Today’s blog picture in honor of Stanley Cup winner Jason Arnott
First and foremost, Happy New Year to all and may 2021 bring you health and prosperity.
Here we are, the long wait is over. Camp is here. Coach Lindy Ruff, who is one of many new faces, kicked off camp as any other camp. The Devils, one of the few teams to kick off camp early, will benefit from the extra time.
I am excited when I look at the camp roster. So many faces and so many questions will be answered in the weeks ahead.
A few story lines I am following any looking forward to see evolve; Nothing new on Hischier injury but at this stage doesn’t seem anything to worry about. I am curious to see how Hischier and Hughes continue to develop this coming year. Very exciting to see those two as our top centers.
Bratt’s lack of a contract is surprising to me. He needs and will be signed.
The D was an issue last year. At times they looked like a minor league D. Assuming Seversen, Subban (who absolutely needs to be better), Butcher, Murray and Kulikov are the top guys who grabs the last spot? Ty Smith will be given every opportunity to crack the lineup and Connor Carrick could be pushed out by some youth. Looking forward to see if any of Okhotyuk, Tennyson, White, Maltsev, Walsh or Jacobs could surprise.
At forward there should be a few spots for grabs especially since Hischier and Bratt are out at the moment. Gusev wa sa bright spot last year. Does he continue to improve? I want to see what Johnsson will bring to the table. A fresh start was exactly what he needed.
Of the rookies I am curious to see Foote, Koukkanen and Sharangovich. To me they are a threat to crack. Macleod, I believe he has been pushed down and a role player could be his role. I see him similar to Zacha as his expectations hasn’t been met and he will need to work harder to stick. Or be used as a trade bait.
Blackwood signed and Crawford ready for a new challenge, I do see them close to a tandem this coming year. Yes, it’s Blackwood’s net but Crawford wasn’t brought in to sit the bench.
I’ll check in a few days with more notes as camp continues.