You Can Quote Me | 10 TAKEAWAYS

These 10 Takeaways are always so much fun for me to write. I get to dive back into the previous week and find some nuggets of information and stories that I feel are fun to share. I hope you've enjoyed reading these as much as I've had putting them together. This past week, I stayed behind while the team was in both Minnesota and Winnipeg, and with a plethora of free time that is so rare during the hockey season, you guessed it... I still spent my time reading, listening, watching the game. It's what I love.
I love when I read or hear something that I didn't know before, like when a player is told to find themselves an apartment or what was the best advice a player has ever received. So this week, among other stories, I've included a couple of stories and thoughts around what I've read and listened to in the past seven days.
Without further ado, here are your 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

2.

When Damon Severson scored his second goal of the season over the weekend, it marked a big moment for the Devils' power play, stopping an 0-for-18 slide. The last Devils goal on the man advantage came on Nov. 14 against the Rangers.

But the goal was also Severson's 42nd career goal and inches him up the franchise's record books for defensemen. The Devils assistant captain passed Rob Ramage for seventh place all-time in regular-season goals. And chances are that's not where it will end. In fact, Severson added another goal a game later, the opening mark against the Senators for his 43rd career goal. He now sits just one goal away from tying Brian Rafalski's 44 to rank 6th all-time.
Scott Niedermayer holds the franchise record with 112.

3.

Jesper Bratt is really this shining example of you never know.Jesper was drafted in 2016 with the Devils sixth-round selection (162nd overall). 100th assist, 150th point.

You'd have to go all the way back to the 2000 NHL draft before you'd find a sixth-round selection by New Jersey to make an impact of sorts in the league. And he didn't even play for New Jersey.
That would be Deryk Engelland who played 671 NHL games (Penguins, Flames, Golden Knights).
There are a few players who were drafted in the sixth round by New Jersey who have had small cups of coffee in the NHL, but no forward selected in the sixth round by the Devils has ever made an impact the way Jesper has already so young in his career.

4.

Loved this little nugget from
Mike Morreale's conversation with captain Nico Hischier
. Mike asked Nico what the best piece of advice he's ever received was.
"There are no bad days in this League."
And really, when you think about it, there aren't. There are bad moments, or what can feel like bad moments because everyone here is such a competitor and wants to win but having the attitude of there are no bad days in the league makes so much sense in keeping things in perspective. It doesn't take away from needing to work hard, needing to improve, and understanding that it's a result-driven business, but ultimately the advice is right.
For all of us who work or play in this league, there are ultimately no bad days because we are here living out our dreams. It's just a really good quote to keep things in perspective.

5.

Make that all three first-round picks from 2020 under contract with the Devils now. The last of the three to put pen to paper was Shakir Mukhamadullin, who did so on Dec. 1, signing his Entry-Level Contract (ELC) with New Jersey. One of the important things to remember when it comes to signing a player like Shakir who is currently playing in Russia is that the three-year contract does in no way guarantee or mean that he will either be in New Jersey or Utica next season. They are options but not the only ones.
Because Mukhamadullin signed as a 19-year-old his contract will be able to slide and begin with the 2022-23 season, however regardless of where he plays, the KHL or elsewhere, the ECL will begin next season.

6.

Heck of a start to an American Hockey League career for goaltender Akira Schmid. It took 154 minutes and 46 seconds of game time play before an opponent scored on him. For the entire Utica squad, the start of the year has been nothing short of remarkable, but for Schmid, it's certainly been even more special.
He's appeared in nine games, has yet to record a loss (he's 8-0-1), and has a 1.43 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage. Two of those eight victories are shutouts.

7.

Schmid's 154:46 shutout streak isn't a Utica franchise record. That's held by Jacob Markstrom when Utica was affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks. His franchise-record stands at 238:08.

8

You have to be so happy for a guy like Nathan Bastian. He seemingly had a hard time finding his way among the Seattle Kraken expansion team and yet somehow found his way back here to New Jersey. Last week I wrote about the reaction of the players on the plane when the announcement was made that the Devils picked him up off waivers. In that same Jeff Marek podcast, Fitzgerald shared how it felt from his perspective to bring Nate back into the fold:
"Great team guy, the players love him, the coaches love him. It really was a no-brainer to bring The Nater back in town. And I got to tell you, I mean our players… oh my god, you would have thought we were bringing Mario Lemieux in!"

9.

Lindy Ruff has coached his fair share of players since making his coaching debut in 1997. That's why it was notable when he was discussing the play of Pavel Zacha on Monday. Lindy shared that Zacha "has one of the best shots of anyone I've ever coached, quickest, hardest release."
That's some high praise. And while there may have been those who were frustrated at the beginning of Zacha's career in his lack of production, these last two seasons under Ruff there has been a noticeable change in Zacha's play and ability to be one of the Devils biggest offensive threats on the roster.
Ruff has coached some pretty offensive players during his tenure, like the likes of Thomas Vanek, Tyler Seguin, Daniel Brière and Jamie Benn to name a few.

10.

I want to urge you to read the
BIG READ
that came out just yesterday. It's beautifully written by Stan Fischler and takes the reader back to the 1920's and the beginning of hockey in the state of New Jersey, and specifically the city of Newark. I'm slightly ashamed to admit that it was the first time I was truly educated in the start of the sport in my new adopted home and it might be a story you're unfamiliar with too. What really took me back was that hockey in Newark, in New Jersey was so very closely connected to my home province in Canada, Quebec.
As someone who takes pride is growing up knowing the hockey history of my province, I could not believe that this had not entered the equation in my education, so I'm fortunate to have read this wonderful story by Stan, and I hope you will enjoy it too.