Alexander Holtz on 'Pure Happiness' | PODCAST

Alexander Holtz had an impressive preseason with the New Jersey Devils, leading the team in scoring with two goals, four points and a plus-4. But, on the eve of the NHL regular season, Holtz was assigned to Utica of the American Hockey League.
"It was disappointing. I thought I had a good preseason and everything and then got sent down to Utica," Holtz said in the latest episode of the Speak of the Devils podcast. "I really had it on my mind that I wanted to get back here and do my best down there in every game."
It was that positive attitude that allowed Holtz to be his best, scoring five goals in four games for the Comets.
"That was the attitude I wanted to go in with. I'm not the guy to go in with a bad attitude," Holtz said. "I just wanted to show them that I feel like I'm ready for the next level. I had some good games there and wanted to bring that to the NHL, too."
Holtz was shopping for some high-end shirts when he was called up to the NHL (he did bring that shirt with him to Jersey). The Stockholm native has picked up two assists in six games so far for New Jersey, still searching for that elusive first NHL goal. Though that will likely come with his shooting ability after he adjusts to the NHL speed.
"That's what I want to get better at. I want to shoot faster and still have the accuracy. That's what I work on in practice," Holtz said. "Getting in the right position when I'm taking my shot. Being in the right position when the puck's coming from the wall. All the passes need to be tape-to-tape."

Holtz has realized how harder it is to score in the National Hockey League against veteran competitors and the best the world has to offer.
"Guys are stronger here and bigger. I played against (Zdeno) Chara," Holtz said of the hulking 6-foot-9 defenseman from the NY Islanders. "I think he's been in the league more than I've been on earth. That's pretty cool, too."
But Holtz's first awe struck moment occurred earlier in training camp.
"My first preseason game when we played Washington, I played Alexander Ovechkin. That was really cool seeing him in warmups," he said. "I watched him so much when I was younger. I loved to score goals and he's one of the greatest goal scorers to play hockey."
And when he does finally score a goal, he'll know exactly what it will feel like. As he put it: "It's such a good feeling when you get the puck into the back of the net. It's just like pure happiness."
Other topics discussed on the podcast…
New Jersey Devils Official Podcast
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Alexander Holtz | Speak of the Devils