New Jersey Devils: 5 Most Important Quotes Of Training Camp So Far

The New Jersey Devils prepare for training camp by meeting with the media.

It’s been almost ten months since the New Jersey Devils last hit the ice. It’s also been that long since we’ve heard from most of these players. There has been no media availability for these players. In fact, in a Devils’ capacity, we’ve only really heard from Lindy Ruff and Tom Fitzgerald since the team made significant moves in the offseason.

That made it nice to hear from Devils players and coaches to start training camp. Just about every player has spoken over the first few days of camp. Some had a lot to say about the new system, the new players, and the new team philosophy. Other players had typical hockey answers. The former is where you find the real information.

There’s a lot to still figure out during training camp. The Devils don’t have a captain, and they’ve never started a season without one. Nico Hischier starts training camp on the sidelines after a lower-body injury during training. There are at least four open competitions for spots in the opening-night lineup. There’s a lot to still figure out with only two weeks before games actually count.

It’s the New Year, so some may have missed some of the big quotes from the beginning of training camp. It’s early, but fans are already getting an inside look at what this season could be. There’s a lot riding on the few stars currently on the team. These quotes show what could be coming for our favorite team over the next few months.

All of these quotes came from either friend of the Let’s Go Devils Podcast Corey Masisak of The Athletic, or from the New Jersey Devils Twitter account itself.

“I’ll 100% do whatever I can with the training staff to be ready for game 1.” — Nico Hischier

Nico Hischier’s injury is the biggest story of the New Jersey Devils offseason. Hischier is key to whatever the Devils can do this season. If he’s actually going to miss time this season with his lower-body injury, then the Devils don’t have much of a chance in the division of Hell they are facing.

However, it sounds like Hischier at least sees a light where he can make it in time for opening night. The Devils have center depth this season but nowhere near enough to replace someone of Hischier’s caliber. He’s so good at both sides of the ice that replacing him on this team would take two players. He can’t be replaced one for one by Jack Hughes because the defense of that line would plummet. He can’t be replaced by Travis Zajac because the offense of that line would plummet. The Devils would probably be better taking a shot on a player like Pavel Zacha or Jesper Boqvist and hope a miracle happens and they got ridiculously better over the offseason.

Hopefully, Hischier is fine on day one like he says he hopes he is. That would eliminate a lot of problems for the Devils moving forward.

“We have a lot of guys in the team who can fill that void. I think it’s a younger team, but there’s guys like Nico, there’s guys like Kyle who are ready to take on that.” — Travis Zajac

The captaincy is something the players are going to hear a lot about until one is named. Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, and Nico Hischier were all named assistant captains already, so it makes a lot of sense that those are the three who were expected to be the next captain.

Both Palmieri and Hischier talked about what it would mean to them to be the next captain. Zajac, on the other hand, doesn’t sound like he wants the captaincy. He’s in a contract year, so that probably has something to do with the fact he doesn’t want it. The pressure that comes with the captaincy might influence his decision for the future.

Speaking of future, that seems to be where Zajac wants the captaincy to go. He specifically brought up Palmieri and Hischier in this quote.

The reason this quote is bigger than the quotes from Hischier and Palmieri is it basically takes Zajac out of the running. Lindy Ruff is not going to name a captain who isn’t all in on that move. That’s backfired in the past. Zajac has been great for this organization, and most people think he should have been captain at some point, but that time has passed and it’s time to name either Nico HIschier or Kyle Palmieri the 12th captain in Devils history.

“They all have strengths. Whether it is a McLeod with great skating and moving, whether it’s a Bastian who is a more physical-type player, whether it’s Kuokkanen with more skill and a great shot, you can go to a lot of different players.” — Lindy Ruff

This one might not be the quote most expected to stand out from new Devils head coach Lindy Ruff, but it’s the one with the most impact. As we count right now, the Devils seem to have three open spots among the forwards in the opening lineup. It wasn’t lost on us that he named three very specific names in this quote.

It’s also not the three players most would suspect. Jesper Boqvist seems like he should be close to a lock to make the roster, but this says otherwise. The same goes for Nick Merkley, who came over in the Taylor Hall trade last season. Instead, he brought up Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, and Janne Kuokkanen.

It’s entirely possible he was using these three players to showcase how different the young players in camp are, but he could have just said that without using specific names. Something about these three stood out to him. Maybe they fit the type of lineup that he wants the Devils to have this season. They all bring an interesting mix to the table.

This could all change on a dime. He said this before any of the Devils actually took part in a training camp session. The cream will rise to the top, but it’s interesting if Ruff has a favorite before anyone takes the ice.

“This year, it’s time to grow up and not be the young kid in the room. I’m certainly looking forward to that challenge to help out the young guys and help this team win.” — Miles Wood

Miles Wood is not a player many expected to stand out in the media process, but this quote really says something. He’s been a player that really needs to work on his intangibles, especially on the ice. He takes too many penalties. He doesn’t finish plays, and he just generally missing the smart play way too often. Has he had an epiphany during the offseason?

It’s hard not to look yourself in the mirror after the two seasons Wood had. He went from a 19-goal scorer in 2017-18 to a 10 and 11-goal scorer the next two seasons. After signing a four-year deal in 2018 after a brief holdout, he needed to step up in a much bigger way. The Devils actually played him with Nico Hischier to end last season, so maybe they’re seeing what he does with more responsibility.

If he really is looking to play more like an adult, then this could be great news for the Devils. He’s likely said something similar to this in the past, but to come right out of the gate saying he needs to be a more grown-up player shows it’s top of his mind from the jump. He doesn’t need to make a mistake to know he needs to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Wood could be crucial to the Devils’ success this season. It sounds crazy, but if the Devils could get a 20-goal scorer from the bottom six, then it’s going to take a lot of pressure off the Devils’ top six.