Calder Trophy finalist Adam Henrique and 19-year-old defenseman Adam Larsson, the fourth player chosen in the 2011 NHL Draft, were among 24 players assigned by the New Jersey Devils to the American Hockey League Albany Devils on Saturday.
New Jersey also returned three players, including 2012 first-round pick Stefan Matteau, to their junior teams.
Henrique had 16 goals and 51 points for New Jersey in 2011-12, then added five goals and 13 points during the Devils' run to the Stanley Cup Final. Larsson was a regular on defense for most of the season as an 18-year-old, though he saw limited playoff action.
Also assigned to Albany were Matt Anderson, Jean-Sebastien Berube, Brandon Burlon, Bobby Butler, Maxime Clermont, Jeff Frazee, Eric Gelinas, Mike Hoeffel, Jacob Josefson, Dan Kelly, Keith Kinkaid, Jay Leach, Harri Pesonen, Tim Sestito, Mike Sislo, Mattias Tedenby, Alexander Urbom, Scott Wedgewood, Chad Wiseman, David Wohlberg, Harry Young and Steve Zalewski.
In addition to Matteau, who was returned to Blainville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Devils sent Reece Scarlett to Swift Current of the Western Hockey League and Damon Severson to Kelowna of the WHL.