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New Jersey Devils: Young Stars Can Compete For Open Roster Spots

By Vincent Parise

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Jesper Boqvist #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his second goal of the game which became the game winner at 15:57 of the third period on the powerplay against the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on September 21, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Jesper Boqvist #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his second goal of the game which became the game winner at 15:57 of the third period on the powerplay against the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on September 21, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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There are a lot of open roster spots for young players on the New Jersey Devils to fill.

The New Jersey Devils have been busy. Additions like Corey Crawford, Ryan Murray, and Andreas Johnsson are going to be huge for this team going forward. Even though they added some studs, there are a lot of roster spots still available that they need to fill out. It may not be easy to make some of these decisions but it will certainly be entertaining to watch them try and figure it out.

There is only one position that is truly set for the NHL club barring injuries. Corey Crawford and Mackenzie Blackwood are going to share the net for New Jersey and they are probably going to do very well in that role. This gives them a solid one-two punch in net for the first time in a very long time.

The center of the ice is also pretty set as well. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha, and Travis Zajac are likely your four centers. There are some young players who can play the position in the organization as well but if everyone is healthy, those are probably the four that you want playing that position.

On for the wing, there are a lot of question marks. Andreas Johnsson, Kyle Palmieri, and Nikita Gusev are locks, but there are a few spots that have a chance to be claimed. There could be some young players that come in and make an impact in those spots. Jesper Boqvist, Janne Kuokkanen, Nathan Bastian, and Nolan Foote could all get a look before the season starts.

The defense is in the same situation. Ryan Murray, P.K. Subban, Damon Severson, and Will Butcher feel like locks to be in the lineup. We don’t know if any more trades will be made including these guys or bringing in someone else, but anything can happen.

There are some youngsters ready to come up and Ty Smith leads the charge. There is a good chance he makes his NHL debut in 2020-21 which should be really cool to watch. Going for one of those available spots is tough but the opportunity is there. Two other defensemen who will fight Connor Carrick for the sixth spot in the lineup are Kevin Bahl and Reilly Walsh.

Hot. The New Jersey Devils power play should be fun in 2020-21. light

This is a team with lots of flaws, clearly. With that said, they are young and looking to take the next step. If youngsters like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes really explode, you will really see a major transformation of the team. It should be fun to watch some of these spots get nailed down as the next few months go along.

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