Projecting New Jersey Devils Opening Night Roster
It’s way too early, but not too, too early to start thinking about the New Jersey Devils opening night roster for the 2022-23 season. Most of the players won’t be reporting to training camp for another 2-3 weeks, but I’m here to help you pass the time with my way too early projection for the team that we will see take the ice on October 13 in Philadelphia.
Atomic Locks
First things first, let’s get the locks out of the way. These are the players that we all know and agree (most of us, there’s always one…) will be on the opening night roster – barring any injury or unforeseen circumstances, obviously.
Forwards (7): Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Ondrej Palat, Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Erik Haula.
Defense (6): Dougie Hamilton, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler, John Marino, Brendan Smith.
Goalies (2): Mackenzie Blackwood, Vitek Vanecek.
As you can see, we already have 15 of the 23 spots spoken for, and there are a few others that I likely could have added, but for argument’s sake (and this article) I’d like to see some competition for those final eight spots. And I think we’ll see it too. Obviously, the big battle will be at the forward position. Still, the battle for the final defenseman spot will be very intriguing to me – and one of the biggest storylines I’ll be following as training camp kicks off.
But back to the forward battle – one thing that GM Tom Fitzgerald mentioned during his end-of-season presser that has stuck with me all summer long was this quote about the roster:
“We have a lot of the same, upfront. We’ve got some nice players, some really nice players, talented players, but I think we have a lot of the same; I don’t want a lot of the same. It’s time to start mixing and matching, and building a team.”
“Especially up front, be harder to play against. Heavier skill, not just dump pucks in, but straight line players are important to successful teams. We do have young talent, we all know that. But that’s the exciting part for me as the manager in building what I believe is not only a team that can compete to get into the playoffs, but also compete in the playoffs.”
🚨 26 Goals
— Utica Comets (@UticaComets) June 8, 2022
🍎 25 assists
Heck of a year in Utica for Alex Holtz pic.twitter.com/EcZzNIKeL3
A lot of the players that maybe you thought I would have had on the list of Atomic Locks above are, the same. The same kind of player. That doesn’t mean they are bad players, they just aren’t really what the team needs right now.
Simon Nemec is drafted by the New Jersey Devils. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Roster Battle Royale
Contenders (3): Reilly Walsh, Kevin Bahl, Simon Nemec.
First things first, the big battle for that seventh d-man spot – for me there are three options. It will come down to either Reilly Walsh, Kevin Bahl, or Simon Nemec – who was just drafted 2nd overall in July’s NHL Draft. Since taking over as GM, Fitzgerald has transformed the Devils’ blueline into a bigger, snarlier group. Bahl obviously fits that profile since he’s Gigantor out there on the ice at 6’ 6”, but if Nemec has an absolutely insane camp he will make the decision very hard.
Also, I don’t think Nemec starting the season in the AHL with Utica and working his way into a call-up is the worst thing in the world. We all saw last season how a lot of call-ups were able to contribute after finding their groove with the Comets. The wild card in all of this is Walsh. With the trade of Ty Smith to Pittsburgh, Walsh – a smaller, offensive-minded defender – could earn his way onto the roster by filling a void.
At forward, here’s who I think will contend for the final seven spots.
Contenders (10): Tomas Tatar, Miles Wood, Andreas Johnsson, Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian, Jesper Boqvist, Alex Holtz, Nolan Foote, Fabian Zetterlund, Tyce Thompson.
Whoever doesn’t make the opening night roster could be traded, sent to Utica, or put on waivers. Those are pretty much the three options that cover all ten of those names. New Jersey’s front office and coaching staff will have some interesting decisions to make for sure.
The easy answer is that Holtz, Foote, and Thompson won’t have to pass through waivers to be sent to Utica, so send them down and there are your seven remaining spots filled up. But methinks those three lads will have something to say about all of that.
Lots will be decided once the practices and games start in a few weeks!
Next. Jesper Bratt's Path To Stardom. dark
Survey Says
Without further ado, and babbling, here is my 23-man projected roster for the Devils when they open their 40th season in New Jersey.
Forwards (14): Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Ondrej Palat, Yegor Sharangovich, Dawson Mercer, Erik Haula, Tomas Tatar, Fabian Zetterlund, Nathan Bastian, Miles Wood, Jesper Boqvist, Alex Holtz, Nolan Foote.
Defense (7): Dougie Hamilton, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler, John Marino, Brendan Smith, Reilly Walsh.
Goalies (2): Mackenzie Blackwood, Vitek Vanecek.
How’d I do?
What does your 23-man roster look like? Tell us on Twitter @pitchforkedpuck and @DRiceHockey.