On the Bright Side | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Two games down, eighty to go.
Yes, it has not been the ideal start to a season, but as captain Nico Hischier will remind you, there are still eighty games to go. And he's right in so many ways. Just by basic math, he is correct, but also keeping that even-keel attitude, the cliché not get too high or too low, to make sure the focus remains on what's next. But inside the first two games, there have been some really positive and exciting moments too, and as Brendan Smith said, it's important to stay positive and keep that mindset.
So that's where we start in this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster... the biggest positive of the last week.

2.

I've noticed it on multiple occasions already... the way Ondrej Palat is dialed in at practice. He's always at the whiteboard with a coach going over what's being asked of him and the team, always in discussion. Often times it comes after practice when the players are freely skating and shooting around, while other times it comes after the team breaks away from the whiteboard to get into their next practice formation. The latest was with Sergei Brylin on Monday.

3.

I was incredibly lucky to walk into the Devils locker room for the first time in 2017 and have Andy Greene as the team captain. He welcomed me into the room as one of their own, right from the get-go, and while he puts on a very serious face when it comes to his work, he's so quick-witted and understatedly funny. During his press conference this week, I nearly got him, as he joked with me. I asked him about who, other than his coaches and wife and kids he thinks about on this day, the day he's officially retiring. He began to answer, I could see oh so slightly a tear build up in his eyes.
But then he paused and said he was not going to give in to it and kept himself together.
I'm one-for-two, we joked. I got Travis Zajac to cry during his retirement interview, Greene kept it (sort of) together!

4.

But in all seriousness, it was great to see Greene get his moment with the fan base. When he originally 'came back' after he was traded to the Islanders, the building was at limited capacity and the moment didn't seem to do his tenure justice.
On Saturday,
it felt right with all the fans in the building
, cheering his name and seeing him wear the Devils jersey with the C.

5.

Dawson Mercer set a career-high in the season opener. The second-year forward had a team-leading six shots on net, which is now a new career-high. Mercer finished the night with an assist, while a game later he nearly tied his own record with five shots against the Detroit Red Wings.
Dawson also became the first player in franchise history to wear No. 91. He made the switch when Ondrej Palat joined the team, for which Palat gifted him a watch.

It was later revealed to be a Hublot watch.

6.

Listening to Brendan Smith after the Devils' loss to the Red Wings made me want to run through a wall with belief. You can certainly tell there's a different level of veteran voices in the room this season, which is absolutely no knock on anyone else. Having a mixture of leadership styles is so important, knowing that different people respond to different styles.
I loved what he said after the loss to the Red Wings. He was articulate on how he's seen the first two games played out and his honesty was real. He broke everything down into the three areas of the ice surface: offensive zone, neutral zone, and defensive zone.
"You know what, the thing for me, the thing that I'm excited about (the defensive zone coverage) is an area you can fix. Talent, you either have it or you don't, and we have that and we can score goals but there is an attention to detail you can create. Yeah, it's frustrating to lose those two points, but I think that if we can clean up our end, we're right there."

7.

There was a stretch over the past couple of years where the Zamboni corner during warmups felt very empty. It's the corner where players' kids can come down and watch their dads during warmups. Because the team has been so young, there were very few, if any at times, children running around but this year there's definitely a shift. It was a very full Zamboni corner for the opening game and lots of visits to the glass.

I'm reminded of Brendan Smith and what he said prior to the home opener. He talked about being fully aware these moments are dwindling for him in his career, knowing he is in the latter half of his time in the league, which makes moments like these all that more special, being able to share it with his two children.
I'm personally a sucker for moments like this, I just think they're too cute.

8.

Did you know that Ondrej Palat owns a football (soccer) team? Palat is an investor in Plymouth Argyle with former teammate Victor Hedman. I was talking with Palat during camp about the investment and he said they were really thinking about a long-term investment, with hopes of moving up in the English soccer leagues in five-plus years. Turns out, Plymouth are doing quite well in this first year with Palat and Hedman as investors... They currently play in League One, the third-tier league of English soccer, and have to Palat's delight are the top team in the 24-team league, with eleven wins, one draw, and two losses. The top two teams in the English Football League One are automatically promoted to the English Football League Championship, the tier-2 league, behind only the Premier League.
I haven't seen any of the Argyle gear around the Devils locker room yet, but Palat said he's soon going to change that!

9.

Tomas Tatar is probably the biggest soccer/football fan in the locker room. When I asked him about Palat's Argyle team, he had a great answer.
"I might try to steal some of that percentage! I think they're first and about to go to the second-highest league in England!"
Turns out, Palat isn't just going to hand out hats and scarves.
"He gave me his Manager's Passport too, so I can watch the games," Tatar said with a hearty laugh.
I guess we all have a new team to cheer for now!

10.

Devils prospect Seamus Casey is having a great start to his collegiate
career with the Michigan Wolverines. He's been scoring, assisting and playing a big part on the backend, especially when fellow New Jersey prospect Luke Hughes was out to start the beginning of the year.

Casey grew up in the Florida Keys and Fort Myers and had a lot on his mind during the beginning of the season as Hurricane Ian made it's way through Florida. Casey's two brothers still live in Florida and he was happy to report that his brothers were safe, though he did know people who saw incredible damage to their homes.