AH! HOCKEY!!
That time of year is upon us all. The greatest time of year. It is officially time to get ready for hockey season. The New Jersey Devils announced earlier this offseason that they will be once again be participating in the 2018 Prospects Challenge. The challenge will take place at Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York.
Once again the teams participating along with the New Jersey Devils are the Buffalo Sabres, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Boston Bruins. The tournament will take place starting on Friday, September 7th and it will go through Monday, September 10th. The tournament will be a round robin type tournament with the participating teams sending all of their top prospects.
On Friday, September 7th, Pittsburgh will play Boston at 3:30 pm and Buffalo will play New Jersey at 7pm.
On Saturday, September 8th, New Jersey will play Pittsburgh at 3:30 pm and Buffalo will play Boston at 7pm.
On Monday, September 10th, Boston will play New Jersey at 9:30 am and Buffalo will play Pittsburgh at 12:30 pm.
The players participating in the Prospect Challenge for the New Jersey Devils are the usual suspects from the orginization. The Devils invited 26 players to come to the tournament to participate. The list includes 3 goaltenders, 8 defenseman, and 15 forwards.
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The roster is headlined by three first round picks. Ty Smith, Michael McLeod and John Quenneville will all be in attendance. Ty Smith is the Devils number one prospect. He was taken in the first round at number 17 overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He was very impressive in his rookie camp after the draft, so many expect him to be a big help in this tournament.
The roster consists of many players from all of the different development leagues around North America, including the NCAA. Devils prospect Joey Anderson leads the college hockey group, as he signed his first pro deal at the end of last season, and is expected to make his NHL debut this fall. Anderson was also the captain for Team USA at the 2018 World Junior Tournament (also in Buffalo), and his collegiate team at the University of Minnesota Duluth went on to win the NCAA National Championship.
The full roster: MacKenzie Blackwood (G), Cam Johnson (G), Josh Jacobs (D), Michael McLeod (F), Nathan Bastian (F), Brett Seney (F), Blake Speers (F), John Quenneville (F), Ty Smith (D), Joey Anderson (F), Brandon Gignac (F), Brandon Baddock (F), Yegor Sharangovich (F), Mitch Hoelscher (F), Fabian Zetterlund (F), Akira Schmid (G), Xavier Bernard (D), Tariq Hammond (D), Marian Studenic (F), Colton White (D), Jeremy Groleau (D), Colby Sissons (D), Jocktan Chainey (D), John Edwardh (F), Ryan Schmelzer (F), Dylan Seitz (F).