Amadeus Lombardi has been hitting all the right notes this preseason. The New Jersey Devils may have a tough time cutting him after the young forward composed one of the more impressive training camps on the roster. As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure, and after the Detroit Red Wings kept Lombardi in the minors for the past three seasons, he is looking for that NHL pay cheque.
Lombardi is looking to make the Devils' roster after Sunny Mehta acquired him early in the offseason. Despite his near point-per-game pace in the AHL over the past two seasons, many expected him to start the year in the AHL, but the Devils have given him every chance to succeed, and he has been thriving.
Lombardi started training camp with Connor Brown and Cody Glass, which could easily be a trio in the team's bottom six. He has been next to those veterans throughout camp, and the line got off to a hot start early when Lombardi scored two goals in a scrimmage. He was already turning heads at camp, but a late tying goal against the New York Rangers on Thursday night might’ve been the thing that finally tipped the scale in his favor.
"That was his best moment in the game. Not just the scoring of the goal, but how you create that chance for yourself."Sheldon Keefe, Devils head coach
The skilled forward might not be your prototypical fourth-liner, but the league is trending more toward offense in the bottom six, and it's important to have a player with enough talent to play up in the lineup if needed. Lombardi has that ability.
Amadeus Lombardi's long road to the NHL
Lombardi was one of those dreaded AAAA players in the Red Wings organization. The term describes a player who is one of the team's best AHL players but doesn't quite have the intangibles needed to be an NHL player. Many players have fallen by the wayside after taking on that moniker.
One thing holding Lombardi back was his size: he weighed in at just 183 pounds and stood a generous 5-foot-11. He didn’t quite fit the Red Wings’ mold as a center, and injuries didn’t help their belief that he couldn’t handle it in the NHL. The forward had an impressive 42 points in the AHL last season, but played only 47 games after being in and out of the lineup with injuries.
"I think a way you can look at it positively is you’re building mental strength, building mental toughness. It’s something that every hockey player has to go through and unfortunately, maybe my path is just that I’m going to have to deal with it at the start of my career, which is okay."Amadeus Lombardi, Devils winger
Nevertheless, with all that in the rearview mirror, Lombardi is currently penciled in to the Devils' lineup for opening night, and if he didn't solidify that spot after Thursday night, it'd be very surprising.
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