Rookie Roomies | 10 TAKEAWAYS

The Devils are finally back on the East Coast, having spent the last week and a bit out on the West Coast, bringing their show on the road. 

All in all, it was a successful trip, returning to New Jersey with six out of a possible eight points off of wins in Vancouver, Seattle and Calgary. Their lone loss came against the Edmonton Oilers in the second half of a back-to-back and at the tail end of the road trip. 

The Devils will play their 27th game of the season on Wednesday night which marks roughly a third of the 82-game season completed. 

The Metropolitan Division is full of competition right now, with just four points separating second and fifth in the division, with plenty of competition left to go.

This past week has served up some great moments, like Simon Nemec's first NHL goal and Luke Hughes climbing his way up in rookie scoring. But first we start this edition of 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster, where the Devils just left off... the four-game road trip.

1.

The key to that success on the road trip? Simplicity.

"I think it went really well," Erik Haula said on Tuesday. "Three out of four and I think we were better as a team. Team defense was better, played simpler and I think it worked for us pretty well.

"I think it’s been helpful," Haula said of playing a simple game, "Sometimes when you struggle and you’re trying to find your way it’s easier to just take a step back and then take a couple forward instead of just trying to do more and more and more. That’s why the simple is a good word for us. It means a lot of things obviously but it worked."

2.

When the Devils host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night, Lindy Ruff will be coaching in his 1740th NHL game. His career is a remarkable one, spanning over 22 years and counting.

The Devils head coach is now one win away from tying Hall of Famer Ken Hitchcock for fourth all-time in wins, with 849. That is no small feat and a pretty special milestone.

To tie third all-time, he’ll need another 65 victories, to tie Barry Trotz's record 914 wins.

3.

Ruff is currently the leader in wins for active NHL coaches. Florida Panthers' Paul Maurice is right behind him with 834 in 1793 games coached.

4.

Luke Hughes is doing some pretty remarkable things in his first full year in the NHL. Through 26 games, he's clocking with 20:02 average time on ice a game and his 39 shots lead all Devils defensemen.

Up to 16 points (4g-12a), Hughes is behind only Chicago's Connor Bedard in rookie scoring. Among rookie defensemen, Luke is leading all scoring, ahead of Anaheim's Pavel Mintyukov (13 pts). Hughes is the leading rookie in power-play goals, tied with Anaheim's forward Leo Carlsson.

In fact, Luke is the only rookie defenseman who has scored a power-play goal this season in the NHL.

5.

I know how much our fanbase loves having both Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec on the current roster together. There has been so much anticipation since Simon was added into the Devils fold at the 2022 draft. That's why when Luke let the cat out of the bag that Nemec is his road roommate I knew I had to let it be known! Luke says that Nemo is 'very funny', but didn't elaborate too much on it. Sounds like they have a good time though!

6.

Some of you have asked, so no, not everyone on the road has a roommate, but most don't. But if you're on an Entry-Level Contract, as both Luke and Simon are, you're getting a roommate on the road.

Other players on ELCs on the current Devils roster? Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer and Akira Schmid. I don't know how it all shakes out with odd numbers, or who, with odd numbers, gets the solo room. But either way, I can only imagine what it must be like to have Luke and Simon bunking together.

7.

Always so happy to see a player score their first NHL goal and Simon Nemec's was no different! Based on how he was playing, you knew it was only a matter of time before it would come and it did in the early morning hours (on the East coast) against the Seattle Kraken.

His 'celebration' was reminiscent of Yegor Sharangovich, the straight face, stick raised in the air. Nemec said he didn't really have time to think of a celebration and assured that even though he didn't appear to smile, he was really happy. 

Curious to see what happens with his next goal.

8.

One of the great things about Jack Hughes and some of his interview clips that go viral is that he is simply just stating the truth.

Jack is a very literal guy, he is extremely bright when analyzing the game both around the league and his own and he’s a player you always need to be prepared for when you interview because he will challenge you. That is by no means a bad thing, it’s actually a really great, refreshing thing.

9.

Jack's smarts were on display with the subtlest of decisions against the Vancouver Canucks. What this replay doesn't show is Hughes turning back to his defensemen, Kevin Bahl and John Marino and motioning for them to change spots. Clearly, Hughes wanted the lefty high on the left side and his play off the faceoff starts the whole sequence which led to the goal. Off the faceoff, he immediately B-lines it to the front of the net, getting on the inside, before the puck even reached Bahl. 

Bahl takes the shot, Hughes is already in front and the Devils go up 3-1 on the Canucks.

10.

Don't look now but there's another Nemec on the horizon. Simon's younger brother Adam, who is a forward, is doing some remarkable things unto himself in Slovakia. He made his Slovak top-tier league debut with HK Nitra last week, just over a month after turning 16 years old. I went to check out the roster for Nitra the oldest player on the roster and two players on the team are more than twice Nemec's age and two other players who are exactly twice Nemec's age (32). 

What's wild is that the team captain and oldest player on the roster is 27 years older than Adam. 

The younger of the Nemecs is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, so a way yet to go.