The 2023-24 New Jersey Devils season opens in just 50 days (at the time of writing). The Devils will be fighting the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia, on October 4th. To get ready for the season, we're doing a daily countdown of all the numbers of the Devils sweaters and moments in Devils franchise history. Since we are 50 days away, we will focus on the only goalie for us to wear #50 and have played decently, Nico Daws.
The Devils selected Nico Daws in the third round with the 84th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Daws was ranked the best North American goalie in that draft, so Tom Fitzgerald drafted him. Getting a good depth goaltender in that draft could be a significant investment in fixing the goalie issue. Afterward, Daws went to Utica, and he had a great season with 14-4 records, a .916 save percentage, and a 2.54 GAA.
Due to Mackenzie Blackwood recovering from heel surgery, Daws would be called up as one of the backups to Scott Wedgewood and Jonathan Bernier. On October 23rd, 2021, just four games into the season, he would make his NHL debut at home against the Buffalo Sabres; he did a stellar job, only giving up one goal to Dylan Cozens, and had 24 saves in the game in a 2-1 overtime win.
The following game, Daws would start against the Calgary Flames on October 26th,2021. However, he did not play well, giving up three goals on seven shots before being pulled just over 7:50 left in the first period. While Scott Wedgewood would take over and be given the loss, Daws would still stay in the NHL as a backup and would finally get another start on February 2nd, 2022. Jonathan Bernier was injured, and he never ended up playing another game in the NHL. Mackenzie Blackwood was shut down for most of the remainder of the season.
Despite the opportunity, Daws did not step up. He gave up four goals on 24 shots in a 4-1 loss. Throughout the rest of the season, he and Jon Gillies took over the goalie tandem for the Devils. Daws would end up with the best save percentage of all the goalies, with a .893 percentage. Unfortunately, his record ended up not being great, with a 10-11 record and a 3.11 GAA.
Daws spent the next season and a half in Utica, where his GAA improved to 2.70 in 2022-23. After playing just ten games in Utica for the 2023-24 season, he was called back up and joined Vitek Vanacek in a goalie tandem. Daws had a great first game against the Senators in Ottawa, giving up two goals on 27 shots on December 29, 2023. Daws and Vanacek would continue to share starts until February 10th, 2024. After an overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Vanacek would be put on the injured reserve, meaning Daws had to take the reins as a starter. After Daws became the starter, he would be inconsistent as the season went on.
Daws would get pulled in back-to-back games against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings and would be pulled for Akira Schmid in both games. Daws’ record for the 2023-24 season was a 9-11 record with a .894 save percentage and 3.11 GAA. In the 2024-25 season, Daws will likely be a backup to Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. Here’s hoping he can find consistency in his play and be a part of finally having no more goalie issues in this organization!