The New Jersey Devils are just days away from training camp at the time of this writing. Prospect camp just wrapped up, and we had a few impressive performances. That momentum could continue into training camp and the preseason, which could lead to some spots earned at forward.
This season, we expect more competition in training camp, as the Devils revamped the bottom half of the roster. They added Connor Brown, Evgenii Dadonov, Arseniy Gristyuk, Shane Lachance, Thomas Bordeleau, Lenni Hameenaho, Angus Crookshank, and Juho Lammikko this offseason. Obviously, something catastrophic would have to happen for all of them to make the roster. So, the competition will be fierce.
Legitimately, there are no set lines coming into training camp. Many expect Jesper Bratt to remain paired with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier to be linemates with his fellow Swiss star Timo Meier, but it’s hardly a guarantee. Everything else could be put into a blender. Let’s play with that blender and see where the lines shake out when the Devils start the season against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 9th.
Line 1
Dawson Mercer-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt
There are two massive questions going into camp: who is the Devils’ other top-six forwards and who is their third-line center? In a way, Dawson Mercer is the answer to both questions. He’s either going to be the other top-six winger or he’s going to fill the role as third-line center. Here, we have him on Jack Hughes’s wing. Of all the roles he played in a disappointing 2024-25 season, he was at his best as Hughes’s winger.
Many might say “duh,” but Mercer was also really good for Hughes. He’s defensive enough to let Hughes do his thing on offense, and he gets to the netfront. Really, all Hughes needs is a guy near the net to clean up or take one-timer passes.
Jesper Bratt is back where he belongs, and he’ll have another amazing season on this line. He might even get 100 points for the first time in his career and in the Devils’ franchise history.
One notable issue with this line is protection. It’s three relatively soft forwards, but if the Devils get better at avoiding hits, then it won’t matter. Plus, Bratt had more than 80 hits last season. Mercer had a career high of 41. It’s just enough to be effective.
Line 2
Timo Meier-Nico Hischier-Stefan Noesen
This line did great things last season, and the Devils will at least start the season to see if they can find the magic again. Stefan Noesen was a huge surprise for the team last season, scoring a career high of 22 goals. He had never scored more than 14 in a season prior to that one. He did that thanks to one thing: playing mere inches from the net. According to NHL Edge stats, Noesen scored 15 goals from high-danger areas, and he had six in the closest area to the goal, which was one of the best outputs in the league. Most players don’t get that close to the net, but Noesen lived there.
Timo Meier’s best days came after March 1st, and the Devils hope he can find his game to be March Meier all season. If he can, the Devils might go from question mark to legitimately one of the best top sixes in the league. It’s asking a lot, but Meier is extremely talented and capable of doing it.
Nico Hischier became one of the elite centermen in the league last season. It happened very quietly, but he put up 35 goals and 34 assists in 75 games. At times, he was the only one on the team adding offense while also getting some of the hardest matchups. With the drop in play from Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar, plus the injury to Jack Hughes, the team leaned all the way on Hischier. He responded in a huge way.
We could see this line changing the most on the team, especially if Noesen isn’t able to match his output from last season, but we think Keefe keeps this line together with so much change around it in the lineup.
Line 3
Arseniy Gritsyuk-Cody Glass-Evgenii Dadonov
We’ve talked about Arseniy Gritsyuk’s arrival a lot this offseason, and it’s for good reason. Gritsyuk could round out this forward group nicely, giving them scoring threats up and down the lineup.
To start the year, we expect the Devils to try to find natural chemistry between Gristyuk and fellow Russian forward and newcomer Dadonov. They’ve already spent time together before the start of training camp. It helps him with the language barrier, and there’s going to be a comfort level with a relatively young forward coming over to play in the NHL for the first time.
Cody Glass would ideally be the team’s fourth-line center, but it didn’t work out that way. There are teams still desperate for a second-line center, but there aren’t any players available. The ones that could theoretically be moved cost a fortune. So, the Devils aren’t going to partake in trading for one to play third-line center when they just re-signed Glass.
Glass could be really good for the Devils if they see the dude who came over from the Penguins. If they get the guy who came in after his injury, then the team might be in some trouble. With Mercer on the first line, we see Glass taking the spot here.
Line 4
Ondrej Palat-Paul Cotter-Connor Brown
Here, the Devils take a look at what’s left, and they put them together on a line. The center position might scare some people here, but Paul Cotter is good enough to play the position. The speed combination of Cotter and Connor Brown is going to scare other teams. They might have quite a few two-on-one opportunities coming in from the other zone.
Unfortunately, Ondrej Palat is not fast. Honestly, since falling off the map after his groin injury three years ago, Palat doesn’t really fit on this team. It’s not what you want to hear from a guy making $6 million per season. It’s why the Devils have been shopping him all offseason, but it’s also probably why they haven’t been able to move him.
We have Palat here for now, but if the Devils are able to move him in the offseason, then there’s an interesting competition for the final starting spot on the roster. They could go with a center like Lammikko and move Cotter to wing, or they could replace Palat’s spot with a player like Brian Halonen, who has decent offensive skills at the next level.
The Devils have some decisions to make, but the 12 forwards who will start are pretty clear. Barring an unexpected injury or trade, this is what we’re looking at on October 9th.