Olympic Send-Off, and Other Stories | 10 TAKEAWAYS

The NHL has officially hit pause and the hockey world’s attention shifts to Milan for the next couple of weeks. While some of the league’s biggest stars are heading overseas for best-on-best Olympic competition, others (myself included!) are packing their bags for a different kind of trip, chasing some sun, grabbing a little relaxation, loading up on vitamin D, and resetting before the final stretch of the NHL season.

It’s definitely a little strange to have such a long break in February, but it’s the trade-off that comes with Olympic hockey. The players not participating will be back in action sooner than it feels, teams are allowed to start holding practices again on February 18, though some rosters will still be missing their Olympians. It’ll create a bit of a mini training camp vibe around the league. But before we start thinking about the stretch run, this is a good moment for everyone, players and fans alike, to take a breath and enjoy the break.

So with that, let’s get ready for the tournament and everything surrounding it with this week’s 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

1.

I did a little digging to see who some of the Devils will be rooming with at the Olympics. It'll be different than an NHL road trip where they've all got their own hotel rooms; this time, they're setting up shop with their countrymen. It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment for them, going from NHL life with luxury hotels and their own rooms to the much tighter, dorm-style setup in the Olympic Village, but it's all part of the experience!

I couldn’t track down everyone’s roommates, but I got a few… and honestly, I’m still not sure how Timo Meier pulled off what he did.

Simon Nemec will be rooming with Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary, while the Devils’ Swiss contingent is splitting up. Jonas Siegenthaler will share a room with Blues forward Pius Suter. And somehow, and he just flashed a big smile when I asked him about it, Timo Meier claims he’s managed to land a room to himself for the Olympics… or he was completely messing with me. We may never know. But that sounds like a sweet deal!

Nico Hischier will share a room with Swiss teammate Philipp Kurashev, who plays for the San Jose Sharks. While I know who Jesper Bratt is rooming with, I was told I can't share yet because he's not sure the other person knows. It's a player that's younger, Bratt did divulge, and joke that way when he says its time to turn the lights off, the lights go off! We won't spoil it, but when I have the info confirmed, I'll let you all know!

2.

Keep your eyes peeled during the Opening Ceremony today. I know a few Devils who hopped on a plane out of New Jersey immediately after the game against the Islanders just to make sure they could soak in the full Olympic experience and take part in walking behind their country’s flag.

Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler all headed straight to the airport after Thursday’s game to get to Milan in time for the ceremony. Not everyone was able to make it work, but it’s clearly something that meant a lot to those three... a chance to share the full Olympic experience together.

They'll be decked out in these sweet outfits:

3.

Speaking of flags, it’s pretty cool to see three countries being led by NHL players. It's been a long time since the NHL has been to the Olympics, so to see these players lead their countries onto the world sporting stage will be very cool. Switzerland will have Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter carrying the flag, Czechia will be represented by Boston’s David Pastrnak, and Germany will have Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl leading the way at the ceremony.

“Such a huge honor,” Jonas Siegenthaler said when we were talking about Niederreiter being named Switzerland’s flag bearer. He seemed genuinely thrilled for Nino getting that recognition. You can really tell how much being back at the Olympics means to these guys.

4.

Spoke with Simon Nemec, who, kind of amazingly, is the only Devils player on the roster who’s actually a returning Olympian. Nemec played in the 2022 Games when he was just 17 years old.

I asked him how this might feel different and whether he’s looking forward to it in a new way. He laughed and said one thing that definitely won’t be the same is his diet. Back in 2022, he and Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky basically lived on pepperoni pizza for the entire tournament, which was still affected by health restrictions.

Nemec joked that it probably won’t be happening this time around. He talked a little about how different life feels now, he’s no longer the wide-eyed teenager soaking everything in, he’s a fully committed to the pro that he is, heading to the Olympics, so he won't be b-lining it for the pepperoni pizza. The excitement is still there, but the approach is a lot more dialed in than it was when he was a 17-year-old, undrafted kid just happy to be along for the ride.

Slovakia won the bronze medal at the last Olympics, but that was a completely different beast with no NHL players in the mix.

5.

Watching practice this past week, the Devils coaches have been rocking some different gear, helping the guys get their national team equipment broken in before heading to Milan. Players like Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec have been skating in brand new skates, and let’s just say those bright white skates are hard to miss.

Some of the coaches have also been repping Sweden and Switzerland colors while helping the guys work in gloves and other gear (and, to be fair, the Swiss colors basically match the Devils anyway). They’ve been helping Bratt and the three Swiss players get comfortable with everything before the tournament starts.

And Meier’s gloves are especially sharp, the entire thumb is a Swiss flag. They look pretty awesome.

6.

A couple more Olympic things… spoke with Jake Allen, and he’s very much an Olympic fan. He said his favorite is the summer games, but he’ll still be glued as much as he can to the Winter Games.

I asked him about his favorite sport to watch, other than hockey, and he said, well, other than both men's and women's hockey. Jake is such an advocate for women’s hockey; he’s thoroughly involved in Jersey Girls Hockey. But it seems the hockey players are really intrigued by the skiers, both Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec mentioned wishing they were closer to the ski hills to try and watch a couple of runs.

Nemec was particularly excited at the opportunity to see Petra Vlhová, who is an alpine skier who won gold in the slalom event at the 2022 Games. So why in particular Petra? Nemo shared that they are both from the same small hometown in Slovakia, Liptovský Mikuláš, with a population of just over 28,000.

Vlhová, Nemo was telling me, was the first Slovak skier to win the women's World Cup, when she did it in 2021, and the gold she won at the 2022 Games was Slovakia's first Olympic medal in Alpine skiing.

7.

This was a really nice send-off for the Devils Olympians during a pre-game ceremony against the Islanders. Each Devils player heading to the Games was introduced alongside a member of the Jersey Girls Hockey Club, who stood with them while holding their country’s flag.

8.

Welcome, Nick Bjugstad! The New Jersey Devils' newest member of the team has arrived, coming in just under the trade freeze deadline for the Olympics.

Bjugstad adds some solid size to the bottom-six center group and is strong at the faceoff dot, which is always a plus. In his first game, he got thrown right into the mix too, logging some penalty kill time. He also made a little Devils history, becoming the first player to ever wear No. 72 in New Jersey.

Right away, you can tell he’s going to be a great locker room presence. Super personable. Even before I officially met him, he walked past me heading out for his first morning skate and gave a big “Good morning!” like we’d known each other for years.

In the locker room, Bjugstad is set up between Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, taking over the stall Ondrej Palat had occupied for the last three and a half seasons.

9.

It’s coming soon, but I’m not sure anyone is prepared for this year’s edition of the Sweep the Deck player personality video. I was thrilled when Arseny Gritsyuk agreed to team up with me this year; quite frankly, there was no one better for the experience.

He’s been such a sensation and fan favorite this season, I don’t think we could walk more than two steps (if that) without someone stopping him and sharing their adoration for him.

Here’s a little preview:

10.

Enjoy the break, everyone! And enjoy the incredible hockey we’re about to get. It’s been a long wait for best-on-best to return, so this is definitely one of those moments to just soak it all in.

These players pushed hard to make sure they’d be back in the Games, and it’s not something they’re taking for granted. Before Ondrej Palat was traded to the Islanders, I talked with him about heading to the Olympics. He’s 33 now and only going to his second Winter Games. The last time he went, he was a young player just starting to find his footing in the NHL, he didn’t even get into the elimination games in Sochi in 2014. Time really flies.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the Games!