FEATURE: Elias Relishes Mentor Role to New Generation of Devils

He's a two-time Stanley Cup winner, a franchise leader in goals and points, one of just five retired numbers.

Patrik Elias has seen it all from an NHL standpoint.

But an Olympic gold medal and a World Championship title have alluded him. As part of a discussion with Black and Red members last week, Elias was asked what is left or what has been left behind on his hockey Bucket List.

An Olympic gold came to mind, at the NHL level he's done just about everything and has heard his named bountied about for a Hall of Fame nomination.

Perhaps the Olympic side of things weighs a little heavier. Growing up in the Czech Republic in the 80's Elias didn't have the same connection to the NHL game that players across the world now have. Technology didn't offer him that same type of access.

"It was different [growing up] for me, because with no internet, with not being able to follow hockey that much like kids have now, my dream wasn't [the] NHL right away," Elias told Black and Red Members last week. "It became maybe when I [turned] 15 or 16, I stopped playing for a national team. I started following NHL a bit closely."

When the NHL was finally on his radar, there appeared to be no looking back for the player who was drafted in the second round in 1994 by the Devils.

"But when I was kid," he continued, "I wanted to just play with my hometown, which they didn't play that global league, but it was my dream to be eventually playing there be honest or playing in the finals of the Olympics."

Elias knew his answer immediately when asked about his hockey Bucket List. There are still things he wished he could have done.

"I was at Olympic Games four times, I think," he said, "And I do have a bronze medal from the Olympics."

But the Gold medal never came.

But the truth of the matter is, he's entirely satisfied and fulfilled by his NHL career.

"I had a chance to win a Stanley Cup and that's the bottom line, that's what you shoot for as a player and I had the privilege to play with some unbelievable players."

Those experiences have shaped who Patrik is and has helped him endear himself to an all-new generation of Devils players. It is not only the allure of who Elias was as a player, it's the reverence he holds in the heart of the franchise. Patty has always been the guy.

Now, he's passing that NHL wisdom on to players on the current roster.

Earlier this year, Elias watched as Miles Wood skated in a practice, slightly hunched over - at least too much for Elias' liking. He pulled Miles aside and suggested he add just a slight bit of length to the shaft of his stick. It's a suggestion Wood took right away, and mentioned he felt a positive difference.

At one time, Elias was in Wood's shoes. Though, he did go about changing his stick in a slightly different way.

"I changed my stick because of [Marian Hossa's] curve," Elias reminisced. "I liked his curve, so I asked him one time when he was in still in Atlanta if I can get a stick from him, and he did not know that, but I got it for that reason because I really liked his curve. He had a straight stick and just at the end he had a little toe-curve. And I really liked it. And I was, I don't know probably didn't play well for a certain period of time. So, I was trying to look for answers and but that was the reason and that's what I asked for."

You see, for Elias, it's always about learning. Absorbing and learning, getting ready for whatever lays ahead of him next. And once again, the Devils organization has stepped up to offer him that opportunity, no longer as a player, but as a pillar of the franchise.

"I'm lucky enough that the organization has been treating me the way they have been treating me which is unreal," Elias said, "You know everyone the ownership, the coaches, the general manager, you know everyone has been so welcoming and so generous and allowing me to come to New Jersey anytime I wanted to spend time with them being on the ice, being inside the locker room, being in the coaches' meeting, travel with the team, being in a meeting with the general manager with the ownership and everyone.

"And I think that those are experiences and those are lessons that you don't get, or normal people normal coaches don't get. And even though that I played for years for this organization for many, many years, it's not that it should be automatic, and I appreciate that."

And no doubt it is a two-way street, and the franchise appreciates it as well.