The Devils ran their annual development camp last week, giving fans a brief glimpse into the club's future.
Or, in a few cases, perhaps their present.
New Jersey has suffered a mild exodus of depth players this offseason, as forwards Michael Grabner, Patrick Maroon, Brian Gibbons and Jimmy Hayes plus defenseman John Moore all bid adieu for greener pastures in free agency.
To be fair, Devils general manager Ray Shero reportedly offered Maroon nearly double the $1.75 million he accepted to play in his hometown of St. Louis.
Still, Shero has not yet opted to go outside the organization to replenish his roster. At his news conference Wednesday, Shero didn't rule out grabbing another veteran à la Hayes or Lee Stempniak (from three years ago) on a training camp tryout, but he would be reluctant to do so if there wasn't a real opportunity for that player.
So it stands to reason that at least a few of the 33 prospects who participated in the club's glorified day camp will get a real shot at earning a big-league paycheck this season.
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Assuming Shero encounters no issues in re-signing the Devils' four core restricted free agents, I would guess that the team has room to add two youngsters from this group.
Devils coach John Hynes told the media prior to Saturday's scrimmage at the Barnabas Health Hockey House that the camp "was not a tryout, but they do leave an impression."
Here are some of my impressions and very early predictions as to who you should look to for a breakout training camp in September:
1) The Devils And Joey Anderson Seem Like A Perfect Match
The 20-year-old has "Devils" written all over him. I see him as one of Hynes' "identity players." He plays bigger than his 5-foot-11, 190-pound listing, hard on pucks and in board battles. As a very responsible defensive player, he tends to get lost out there on some shifts. However, he has shown a knack for producing in big moments, captaining NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth and bronze medal-winner Team USA at the World Junior Championships last season. The Devils are short on right wings, which makes me believe he has the best odds of anyone at the camp to make the opening night lineup,
2) John Quenneville Vs. Mike McLeod
The Devils' 2014 and 2016 first-round picks need to make a statement at training camp. Quenneville earned a brief callup at the end of the desultory 2016-17 campaign before dressing just twice last season. The Athletic's Corey Masisak reported that the Devils were not very happy with Quenneville's shape and conditioning. Injuries also set him back last season. Quenneville, who missed the scrimmage (personal matter), has a terrific shot that could boost the Devils' second power play unit from one of the wings.
But can he beat out McLeod, who had a dispiriting training camp experience a year ago? A natural center, McLeod might find his opportunity as a wing, with Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha, Travis Zajac and Brian Boyle entrenched in the middle. McLeod has the size and the head for the game. Does he have the will?
May the best man win.
3) Jesper Bratt 2.0?
If you're looking for a candidate to star in the sequel to the Jesper Bratt Story, in which an unheralded, sixth-round draft pick somehow managed to find himself not only on the Devils' roster, but soon after on the top line with Hischier and Taylor Hall, maybe it will be written by Brett Seney. The similarly diminutive 22-year-old from Merrimack College was, in my view, the most dynamic forward in Saturday's otherwise lackluster scrimmage. Seney, who recorded eight points in his 12 games at AHL Binghamton after his college season ended, is an absolute longshot to make it to New Jersey out of training camp, but we probably said the same thing about Bratt last year, if we knew him at all then.
4) The Devils Will Not Rush Ty Smith
Fans always flock to the shiny new object. In the Devils' case, that is Smith, their first-round selection (17th overall) in June's draft. Smith has a bit of Will Butcher in him when it comes to hockey sense and the ability to extricate the puck out of difficult situations with a pass. However, Shero abides by the dictum that one should never keep a young player up as an extra when he could be playing every night at a lower level. I believe Smith just needs to mature physically before he can break through into the Devils' mediocre blueline pairings. Unless he wows management at training camp, I predict it's back to juniors for Smith. As for the fans, they got their wows when Smith recorded a hat trick at the scrimmage.
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