Holtz Faster, Mentally Stronger this Camp | FEATURE

Alexander Holtz had high hopes when he made the trek to North America in 2021 for New Jersey’s training camp.

The Stockholm native enjoyed a blessed journey in his hockey life to that point. He excelled while climbing the ranks in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with the Djurgardens organization, even playing full time at the professional level at 17 years old. He enjoyed a couple great showings during World Junior competitions in 2019 and ’20. And it all culminated with being chosen by the Devils in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Holtz dipped his toe with 10 games of American Hockey League action with Binghamton at the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. So, entering the Devils 2021 training camp, the 19-year-old prospect expected his status to keep rising.

However, life doesn’t always play out the way one expects.

Holtz was the final player cut from the roster at training camp and played almost entirely with Utica of the American Hockey League (he appeared in nine games with New Jersey). During the 2022-23 season, Holtz was back and forth but only played in 19 games for the Devils while being healthy scratched much of the time.

“I battled a couple years. Back in Sweden I was going up all the time and now a little setback but not really,” Holtz said. “It’s been hard. When I got over here the first year it was a grind. Maybe I thought getting to the NHL was going to be easier in the beginning.”

Holtz’s eagerness and high expectations lent to his desire to make an immediate jump to the NHL and have an impact. But he also understands that he has grown in many ways as a player over the past two years.

“I want to perform so much and I want to perform so fast as well (in the NHL),” he said. “Sometimes it takes longer than you expect. I try to keep to the plan. It takes a little bit longer for some players. I just want to get better every day.”

Despite the early disappointments, Holtz maintained a positive attitude and work ethic. In 2021-22 he led the Comets in goals with 26 while posting 51 points in 52 games. Though he was back-and-forth for much of 2022-23, Holtz notched six goals and 11 points in 14 games with Utica.

“Building the mental side a lot, I learn from that every year. That’s going to be a huge thing for my long NHL career,” he said. “The mentality of coming in everyday to get better. Every time you step in the gym, every time you step on the ice, doing everything at full speed, no days off, having the mindset to get better every day. I think that’s a huge boost and gives you confidence that you take into games. You perform from there.”

Holtz, now 21 years old, knows his strengths. He’s a goal scorer and playmaker. He has a booming shot with nasty accuracy. The areas of his game that needed improvement at the NHL level were his pace of play and his defensive abilities, whether it be positioning or 50-50 puck battles.

“Before I was just a goal scorer and a little bit of a passer too. Now I’m more like a two-dimensional player,” Holtz said. “I can both shoot and pass. I feel like I’m getting better on puck battles, board battles. All of that kind of stuff, backcheck, forecheck. I feel like I rounded out my game more and more every day that comes.”

One area of Holtz’s game that does look improved is his pace, or his ability to play at a high tempo consistently shift after shift throughout a 60-minute game or 82-game season. In fact, in the Devils’ opening preseason home game against Philadelphia, Holtz was double shifted, logging 19:56 minutes of ice – the highest among all the team’s forwards. And of course, he also showed his offense by scoring a goal.

“Alex played a lot,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought he skated really well. He scored a nice goal. I thought that line was really good. He did a lot of good things in the game.”

Holtz’s improved pace is attributed to the work he’s put in over the past few summers with his trainer. Though he played nearly 20 minutes, Holtz felt he could have shouldered even more if needed.

“I feel strong overall. I feel like I’m in really good shape,” Holtz said. “I feel like I can skate for a long time out there. It’s that mix between off ice and I was on the ice a lot (this summer) with Jesper (Bratt), too. It’s building that kind of conditioning, too. You can’t skate forever, but it feels like you can skate for a long time.

“I feel coming into this year I’m a much better hockey player.”

Coming into this year, the coaching staff is giving Holtz every chance to show what he can do. That includes placing him on a line combination with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier and working the left flank on the power play to show off his one-timer skills.

"The way (Holtz) looks in camp, the way he's skated, he's earned the opportunity," Ruff said. "We're putting him in a position where we want him to succeed."

“It’s a big confidence boost out there. It’s really nice to play with those type of players,” Holtz said. “I’m trying to do my best to bring my best to that line. We get chemistry every day, every practice. I felt I had a good game last time and build from there.

“They’re two really high-end guys. Two of the best players in this league. I’m just trying to do the best in my game to build that line a little stronger. Getting the opportunity is really nice. I’m just trying to take advantage of it.”

Though the last two years have brought many emotional ups and downs for Holtz, in the long run it will make him a stronger player mentally and on the ice.

"It doesn't happen sometimes from Year 1 to Year 2 and sometimes not 2 to 3," Ruff said. "Sometimes it takes a little bit longer. I've seen real good growth from the end of the year to training camp with pace of his play, the endurance he's shown shift in, shift out." 

“I need to have confidence in my game. Believe in yourself and trust what you’re doing,” he said. “You really put your head down, grind in the summer, come back strong, try to make the team. You try to make the team better as well. You don’t just want to be in there. We have a really good team. I want to be in there for a long time.”

If Holtz has learned anything from the past two years, it’s that he has to earn his spot and ice time. Nothing will be given. But, he has control of his fate with his play.

“I feel like I’ve had a good impression so far,” he said. “I want to build from that.”