Sending Seamus Casey down and calling up Daniil Misyul was New Jersey Devils best call

Seamus Casey's demotion to the AHL is the best thing after he played in eight NHL games to start the season. Coach Sheldon Keefe evaluated his defensive core with coach Ryan McGill. They concluded that he should work on the physicality needed to play in an 82-game season vs. the NCAA College Hockey schedule.

From a hockey operations and player development perspective, having a KHL-seasoned and AHL-seasoned defender in Daniil Misyul with several cups of coffee at the AHL level brings certainty. The Belarusian of Minsk provides a physical defender, a smooth-skating puck carrier who sees the ice well and can play third-pairing minutes. The level of clarity for Sheldon Keefe running this team is to make sure not to rush his main players like Luke Hughes or Brett Pesce back from injury.

It is a great feeling to have Brenden Dillon-Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler-Jonathan Kovacevic, and Daniil Misyul-Simon Nemec pairings for the time being. Misyul is not your typical new NHL player, as mentioned, because he has played in the KHL for five years; 184 Games for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Now, with two years and 47 games worth of AHL games, he's acclimated to the North American ice dimensions and pace of play. It will certainly be a faster pace when he plays, however he has played in the preseason and has built a familiarity of what to kinda expect.

In 60 minutes of Simon Nemec-Seamus Casey pairing on defense, that pair surrendered an average of 3.68 Goals per 60, and that is not a recipe for success. Jonas Siegenthaler and Simon Nemec only gave up 2.3 Goals per 60 after 15.7 minutes. All this data by Money Puck with Simon Nemec being away from Seamus Casey on his pairing means Simon is a far more responsible player when paired with more veteran-minded defenders who play a physical and stay-at-home level of hockey. Yes, this may be more hockey analytics-driven analysis, but numbers don't lie when you see that after seeing Simon Nemec playing better away from Seamus Casey. Casey further developing at the AHL level before getting his confidence hurt and losing his defensive touch on top of his conditioning, making a jump from the NCAA to the NHL.

It is better to get a young man like Seamus Casey more well-rounded as a two-way player, and let the defensemen with more experience focus on winning now. At this time, the Devils have moved on from growing so many rookies at the NHL level and letting the young fringe veterans become built to play responsible and high-octane defense. A season in Utica will work wonders for Seamus Casey, and he won't need to have the big weights on his shoulders so much.

Now, he has a goal to achieve: potentially becoming a full-time defenseman. Seamus Casey is one of the best offensive defensemen the Devils have added since getting Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec; on the contrary, there isn't much room for Seamus Casey to wiggle in because of Hughes and Nemec.

If management decides to test Simon Nemec's play with Daniil Misyul, who is a more defensive-minded player and even a two-way player, it will make it easier, in theory, for Simon Nemec to focus on playing on his right side. Adding Daniil Misyul to this equation would bring more physicality and intimidation, and he is a more conditioned player who can handle his end of the ice. Hot take if Misyul was playing instead of Seamus Casey against the Capitals that barn burner of a game would have been more like a 4-2 Devils win given that Seamus Casey isn't physically built up just yet. Daniil Misyul plays with that old-school Red Army cross-checking, stick-tying hockey blue-collar attitude.

Having the certainty on defense already with this team has scored over three goals and allowed over 2.5 goals in eight games. So there has been an improvement in the first eight games, but the next eight have to be improved upon after a horrific showing against the Capitals, letting in 5 goals in regulation and a bad line change, giving up the Tom Wilson goal in OT. At the current pace, the Devils are racking up points with the team they have put on in the first eight games. The Devils are on pace for 113 points, which is a big push for Sheldon Keefe to keep holding this Devils team more accountable this season.