3 Winners (And 2 Losers) From New Jersey Devils Preseason

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The New Jersey Devils went 7-0 in the preseason. It was one of the most spectacular exhibition performances in the history of the franchise. Of course, it means nothing in the grand scheme of things but all of the right players are playing well and leading to these wins.

The Devils needed to see guys like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Tyler Toffoli, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Dougie Hamilton play well and they have. Those guys, however, were always going to make the team with no issues.

What makes the Devils Stanley Cup contenders is the fact that they have a tremendous amount of depth. It might be the deepest that the team has been in multiple decades. It could be what allows them to have an outstanding season.

Again, nothing matters until the games begin for real but it is good to see guys playing well. The alternative is everyone looking bad and not winning games so you can pick which you’d rather have. There is no doubt that this type of preseason is better than a bad one.

The New Jersey Devils have a lot to be happy with following the preseason.

If the Devils go on to have a great season again, the foundation that they built in September and the early part of October will be remembered.

During the preseason, there were a few players who battled for the last few spots in the lineup. A few of them showed out and a few of them failed to make an impression. These are the three biggest winners and two biggest losers from the entire 7-0 run:

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Winners

The New Jersey Devils had a few players win the preseason in 2023.

1. Kevin Bahl

Kevin Bahl was always incredibly likely to make the opening night lineup, but he might actually be even better than most people thought. It took him a bit to develop after coming over in the Taylor Hall trade with the Arizona Coyotes, but he is a very good player.

Bahl is known for being a big defenseman who stays home and plays a defensive-minded game. Usually, those kinds of players take long to develop. Well, it appears as if Bahl is coming along.

There were also instances where Bahl had amazing offensive awareness. When he has time and space created for him, and we know the Devils have a lot of players who can do that, he has an offensive edge. Hopefully, this continues into the regular season.

2. Simon Nemec

Simon Nemec came in as somewhat of a long shot to make the team. This isn’t because he doesn’t deserve it, the Devils are just so deep. They also have another 20-year-old in Luke Hughes on the team, making it tough to add another.

However, Nemec played even better which is great to see after he was amazing in the NHL during the 2022-23 season. Even if he doesn’t make the team out of camp for roster construction purposes, his time is coming. Once he does get there, he won’t be leaving.

3. Santeri Hatakka

There are a lot of good young defensemen in the Devils’ system. One of them is Santeri Hatakka who was a sixth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2019 NHL Draft. New Jersey acquired him in the deal that also landed them Timo Meier.

Hatakka had an outstanding preseason for the Devils. The only issue for him is that guys like Bahl and Nemec were also great and aren’t guaranteed anything either. There is a limited amount of room on the blueline right now. This good play that he’s had this year has been noted, and he could get a shot in the NHL at some point. A good start in Utica could go a long way for him.

Losers

Not every New Jersey Devils player had an amazing preseason in 2023.

1. Brendan Smith

Brendan Smith was the 7th defenseman on the New Jersey Devils toward the end of last season but he was also in the starting six a lot as well. Now, he is back to fighting for playing time once again.

With all of the aforementioned defensemen on the “winners” list, it makes it tough for an older player like Smith. It also didn’t help that he wasn’t very good during the preseason either. He may end up making it because of his status as a veteran but he won’t be around for long. This preseason was proof of that.

2. Nolan Foote

Nolan Foote had a lot of expectations on him when the New Jersey Devils first acquired him. He came to the New Jersey organization in the trade that sent Blake Coleman to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Foote has been a highly touted prospect in his life as was a first-round pick by the Lightning in the 2019 NHL Draft. Since then, however, his development hasn’t gone the way that New Jersey thought it would. There is still plenty of time but he didn’t have the best preseason.

He looked okay early on but has barely played in the exhibition season. It is unclear if he is truly injured but all signs suggest that he is. We won’t know until next week whether or not he will be on the opening roster with an IR designation or if he will be put on waivers to go to Utica (if unclaimed).

At the end of the day, fans just want the New Jersey Devils to win. All of these guys may play a big part in that or they may not. The preseason needs to translate to the regular season as they definitely looked like a good hockey team. We shall see.

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