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New Jersey Devils: Time For A New Young Guy To Step Up Offensively

By Vincent Parise

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 25: New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod (41) skates during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on February 25, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 25: New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod (41) skates during the second period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on February 25, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils are a very injured hockey team, and it has caused some young guys to get their chance. It is time for someone to step up offensively and stick around.

The New Jersey Devils are dealing with a set of injuries, unlike anything the team has ever seen. Some true difference makers are out of the lineup making it very difficult to win games. Of course, injuries to Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, and Sami Vatanen throughout the year are huge. It gets even worse when some pretty good depth players like Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha get injured.

The Devils have gotten some contribution from young guys over the last two seasons. Nico Hischier was the number-one overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft so he was as close to can’t miss as you can get that summer. They won the Will Butcher sweepstakes the very same summer, and as the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner as the best player in college hockey, he was likely to have an impact. Jesper Bratt was a late-round pick, so him turning into a very nice top six forward is incredible for the future of this team.

Now, they need more. With all the injuries, it is time for some of the young players to find their game. They need someone like Michael McLeod, John Quenneville, or Joey Anderson to get going. They are all guys who the team has high hopes for and they are going to need them confident and ready to go for next year when they hope to be healthy and competing for a playoff spot once again.

They were able to get Nathan Bastian his first NHL goal a few nights ago against the Montreal Canadiens. This is a step in the right direction, as it is time for some of these guys to start scoring and scoring often.

With this makeshift lineup they have on the ice every night, they will have a tough time winning games the rest of the season, but it is very important that some of these young guys get the monkey off their backs and be ready for a very important offseason and training camp ahead. If Hall comes back next year healthy and ready to go, these young guys might want to be ready. If someone were to find themselves contributing in a bottom six role and score a lot, this team could become dangerous quickly.

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They also have Ty Smith dominating juniors right now, and he will almost certainly come in next year and be ready to make the team. These previously mentioned forwards need to get going so this team can plug all the holes and get back to the playoffs in 2019-20.

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