Devils' Forward Depth Creating Competition | FEATURE

The Devils are inching closer and closer to the start of the regular season. And with that, their roster is being whittled down to the eventual 23-man roster for the Oct. 12 season-opener against the Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center.

The club held two coinciding practice sessions on Tuesday, one featuring a group that will closely resemble the lineup for opening night. That particular group used the following workflow…

Toffoli – JHughes – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Holtz
Palat – Haula – Mercer
Nosek – McLeod – Lazar
Tierney – Bastian

Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Bahl – Marino
LHughes – Nemec
Smith – Miller

Vanecek
Schmid

The Devils top three forward lines have been together consistently since Day 1 of training camp (with the exception of one preseason game). What seems less settled is which players will ultimately land on the fourth line. The coaching staff has moved different players into position to see how they fair.

“It’s a great problem to have,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “You’re one injury away from needing depth at any position. We’ve dealt with that in the past. I think we’ve got a great effort. You need those types of guys. They have energy. They can swing momentum for you. I think every team looks for a line like that to help you win hockey games.”

The Devils are in the fortuitous position of having an overflow of quality players that can fill that role. And that doesn’t just include the names above in Tomas Nosek, Michael McLeod, Curtis Lazar, Chris Tierney and Nathan Bastian. Don’t discount the other practice group that had players like Tyce Thompson, Shane Bowers, Justin Dowling, Max Willman and Nolan Foote.

“Don’t read anything into it,” Ruff said of the groupings. “Just that we wanted to get guys that hadn’t practiced with each other, get them back together. You look at two (remaining preseason) games, all of the players are probably going to play.”

The Devils depth not only creates great competition, but helps push each player to be their best in the hopes of landing a roster spot and ice time. Thus, it should elevate everyone’s play.

“You’re pushing each other. You see that in practice and it’ll stem further along into the season,” said Lazar, who scored at Philadelphia last Saturday. “We’re pushing each other and making each other better. You can’t be content each and every day. You battle and you push each other. The internal competition, there’s no bad blood. You do it by committee. That’s the beauty of team sport.”

“Everyone’s goal coming into camp is to make the team. Everyone is pushing for spots,” said Tierney.

On an individual level, every player has different attributes that they bring to the table and various strengths. It’s up to them to show that during preseason action.

“You just have to come in and play your game,” said Tierney, who signed in the summer. “There are a lot of good players here. It’s a deep team. They had a really good year last year. And they’ve added pieces to it.

“Come in and try to play your game and add what you can to the team. Just go out there and do your best.”

In reality, the opening night roster doesn’t matter all that much. Throughout the entirety of an 82-game regular season, every team’s depth is tested. Whether due to injury or play, at some point, all of these players will be called upon by the team to contribute, whether it’s on Oct. 12 or Jan. 12 or March 12. And that’s where depth is such an asset to an organization.

“It’s a long season. It’s a grind. You need a lot of bodies,” Lazar said. “Then you get to playoffs and it’s another beast. You can tell teams that have the depth, teams that have the chemistry, it pays off.”