New Jersey Devils preview final roster with new training camp groups

After some mixing and matching with training camp groups Tuesday morning, it would appear the New Jersey Devils are close to, if not done with finalizing their roster for the opening night of the 2025-26 regular season.

Devils team reporter Amanda Stein observed the following as Group 1, which is almost entirely comprised of NHL regulars: Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jake Allen, Jacob Markstrom, Seamus Casey, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, Brenden Dillon, Kurtis MacDermid, Arseny Gritsyuk, Luke Glendening, Evgenii Dadonov, Dawson Mercer, Ondrej Palat, Connor Brown, Cody Glass, Paul Cotter, Simon Nemec, Brett Pesce, and Dennis Cholowski.

Aside from MacDermid, there are no real surprises among this group of players.

Glendening, who has been with the Devils on a professional tryout offer, has played a pretty solid defensive game for New Jersey in the preseason and appears to have beaten out newcomer Juho Lammikko for a roster spot to start the year.

The same is true for prospect defenseman Seamus Casey, who played a handful of games for the Devils last year. We have no idea if or when things will be resolved with Luke Hughes, but Casey's two-assist preseason cameo was likely enough to convince Sheldon Keefe to keep him aboard over an inexperienced alternative like Ethan Edwards.

Edwards only turned pro at the end of last season anyway, so he should be going down to the AHL to play for the Utica Comets. Keeping veteran Dennis Cholowski in the group virtually guarantees that; he figures to start the season as the Devils' seventh defenseman, even if and when Hughes re-signs with the Devils.

For Devils fans hoping Ondrej Palat would be traded to clear $6 million in cap space, that will have to wait. Perhaps Palat's chemistry with free agent signing Connor Brown will make things more... palatable until then.

Expect the Devils' opening night roster to look similar or identical to this, though.