New Jersey Devils: Blake Coleman Point Prediction For 2018-19 Season
By Nick Villano
Over the next few weeks, Pucks and Pitchforks will release their points predictions for every starting player on the New Jersey Devils main roster. Today, we predict what Blake Coleman will do in his sophomore season.
Last season, not much was expected from the bottom six of the New Jersey Devils. Most of the players were held over from the season before, a season we’d all like to forget. Blake Coleman was going to make the roster after a 23 game stint in 2016-17. Nobody could have seen how well he could have played after showing very little in his first campaign.
Coleman wasn’t someone to make an All-Star team, but someone that teams need to make it to the playoffs.
Coleman had an interesting season when you break it down. He spent the majority of the time of the third and fourth line, playing next to Stefan Noesen for the most part. He played with either Travis Zajac or Brian Boyle as his center.
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Here’s the thing about Coleman, he was on fire at the end of last season. He went into March with six goals and 13 points. He ended the season with 13 goals and 25 points. Listen, this isn’t something you want to go home about, but it is definitely something we will be happy to have from Coleman.
It’s hard to figure out what you’re going to get from Coleman this season. He could end up playing with Zajac and Noesen all season long, where his production is limited, or he could end up being the second line center is Pavel Zacha doesn’t work out, or he could end up back next to Boyle if the Devils decide to give more ice time to Miles Wood.
That unpredictability makes it harder to make a prediction on the man now known as Pickles, but we will do it anyway.
Goals: 12
Assists: 18
Points: 30
I expect a little more from Coleman this season in the playmaking ability, but a slight regression on goal scoring. I see him playing a little more center, which will drive his assist numbers. He will be inconsistent in his point production again, but will do just fine in nearly every other aspect of his game, especially penalty kill. He’s a formidable option for the Devils up and down the lineup.