Ten Things I'm Thankful For in 2022 | 10 TAKEAWAYS

I'll start by saying this. My brain doesn't work in a January to December calendar when I think of the "past year". I - like so many in this business - have been conditioned to think of my life in seasons, in game days, in practice days, and that beloved Off-Day. It becomes such an integral part of your routine that trying to think of things any other way simply does not compute.
As we get ready to enter a literal new year, 2023, I thought this a good time to look back on 2022. Keeping in mind that my reference point is the start of the 2022-23 NHL season, so we're only going as far back as September 2022, when the new hockey season was on the horizon, everyone was starting fresh and new faces entered the fold. There have been a lot of good times, some you'd rather forget too, but that's all a part of a long year.

2. The Personalities

As a reporter, I could not be more thankful for this one. Of course, it's a more comfortable situation to let personalities roll when teams are playing well as opposed to the more serious candor when things aren't clicking on the ice. We have had a lot of fun kicking off this season, especially in the earlier days. From Yegor Sharangovich being the locker room practical joker (especially when there are interviews involved), to Tomas Tatar taking pure pleasure in 'beating' me at Connect Four, lest we forget Santagovich and all the fun he had with his teammates.

Or what about Dougie, getting in on the social fun?

A little slice of personality makes all the difference.

3. The Mysteriousness Ondrej Palat

Mysterious only because we have yet to see his true impact on the club. There is an air that surrounds him because he only was able to play six games before getting injured and since then it has been this feeling of 'you just wait' until he's back and the impact he'll make. And I have no doubt that it's going to be big because he's been the first one everyone has mentioned as a critical missing piece, even as he has just joined the team off of free agency and only a few games under his belt with the club.

That's why I think it's also so significant, and not much talked about, how Lindy Ruff and the coaching staff elected not to have a substitute 'A' while Palat has been recovering. Many times over we've seen, whether on this team or others, when a player who usually wears an 'A' gets injured, someone else is bestowed the honor until the other player returns. But that's not what has happened this time, and it is by design. I asked Lindy Ruff about this a few days ago and he mentioned that it was a decision of the coaching staff, one they talked about, to not have a second 'A' on the roster while Palat was out. There wasn't much elaboration on why, but I think you can really read between the lines. He's extremely important. That 'A' is his.

4. Jack Hughes' Next-Level Play Emerging

This brings us to Jack Hughes. The other 'A' (I'll get to that in a minute).
Man, oh, man. Jack Hughes has entered the chat.
It was only a matter of time. That's what I've always felt since watching Jack Hughes step into the NHL at 18 years old. A myriad of injuries, shortened seasons and other factors may have prevented Jack from truly hitting his stride earlier, but he was first overall for a reason and in the last few months there has been some incredible get-you-out-of-your-seat play by Hughes who now leads the Devils in points and goals.

You want to talk about an elite one-two punch down the middle? Nico and Jack get it done.
We talk so much about this team being young, and maybe that is true by age but I think what we're seeing from Jack is really the definition of what 'age' is in the NHL, it's more about the experience than the year you were born. He's already got four seasons (and some) under his belt, that's not nothing. They're not kids anymore and I think seeing Jack be given the 'A' this season, and not in a rotation, really speaks volumes to the maturity and drive he has to continually strive for more and for better. That 'A' is his for a reason and that reason isn't that he was the first-overall pick, it's because he has earned it as a cornerstone.
5. 13-Game Win Streak
That was honestly just so much fun and you just really didn't want it to end, even though you knew it eventually would. The atmosphere (which helped breed No. 2) was outstanding and what felt so important was that it also felt very business-like.
It was the first time for everyone to be on a streak like that at the NHL level and especially after some leaner years, to see players like Damon Severson, Miles Wood, Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt even, be part of a ride like that, it really felt significant that they were being given - and earned that type of moment.
6. A Healthy Dougie Hamilton
A few weeks back, Dougie Hamilton had said his play from last season to this season feels like night and day. You don't need Dougie to tell you that, because you can see it for yourself right on the ice. Dougie came into the team as a huge free agent signing, the biggest of the 2020 off-season. So naturally, expectations were through the roof as he made his debut in New Jersey. But it was hampered by his jaw injury and upon his return, we still didn't see the Dougie many thought the Devils were getting in the acquisition.
But to start this year, it's like a whole new player has arrived. There has been stability on the back end this season that starts with the pairing of Jonas Siegenthaler and Hamilton and he is quarterbacking the first wave of the power play with the Devils top strikers around him.
The numbers speak for themselves, including his 12 points in his last 10 games, his poise and his overall 28 points in 35 games, including 13 on the power play, tied for the team lead with Bratt.
This year we are truly seeing Dougie Hamilton.

7. Sarge

I mean, who isn't thankful for Sarge, right? But one of the best things about the start of this season has been, in the quieter moments, getting to learn more and hear more from Sergei Brylin. Truly my favorite thing is watching him compete in one-on-one battles with the players because there is just this drive in Sarge that clearly has never gone away and probably lives in his blood. He wants to win at everything, even the smallest battles.
But I also see, from afar, the respect that he has from all the players around him. There is something about the way players talk about the individual work Sarge does with them that must really add to the experience of having him around. What I recall most is seeing Sarge come out well before a full practice to work with Alexander Holtz while Holtz was working with the team skating coach to continue improving his skating. It's a session where Holtz is getting individual work done and Sarge is always there as a helping hand, in discussion and trying out the drills himself. It is part of his job, that's for sure, but I think its more about the way he interacts, the way he challenges, and the way he engages that sets an example well beyond just being a coach.

There's just something about having a coach like that around that's just a little more special.

8. John Marino's Steadiness

What a pleasure it is to watch the way John Marino steadied just about everything on the blueline. The more you watch him and how at ease he is, how composed he is, it's so easy to forget that he hasn't even played 250 games in the league yet. It really feels like he plays with the composure of a wily veteran, a mainstay on the penalty kill, everything about Marino's game stems from composure and vision where he puts himself in the right position just about every time he's on the ice. He's been a big part of keeping the best players on opposing teams neutralized against New Jersey, against the Avalanche earlier this season, his ice time was nearly identical to Nathan MacKinnon's seemingly on the ice against the Avalanche star at every shift.
He's just a really special player to watch.

9. Away From Home

It's a complete 180 on the road this season. Last year the losses piled up, game after game, but this season? That part of their game the Devils has taken care of so far. They lead the league in the fewest road losses, one of which was the first game of the season in Philadelphia. In 15 road games, the Devils have a 12-2-1 record and their .883 point percentage is the league's best on the road.
I'm not going to revisit last season's road record. It was ugly and we need not be reminded.

10. Vitek's Emergence

It's been great to see the way Vitek has established himself in his first season with the Devils. I had no idea what to expect or really who Vitek was as a goaltender. I had seen a couple of performances against New Jersey where Vitek was dialed in and extremely frustrating to play against, but what would he look like here?
Well, turns out he's establishing himself nicely, and the chants of Vitek! Vitek! is a sign of that. But his 12-5-2 record is the best for a New Jersey goaltender this season and he has made some outstanding saves. He was a huge part of the Devils matching and making franchise records for both overall and road-winning streaks, the backbone of the goaltending during the streaks and beyond.