New Jersey Devils coach already helping Arseniy Gritsyuk prepare for the NHL

Highly regarded incoming New Jersey Devils rookie Arseniy Gritsyuk is going to have plenty of help and support in his corner ahead of a significant lifestyle change and adaptation to the NHL.

Free agent signing Evgenii Dadonov is prepared to do what is asked of him in that regard, and Gritsyuk will be getting some assistance from the Devils' coaching staff as well in the form of club legend Sergei Brylin, confirmed to be an assistant coach on the bench with Sheldon Keefe's crew this season.

"I haven't talked to [Dadonov] yet, but I think he will help me adapt at first. We will meet when I get there. I only know him from playing in the Kontinental Hockey League," Gritsyuk told TASS in a recent interview ahead of his travels to New Jersey. "Sergei Brylin gave me advice on preparing physically and mentally, it won't be super easy or super difficult. You have to be ready for the language and lifestyle change.

"I watched only the team's playoff games. I called Brylin. He told me that I would have to skate a lot; the team practices active hockey. Therefore, I am preparing for the fact that there will be a lot of voluminous skating."

Brylin, 51, has been with the Devils as an assistant coach since the 2022-23 season after a decade of working with the AHL affiliates. He'll be replacing departed coach Chris Taylor on the bench.

That's a move that will continue to benefit the Devils in the long run, as Gritsyuk and top Russian prospects Anton Silayev and Mikhail Yegorov will have an experienced, well-traveled Devils lifer to communicate with in their native tongue.

For Gritsyuk, it helps, too, that he'll have a seasoned veteran in Dadonov to play with, as well.

For a while, there were concerns on social media as to how the Devils would manage to help their Russians adapt to the NHL and life in New Jersey, but so far, it seems they've checked all the boxes well in advance, starting with Gritsyuk, Dadonov, and Brylin.