NJ Devils Red - White Game Report
Notes on Jack Hughes and some of the other prospects from the development camp scrimmage
I went to the Devils Red - White game this weekend to check out 2019’s first-overall pick Jack Hughes and the general wealth of talent in the Devils prospect pool. The game, which consisted of two 25-minute halves closed out by a shootout featuring every skater, concluded a week-long development camp. You can watch the game on YouTube below.
NHL.com’s Amanda Stein also did a write-up — they have some better video footage of the goals in the scrimmage, as well as my highlight of the day (below).
Highlight of the day came in the shootout, defenseman Mike Vukojevic’s shootout goal:
Three other highlights from my perspective:
Russian ‘98s Mikhail Maltsev and Nikita Popugayev combining for a nice goal in the 4x4 play.
Fellow 98-born forwards Jesper Boqvist and Mike McLeod combined for a similarly nice goal around the net in 4x4 play. The first half was 5x5 and had less highlight-worthy action.
Jack Hughes scoring his first goal in front of the Devils faithful, also in 4x4 play. He had some nice looks in the 5x5 too.
Jack Hughes — The crowd, mostly season-ticket holders, were anxious to see Hughes on the puck and they were rewarded with plenty of ‘ooh-ahh’ worthy plays from 2019’s first overall selection. The crowd even booed when one of the defensemen didn’t immediately cede the puck to Hughes in the 3x3 overtime frame. Hughes, who signed with the Devils this week, had a couple scoring chances in the first half before sending in a sneaky look from the slot. He’s a bit slight and this season’s jump to the NHL will be a massive challenge (I’ve said before that I’d like to see him take one more year to prepare), but I liked how Hughes elevated his game playing with the other top prospects who were all trying to show what they can do for the Devils brass. Such soft hands and a nice touch on the puck that complements his skating ability brilliantly. Solid in the face-off department. He’s going to be the favorite NHLer of a lot of young hockey players if and when he reaches his potential.
Joey Anderson — If Hughes is part of the NHL’s new-school, Anderson is a bit more old-school. He can do a bit of everything and I liked the way he re-established possession on 50-50 puck battles. He’s a threat to shoot or make a play and looked like a man playing with a lot of young talent in Newark today. Solid slap shot in-tight for the shootout goal:
Tyce Thompson — The Providence College rising sophomore was a nice pick-up in the fourth round this year, even though he just turned 20 yesterday. He steps into the organization as a forward that could reliably be projected to emerge as a depth contributor for the big club in a few years. Didn’t look out of place at all here. Shootout goal:
Patrick Moynihan — Liked the Thompson pick, like the Moynihan pick. The Devils’ 2019 draft was sneaky-great from the perspective of adding value and rounding out the Devils prospect pool. Another forward (also a Providence College Friar, coming out of the NTDP) who I think has a real shot as a depth forward in three or four years.
Case McCarthy — Watching him this season with the NTDP was nowhere near as enlightening as seeing him here, especially in the four-on-four play. McCarthy is a decently-sized right-shooting defenseman who can be a tough out in his own end, but there were flashes of legit offensive upside to his game. I don’t know if that will be his role at Boston University this season (or the next), but it was exciting to see that.
Ty Smith — The Saskatchewan-born defenseman made some nice activations with possession, Smith displayed a lot of confidence and even attempted a wrap-around in the 4x4 play. Tried a pretty fancy move in the shootout but couldn’t handle the execution.
A couple other players I took notes on:
Matt Hellickson — Pretty good player especially considering they got him in the 7th-round two years ago. Maybe Hellickson was underrated at the time because he plays a somewhat under-stated (though overall well-rounded) game as a defenseman.
Nic Canade — The St. Andrew’s College/OHL-Missisauga product definitely had his moments on the puck, though I didn’t pay a ton of attention to him. He was the only player to score in the 5x5 play.
Brett Seney — The 23-year-old forward seems ready to add depth scoring to the big club soon-ish if they want to add shiftiness and playmaking off the rush. He was one of the oldest players in the mix here and certainly looked the part. Nice finish in the shootout.
Mike McLeod — Didn’t pay a ton of attention to McLeod, the 12th overall pick in 2016. He had a nice move that nearly scored in the shootout.
Danny Weight — Camp invite out of the NTDP, the BC recruit is headed to the Penticton Vees next season and scored in the shootout:
Cole Brady — The Arizona State commit looked pretty sharp in net. I didn’t pay super close attention to the goalies, though I did get some clips of Brady’s stops in the shootout. Here’s one:
Thanks for reading.