FEATURE: Severson Steps Up for Devils in Sixth Season

The Devils defensive core saw some major changes this season with trades and injuries. As a result, several players stepped up to fill the gaps. One of which was Damon Severson. The defenseman spoke with the media at the start of July about his sixth season with the Devils and his offseason plans.

Severson struggled at the beginning of the season but was able to rebound and gain consistency. He finished the season contributing not only defensively, but offensively as well. He discussed what it felt like to turn his season around and find his groove.

"It was nice to see myself turning around and things kind of changed and I got a lot more confidence and I started playing with a little more swagger out there," Severson said in his media exit interview. "I kind of realized that I was going to be put on the ice no matter what the situation was, I had that confidence be put in me from the coaching staff and my teammates again. That was just a key for sure and seemed to take off from there.

"So that was exciting. Something to build off of for sure and now kind of moving forward it's going to be, hopefully, that second half of the season for me instead of the first."

Severson felt Assistant Coach Peter Horachek's belief in him helped him grow his confidence and contributed to the turn in his game.

"He just instilled confidence in me to show me that I was the guy and I wanted to reward him by putting me on the ice as much as he did and showing him that I could be the player that he believed I can be. So there was a big turnaround there," said Severson. "As we got to know each other better you get to practicing, you get to watch in the games and see a little video together and works on things that you can get better at, and just his positive outlook and mindset he brought to the table every day was very refreshing. And showing me that there was a lot of things that I could do that was good but I could even get better at them, and there wasn't a whole lot of negativity, it was just trying to help me get better."

As the Devils continue their off-season ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, Severson is currently in Kelowna, B.C. at his off-season home. He has access to a private ice facility and is working on his offseason program.

"About six weeks into the pause, there was some ice available here in a kind of private rink and there were only four or five guys on the ice at a time," Severson said. "I've been on the ice just trying to stay sharp and trying to fine-tune my skills a little bit and just kind of do my thing out there to stay prepared."

"I'm just trying to work on things that I have a lot of time to work on and maybe I'll be able to implement into my game starting next season."

When asked what some of the things Severson is focusing on this pause, he responded with one theme that applies to various aspects of his game.

"I think the defensive game of mine can definitely get better and more consistent. But the offensive side of the puck, I just have to be more consistent with that. Just every game, not having to rely on your teammates to make things happen. I have to be one of those guys, to be able to create that offense every night."