New Jersey Devils: American Presence On The Roster

The New Jersey Devils have a large presence of American-born players.

The New Jersey Devils have always had a great American presence in their organization. Players like Brian Rafalski, Zach Parise, and Jamie Langenbrunner amongst others are a bit more recent in terms of the team’s all-time great American players and there are plenty of up and coming ones to be excited about. With a great wave of American players hitting the NHL in general, they might be able to take a step next time there is a “best on best” world tournament.

Well, the Devils made a big move as a franchise when they selected Jack Hughes with the first-overall pick. The Devils had eleven players on their active roster who represent the red, white, and blue at the end of the season. That is a good amount of players representing one country on an NHL team. The hope is that this country continues to pump out great players.

• Jack Hughes
• Joey Anderson
• Will Butcher
• Connor Carrick
• John Hayden
• Dakota Mermis
• Kyle Palmieri
• Kevin Rooney
• Cory Schneider
• Matt Tennyson
• Miles Wood

Those are the seven names on the active roster right now that are from the United States of America. A lot of these guys aren’t going to be there by the time next year rolls around but a few of them certainly are going to be. There is also a chance that some of the younger ones take a big step forward in becoming the most important players on this team.

The one that sticks out the most is Jack Hughes, as mentioned before. He was the first-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has the potential to be one of the league’s most dynamic players, but he has a lot of development to go before he can get there. It is extremely important to remember how long it takes sometimes but this team is going to be so lucky to have him in the not so distant future.

We all wonder about the future of New Jersey’s own Kyle Palmieri. One, he is a great player and two, he is a great player for the team both on and off the ice. The team would get a lot in return if they moved him but he would also be a valuable piece to keep in the long term. He has been one of the better American players for a few years now.

The last player that sticks out above the rest is Joey Anderson. The Devils have been watching him develop for a long time and the hope is that he becomes one of those everyday players that can play up and down the lineup. He has some skills that would allow him to play in the top-six if there were an injury but he is also gritty enough to be anywhere in the bottom six as well. The ideal situation would be for him to be on the third line.

This team has a great USA presence on it that has players that will only get better and become more important to their chances of winning. It is also going to be fun seeing the rise of USA Hockey to the top of the World’s rankings over the next few years.