a couple of the younger guys like Ethan Edwards or perhaps Juho Lammikko look as bubble roster players.
So, we won’t focus so much on regulars who we know will be in the lineup, like Paul Cotter or Cody Glass—although the latter had an egregious neutral zone turnover in the second period that led to a goal. Let’s hope Glass got that out of the way early.
Instead, let’s look at some of the more uncertainties that could use come answers.
Best Devils
Luke Glendening
If you want to see what consistency looks like, Luke Glendening is that guy.
I think there’s a real chance he earns an NHL contract to remain in New Jersey. He’s not a flashy player in any sense. He’s a defensive-minded forward who brings that veteran-like structure.
It was a real good look for Glendening when he transitioned the puck to the offensive zone in the first period, threw a shot on goal, and hustled back to the neutral zone and met the puck carrier heading towards the Devils’ end of the ice and negated the play.
It’s little things like that, plus winning 71.4% of his face-offs (10/14), that are going to earn Glendining a contract, and he did all of that on Sunday.
Ethan Edwards
He took a slashing penalty halfway through the first period. However, the overall game looked solid.
Ethan Edwards’ foot-speed passes the test. He’s able to stay with puck carriers and positions himself against them well to keep attackers to the perimeter. He has an active defensive stick as well, and—as we saw in the Prospect Challenge—is unafraid to lay the body.
He’s not going to impress you offensively, but there’s a steady defensive defenseman there who has an outside chance to earn time in the NHL out of camp.
Arseniy Gritsyuk
The shoot-first mentality should pay off.
Our first look at Gritsyuk is an encouraging one, leading the Devils in shots with six, a goal and two points.
Again, it’s just the preseason, and he’s not your average rookie at 24 years old after playing professionally in Russia. However, there is a lot to like about his game.
As mentioned, Gritsyuk doesn’t hesitate to shoot, and he mostly hits the net. He’s unafraid to g to the corners and work for pucks. The skating looks good, too, as he carries the puck in transition. He even set up Cotter for a sweet goal in the second period.
If he can continue to trend this way, perhaps there’s a player to round out the Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt line.
Grain of salt, it’s just the preseason.
Brian Halonen
I still don’t understand how Brian Halonen hasn’t secured a regular job as a fourth line forward with the Devils.
He regularly leads the Utica Comets in goals for the last few seasons. He’s a perfectly fine skater at the NHL level. And he’s a hard player to play against as a hardworking checking forward. Plus, he’s a solid 6-foot, 210-lbs.
He opened the scoring for the Devils on the power play after they were down 1-0 in the first period with an absolute missile from above the left face-off circle that Jonathan Quick couldn’t handle.
You wanna be harder to play against with more depth scoring? Insert Brian Halonen.
Worst Devils
Calen Addison
Calen Addison was one time a 30-point NHL defenseman who appeared to have a somewhat promising future. And then it was all downhill from there.
Perhaps what we saw in our first glimpse of him in a Devils jersey is why.
Addison can move the puck in transition, but his first pass is questionable. In the defensive zone, Addison struggles with physicality and is easily pushed off pucks. He especially struggled at the net-front, and instead of moving bodies out, he was the one pushed aside.
Nico Daws
For a guy who wants to ensure a full-time NHL role, you want Nico Daws to stop the easy pucks. However, the first shot he faced when he took over for Jake Allen in the second period beat him due to poor positioning, and not fully hugging the post.
What followed wasn’t completely his fault. There were a couple of goals that went past Daws due to poor defensive coverage. He was blinded by his own teammate, Dmitry Osipov on the Rangers’ fourth goal of the game.
However, Daws is a candidate to be claimed on waivers once the Devils have to eventually make cuts. If he keeps playing like that, perhaps he will get through unclaimed.
Then what?
