New World Order I FEATURE

The 2020-21 season featured many ups and downs for the New Jersey Devils. But the lowest point may have occurred April 22 as the club suffered a 5-1 loss at Pittsburgh. The game marked the eighth straight time the Devils were on the losing side of a result. And worse, it was a poor effort from the team overall.
But it was also a turning point moment for the team, and perhaps even the franchise.
In the disappointing minutes following the final buzzer three men gathered: Nico Hischier, Damon Severson and Miles Wood.
They are the Devils' leadership group, the new leadership group, as all three received letters - or a letter upgrade - with the team during the season.
After a talk amongst the three, they walked into the locker room to address their teammates and held a "players-only" discussion. The conversation helped turn the skid around. Though the Devils would lose their next game - they did come within inches of tying the contest late in the third period - the squad rebounded for a 5-1-1 run.

"I think it's important, too, if you feel like the team is not going in the right way," Hischier recalled of the moment. "We discussed it with the leadership group in this team. We felt it was the right time to do a little team meeting. I guess it worked. So it was the right call. I think everybody was on the same page after that."
There is a new world order emerging in the Devils organization. Gone are the usual leadership mainstays such as Andy Greene, Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri. In their place a new collection has risen.
Two months into the season,
Hischier was named the 12^th captain in Devils' history
, following in the footsteps (or skate strides) of such legendary namesakes as Scott Stevens, Jamie Langenbrunner and Kirk Muller.
"It was never a doubt who the next leader of this team was going to be. It was just when to do it," said general manager Tom Fitzgerald on Feb. 20, the day Hischier was announced as team captain. "He's going to lead us for a long, long time."
Hischier, taking on his new role as the leader of men, was given some advice from his manager, coaches and peers.
"Everybody told me not to change anything, just try to play your game and that's what I tried to focus on," Hischier said. "On the ice, you don't really notice you're wearing a 'C.' I just try to do what I've been doing. That's my game plan."
Hischier, now bearing the 'C' crest, was aided by his two alternate captains in veterans Zajac and Palmieri for much of the season. But that all changed on April 7. The Devils traded both Zajac and Palmieri to the New York Islanders creating a vacuum in the locker room to be filled.
"No ex-player is called a hurdle, but when voices are heavier elsewhere around the room, sometimes your voice isn't heard," Fitzgerald said. "When those voices are turned down a bit or removed, people's voices get louder.
"Sometimes when you get thrown into the fire, you just react and do what comes naturally. When you trade away good people and leaders that we've had at deadlines, it should excite young players and force them into roles they weren't accustomed to, but have learned from and grown from."
Several players were forced into expanded roles, including the stitching of the letter 'A' on the jerseys of Severson and Wood.
"I take pride in that," Severson, 26, said. "When they put the 'A' on my jersey, when it's part of your game, part of who you are as a person, I take a lot of pride in that. I've always been that kind of a person growing up through different levels of hockey. It's definitely something I take a lot of pride in."

And it was those three men, and others, who would take the torch and lead the Devils for the remainder of the season.
"I grew in that a lot, myself and Woody and Nico being that leadership group," Severson said. "We take a lot of pride and we want to be the go-to guys. We're not afraid to step up and have those conversations that maybe other guys aren't so comfortable having. I take pride in it. I want to be that guy. I want to be a go-to guy. Hopefully moving forward I can continue to do that."
Entering the season, Wood
was determined to be more of a vocal presence in the locker room,
despite not yet having a letter on his jersey.
"I think I'm going to put more pressure on myself, on and off the ice this year to make a great impact on the team," he said before the season began. "It's crazy to think, but I've been here for five years now and time flies. I think this year it's time to grow up and not be the young kid in the room, and I'm certainly looking forward to the challenge.
"I think I'm the third oldest forward on the team at 25, which is unheard of. I just felt like I don't have an 'A' or a 'C' on my shoulder, but that doesn't stop me from speaking out when I have to."
One month into the season however, Wood would have an 'A' on his jersey. And he backed up his talk with his play by tying (Pavel Zacha) for the team lead in goals with 17, which was the best goals-per-game ratio (.31) of his career.
"I feel like this is the largest step that I've taken in my career so far," he said, "not only as a hockey player, but also as a person in the room."
Speaking up in the locker room may be the biggest adjustment for the new leadership group. Whether that is giving teammates encouraging words or telling them hard truths, such as the players-only meeting after the Pittsburgh loss, being vocal in the locker room is arguably just as important as leading on the ice.
"Around the locker room with the guys, I'm not a yeller or screamer. I just calmly have conversations with guys whether it's 1-on-1 or in a group setting," Severson said. "I just like to be realistic, truthful and honest. I don't like to beat around the bush.
"You want to breed confidence in guys. That's a big part of being a leader, too. When a guy is doing something good, you want to remind them and give them that extra boost of confidence. It's a human element. People need that. If you give a guy an extra boost of confidence, he's only going to get better."
But in order to be a leader in the room, your words and actions must carry wight with your peers.
"You just want that respect from your teammates," Severson said. "You want guys to look to you whether they have questions or just need someone to come to. I think it's both leading by example or vocally leading in a humanly calm manner, where you don't need to be yelling or screaming in a one-sided conversation."
As the Devils embark on a future led by a new generation of stars that leadership group will grow to include other players like Jack Hughes, Pavel Zacha and Ty Smith, whether there is a letter on their chest or not.
"You hear Jack's voice now. You hear Ty Smith's voice now. You hear a Miles Wood," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "There are different voices now all of a sudden. These guys like playing with each other, for each other. When you start playing for each other is really when the success starts to come.
"As a group they've grown. Their personalities are starting to show. They're starting to expect more out of each other."
Pushing each other and demanding more from each other will breed success. And that's what this new group of leaders expects to do for the foreseeable future. And there's no doubt which of them is steering the ship.
"I try to help wherever I can," Hischier said. "If I see something and I think that I can help, I'm not afraid to tell them. We're all in this together. Try to get guys going. Try to hold them accountable. I feel like my job is playing the right way, and leading the right way by playing the right way. I have to do that day in and day out."