New Jersey Devils: Can Blake Coleman Do It Again?
The New Jersey Devils know they have something in Blake Coleman, but can he do what he did last year this upcoming season?
The New Jersey Devils have something good in Blake Coleman. He is a former third-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by New Jersey. He comes from a nontraditional hockey place as he is a product of Plano, Texas. He has been a late bloomer but at 27 years of age, he is blooming into a really nice depth player for the Devils.
Coleman can play on all different types of lines and that makes him a valuable utility player for the Devils. He has shown that he can score a good amount of goals for a middle-six forward as he had 22 in 2018-19. He also added in 16 assists for 36 points in 78 games. The big question for the Devils and Coleman is if he can do it again. He is going to be an integral part of the team and someone needed to provide some consistent secondary scoring behind the star players.
He has also become a fan favorite amongst Devils fans as people love a guy who can chip in offensively while playing in a lower role. Coleman has had to work very hard to get to where he is and he has been rewarded for it at the NHL level. He averaged 17:01 of ice time last year and that is good for a guy like him. The coaching staff trusts him out there in all different types of situations and he has made them look smart for that at times.
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Coleman is likely going to be a part of a two-way line for the Devils in this upcoming season. He is likely going to see lots of time with Devils center Travis Zajac who has been a really good defensive center for the Devils during his career.
He can also make some plays and Coleman and potentially Miles Wood could make a really nice two-way line. They will likely have some favorable matchups as the Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes lines should garner a lot of the leagues best defensive assignments.
Either way, you should expect Coleman to have a good year for the Devils and there is no reason to believe that he should be a 15-20 goal scorer once again. The Devils have more depth going into the season than they have in years, and a guy like Coleman could benefit from it.
Coleman has shown already that he can put the puck in the net but he isn’t going to light it up as a playmaker so don’t expect that many assists out of him. That doesn’t matter though, because as long as he can keep scoring goals the Devils will be in good shape.