The New Jersey Devils are enjoying a two-game winning streak after a rough loss to start the year. Winning back-to-back games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets shows the Devils are prepared to face off against the best of the Eastern Conference. Starting the season with a three-game road trip and getting out of it with four points is about as good as fans can ask for.
The individual performances make it even better. Luke Hughes has been incredible despite not playing in the preseason, adding four assists to his career tally. No defenseman in the league has more assists, and only Cale Makar has more points (and an extra game played). Connor Brown has been a great fit to start after signing with the Devils in the offseason.
We love the play of some of the veterans on the Devils to start the season, including Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier, but the player that has turned the most heads is rookie Arseny Gritsyuk.
Gritsyuk came over from the KHL with guarded enthusiasm. Devils fans wanted to believe that he could make incredible strides in the NHL, but we’ve been tricked by Nikita Gusev before. We all came in with cautious optimism.
Gritsyk has already exceeded those expectations. In three games, he has three points. While he’s still looking for his first goal of his NHL career, he has put up some insane assists.
A little north-south hockey with Jake Allen making a big stop at one end and Dawson Mercer burying one on the other!@DonLagreca | @NJDevils | #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/hpsWmPxfBv
— Devils on MSG (@DevilsMSGN) October 14, 2025
These are the plays that’re drawing national attention. Gritsyuk is already seeing his Calder Trophy odds dropping. It’s very early, but starting your career as a point-per-game player isn’t hurting, and he’s seen his place in the lineup upgrade. He started on the fourth line with Luke Glendening and Paul Cotter, but he’s played his last two games with Connor Brown and Cody Glass.
Arseny Gritsyuk is an early Calder Trophy candidate
Now, with Evgenii Dadonov out for at least three weeks, Gritsyuk could earn a spot in the top six. If he gets it now, he might never give it up.
If Gritsyuk is in the top six and continues to play like this, it’s a safe bet he’ll remain in the Calder Trophy conversation. He’s not the only rookie making noise.
Gritsyuk was teammates with Montreal Canadiens rookie Ivan Demidov. He also has three points already this season, and he started the season as the odds-on favorite for rookie of the year. The Canadiens are expected to be one of the great young teams in the league, and the growth of Demidov is expected to be a major proponent of their success.
Another prominent rookie is Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Alexander Nikishin. He was considered for a while to be the best defensive prospect in hockey. Now, he’s playing on a high-powered Carolina Hurricanes team. Most expect Nikishin to get a lot of high-value opportunities, and his skillset should give the Hurricanes something their defensive-minded system needs.
This could set up a showdown between Russian players for rookie of the year. That’s extremely rare. Even rarer? These three players were teammates, playing for the 2022-23 SKA St. Petersburg team.
The one who could blow this up is New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The reigning number-one overall pick has been incredible for the Islanders to start the season. He’s been their minutes leader right off the bat, and he’s amazing offensively.
Either way, this is going to be one of the best rookie of the year races we’ve ever seen, and Gritsyuk has emphatically thrown his name in the ring.