Duggan: Prospects Group 'Setting the Tone for Our Organization' | FEATURE

The New Jersey Devils rookies carry a big responsibility.
They will be the group of players that set the tone as the 2022-23 hockey season is on the horizon. The prospects will travel to Buffalo this afternoon and are set to play their first game of the Prospects Challenge on Friday. It will be the first time a Devils jersey is pulled on for a competitive game since the season closed out last April.
"I hope it's a great showing for our organization, like the New Jersey Devils are kicking off the season with their rookie camp and they're ready to go," Meghan Duggan, Director of Player Development said. "You've got some promising prospects. These guys looked like they had great summers. They start our season as an organization off on the right foot that we're an organization that's ready to go this year."
While no doubt September hockey can be about getting the kinks out of your summer legs and back into competitive mode, Duggan and her team have put in an immense amount of work to make sure the organization is ready from the get-go. While AHL and NHL rinks, as well as rinks overseas, have been emptied for the summer months, in that quiet is when Duggan and her team really go to work.

Making sure players are feeling supported and have the right resources when they are away from the professional facilities is an area that was prioritized. Prioritizing knowing players inside and out, to be able to assist them daily while away from the club is paramount. Duggan's team spent some time strategizing at the end of last season on the best practices they can take to ensure all grounds were covered as players moved into their own environments for the summer months.
"A few of us strategized around like okay, How can we deploy resources or how can we, you know, check in on these players, keep them accountable. And so, we came up with let's see where their training environments (are), let's check-in. Some were in new environments and so we came up with a plan to go see a handful of these players, and the objectives of the visits are How has he trained? And how is he committed? Like, is he showing up late or early? What does the trainer say about him? What's the environment look like? Because you have this fantastic professional space with all the resources or is he going to need a little extra support because the space isn't that great? Is the guy he's working with pushing them enough?"
So far, Duggan says they've passed the eye test, but when they hit the ice on Thursday and begin their tournament on Friday, that becomes a whole other sort of data to rely on. The organization, she says, is looking forward to seeing first-hand how these players have responded to their input at the end of last year. She shared that as a team, they challenged Nico Daws and Akira Schmid, two players that had unexpected stints in the NHL last year and had excellent showings with Utica, to "take it to the next level". On defense, Kevin Bahl also had another taste of the NHL, Duggan "challenged him at the end of the season to have a great summer, get leaner, get stronger, more explosive, those types of things."
One of the players that Duggan recalls having some in-depth and great conversations with was Alexander Holtz. Both sides recognized that he had an outstanding showing in the American Hockey League with Utica, but that there is still much more he can, and both she and the organization feel, offer the National Hockey League club. He was visited by European Development Coach Esa Prines in Sweden this summer, Duggan sharing that Holtz received "one of the most positive reviews we've had on him." At first glance, it certainly appears that Holtz took the conversations to heart and made the adjustments.
"Off the ice, really digging into some of his professional habits and how he's going to grow and his off ice and his strength and conditioning. And he did."
It isn't only about the hockey side of development that Duggan and her team focus on, they understand the importance of continued relationship building between the staff and the players, making sure the players understand that long-term commitment and investment the club is making in them. Whether it was development coaches paying a visit, or the organization's strength coaches checking in, Duggan deployed a variety of staff from on and off the ice to make sure these athletes feel supported.
"I think being able to for us, you know, start to implement just culture values," the 35-year-old shared, "Our goal on the development side is to, help these players, assist these players in their lifecycle to become full-time NHL players and impact this organization for years. I think the importance of taking the player when acquired, whether that's at the draft or other avenues and just getting to know them right away and getting to understand them and what they need from us like that. That's our goal.
"Leave no stone unturned."
Everyone has put in the work. Now is the time to get excited as the skates are sharpening, laces are being tied and the ice is smoothed over.
It's showtime.
"Everyone's so excited. It's the start of the season. We have this rookie group, that's setting the tone, wearing the New Jersey Devils jersey, setting the tone for, what's our organization? What are we going to do this season? I think, in my opinion, I think it's a huge opportunity."