New Jersey Devils: Michael McLeod Needs Another Year In Juniors
The New Jersey Devils sent Michael McLeod back to Mississauga after he came off injured reserve. It was the right decision for his development.
The New Jersey Devils have a problem nobody really expected this early in the season. With the unexpected early return of Travis Zajac, there are too many good forwards on the roster. That means Michael McLeod doesn’t have room to make his Devils debut following his own injury.
McLeod will go to a familiar city, heading to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He will play for the Steelheads, the same team he scored 73 points for in 57 games.
Things will look a little different for McLeod this season. He will be without his Super Buddies partner Nathan Bastian, as he is playing in the AHL with the Binghamton Devils. However, fellow budding superstar Owen Tippett was also sent to Mississauga a few days ago.
McLeod needed to get his head straight after a rough preseason. He was expected to be one of the young players on this team to compete on day one. In three preseason games, he scored zero points and only took two shots. To make this Devils team, a player needs to show more of an offensive game than he did.
McLeod clearly has some of the best talent in the Devils system. The 2016 first-round pick showed he can score at will, while also playing the role of playmaker. Those skills can immediately disappear if a player loses his confidence.
This player is the future of the Devils. Sure, it would be great if he stepped up this season. However, the Devils already got lucky with unexpected players stepping up. Jesper Bratt went from a sixth-round flyer to a go-to offensive force. His game was the ceiling we thought McLeod might hit. Also, Brian Gibbons leads the team in goals. A career AHLer to this point is now scoring clutch goals on special teams.
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Those players make McLeod expendable. There is no reason to put McLeod against the best in the world without knowing how he will take it. He’s 19 years old, so giving him a chance to play against lower competition one more season only helps him.
The final reason to send McLeod to Juniors is redemption. The Steelheads went all the way to OHL Championship, where they lost to the Erie Otters. McLeod can come back and lead his team to a championship before leaving Juniors forever.
This will be great for McLeod in the end. Bringing up his confidence one more season allows him to make the jump start for the rest of his career.