Music To Our Ears | 10 TAKEAWAYS

It's time for another edition of 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster, where Amanda Stein tries to take you behind the scenes, offers her insight and does a little digging in answering your questions. This week, find out the Devils win song, which player just made Nico Hischier the second-youngest captain in the league and how exactly does Andreas Johnsson want his name pronounced?
All that and more, in this week's 10 Takeaways!

2.

I can assure you it will get stuck, because after it gets played by the Devils locker room, at any given moment for the next few hours there's at least one staff member who is singing the chorus out-loud acapella. The refrain gets sung on the bus, walking in the hallways, and yes even on the plane. And no, it's not only me.

3.

Just want to give a little love to the addition of Ryan Graves. He's been going about his business in such a way that you really get why Tom Fitzgerald had had his eyes on Graves even before acquiring him during the off-season. He plays over 20 minutes almost every night and they're big heavy minutes, and yet he only has two penalties this season, and more often than not finishes a night in the plus category (though I understand not everyone likes to put much emphasis on that particular stat).
Tweet from @NJDevils: All aboard the Gravy train! pic.twitter.com/jeqKLq19gh
He's been so reliable and even has had a knack of picking up points. None might have been bigger than the goal that he scored in San Jose. It was critical, on the second half of a back-to-back on a long road trip, in getting the Devils their 3 out of 6 points on the California road trip. He opened the Devils scoring on San Jose in the second period, while Janne Kuokkanen tied the game up again late in the third to send the game to a shootout victory. And those points in San Jose turned the trip into an average one to a very successful one when you consider what Lindy Ruff said just before the game.
"We set a goal of trying to get six points every five games," Ruff said, "If we win tonight, it gets us our 12 points. And then you dig into areas of the game that you need to be better at."
It was the team's 10th game of the season and we know coaches and players like to look at the schedule in increments. 10 games is one of them, and the Devils finished the opening 10 with 12 points after the trip in California.

4.

The day Scott Wedgewood was placed on waivers by the Devils we were in Anaheim on an off-day. I bumped into Scott at the coffee shop around the corner from our hotel and chatted for a while. I couldn't quite understand the mental fortitude it must take to be a player on waivers or a player who hears their name constantly in trade rumours. You always hear "well, that's part of the game", somehow suggesting that might make things easier to digest. The way waivers work, a player can have a pretty good guess where they might end up if they're picked up. We talked about that, the not knowing where but potentially who and just the feeling of limbo you're in for hours. It is true, it is part of the business, but I cannot imagine it being an easy one.
But what ended up being pretty cool about Wedgewood's situation was that he was picked up by the Arizona Coyotes (who were already in California), and what would happen soon after. Wedgewood backstopped the Coyotes to their first win of the season, ending an 11-game winless streak. Flashback to 2017, when Wedgewood was traded to the Coyotes from the Devils… once again his first appearance ended an 11-game winless streak.
Crazy coincidence.

5.

Miles Wood probably has the greatest laugh of anyone in the Devils locker room. It's rather cheeky, and in turn, makes everyone laugh. It has been and will be, missed as
Miles underwent surgery on his right hip
on Monday. He's such a passionate person and hockey player, he loves this game so much, it's hard to see him have to sit out for longer than he has already. Selfishly, I'll miss having Miles around for interviews. He's always so candid, he means what he says and often provides a gem of a quote.

6.

Well, our Nico Hischier is growing up. The Devils captain is no longer the youngest captain in the National Hockey League. No, that now belongs to Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators.
Nico was named captain of the Devils on Feb. 20, 2021, at the time Nico was 22 years old and 47 days. The Devils captain was born on Jan. 4, 1999. Tkachuk was named captain of the Senators on Nov. 5, he too is 22 years old, but a later birthday than Nico's, born Sept. 16, 1999.

7.

A quote that stuck with me from Lindy Ruff, that I think completely encapsulates the biggest difference this season versus last?
"If you take your job for granted, someone's going to take it."
Not that there wasn't accountability last year, but this year, it's the real deal.

8.

When a player is 21 and has just56 games under his belt is there such thing as "one of their vintage games"?
I'm running with it.
Against the Panthers Ty Smith had a vintage Ty Smith game, jumping up in the rush, creating the right chances… he ended the night with 3 points, a first in his career.
Even crazier? This stat provided by the NHL.

9.

Yes, Andreas Johnsson has asked for his name to be pronounced with a hard J. I got this question a lot this week. Can confirm, as they say.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Andreas Johnsson is an unstoppable force of nature. pic.twitter.com/qevWLdSiwG

10.

I only met him a few times, but Dancing Earl was such a bright spirit. We found out while we were in California that he had passed and it really did leave a bit of shock - someone you see one day, bringing some much joy to those around them, and the next, they're gone. It was a reminder of how fragile life can be, that in this business, while yes it's a business it's also just a game.
I didn't know Earl well, but we said our hellos, traded big smiles. But please have a read of
this article where Earl's spirit is encapsulated
by those who had the pleasure of knowing him better than I had the opportunity to.
Tweet from @NJDevils: This one���s for you, Earl. pic.twitter.com/ViFRmkpsZM
Now, I don't know if this was noticed by many, but in-house during the game on Tuesday night when Earl was honored, an announcement was made that going forward the Devils 'Dance Cam' on the scoreboard will now be known as the 'Dancing Earl Dance Cam', a sweet little touch after losing such a big part of the in-game experience for the fans.