D Chem
The Devils have a lot of new faces in the lineup this season. A lot has been made of the forward groupings, but defenseman Declan Chisholm is also acquainting himself with the group on the back end.
Chisholm, acquired for a fourth-round pick from Washington, has worked with Brenden Dillon through two preseason games and the season opener.
“It’s going well,” Dillon said of the pairing. “We’ve gotten better and better with every game. For us, we want to make sure first and foremost that we’re being solid defensively, getting up on the rush, we both skate well. Have rangy sticks. We’re bigger guys. For us, when we get out there, whether it’s O zone, D zone, we’re prepared.”
Chisholm is a left-handed shot that’s playing on the right side. With that comes both adjustments in how he handles pucks but also how he reads and communicates with Dillon.
“Going back for pucks. Some guys like to hold onto a little longer. Some guys like to move it quick,” Dillon said. “Some guys are chatty, some guys are quieter. In the O zone, some guys are shooters. Some guys want to hold onto it. I thought even first period to the second, second to the third, when you have a couple of those on breakaways I thought we were getting better and better, cleaner and cleaner at being able to get the puck up to our forwards, which is the main goal.”
But the main goal is with each game, rep and puck touch, the duo should only improve. But it will require time and patience.
“It’s always learning certain tendencies guys have. That takes time,” Dillon said. “Jack and Bratt have been together for how long now? You can tell. That takes time. We’re going to get better and better with every game. I thought it was a good start for us.”
