Henrique Goes Above and Beyond

It began like any other practice day for Adam Henrique. He woke up, got into his car and began his commute to the rink for a late-November practice in Newark, New Jersey. Then, he got a phone call.

On the other end of the line was Devils Executive Vice President, General Manager and Alternate Governor Ray Shero, who gave him the news that he had been traded to Anaheim, along with center Joseph Blandisi and a 2018 third-round pick in exchange for Sami Vatanen and a conditional pick. Henrique was admittedly shocked, having spent his entire career with the Devils.
The call with his now-former GM was a pleasant one, and helped put the 27-year-old Brantford, Ontario native at ease. "We had a great conversation for 15 or 20 minutes about everything," Henrique said earlier today, after his first skate with Anaheim. "He treated me very well. He's been through a lot of these, and this being my first one, I'm sure he knew I was a bit shocked. It helped ease everything on my side. He said a lot of nice things and lot of things I'll take forward in my career."
When Henrique got to the Devils practice rink yesterday, he had another chat with Devils head coach John Hynes, who informed the rest of the team of the news. "Everybody was a little bit shocked, but I talked to the guys before practice," Henrique said. "I tried to gather some things to meet the guys on the road."
After making a pit stop at home, he made his way to the airport for a quick flight to Columbus. Henrique didn't want to waste any time getting acclimated to his new team.
"I talked to [Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager] Bob [Murray] a little bit yesterday on the phone and I thought the best thing would be to jump right in and go for it," Henrique said. "No sense waiting a day or two. I was eager to get in, get settled and get today going. The skate was good this morning. I'm sure there will be a couple different emotions only having put on one jersey before. I'm excited to wear the Ducks colors."
A few familiar faces have also helped ease the transition. He had breakfast this morning with an old friend, Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler. The two were teammates on the Memorial Cup-winning OHL Windsor Spitfires in 2010, and Henrique joked that the 25-year-old blueliner, who has always appeared mature beyond his years, hasn't changed at all. "He seems to be the exact same as he was back then," Henrique said with a laugh. "He gave me the lay of the land here and he means a lot to this team. He's a big part of this team, so it's great to see him in the lineup and healthy. I'm excited to be his teammate."
Fowler, too, expressed his excitement being teammates with Henrique once again. "Great guy. Really good teammate. He's gonna fit in extremely well around here. He brings a lot to us on the ice that will be very valuable to us moving forward."
Henrique knows Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour, who also hails from Brantford. The two took part in Hockey Night in Brantford this past summer - an annual charity game that helped raise money for those in need across the Brantford community. A life-size Henrique bobblehead was on site, too.

Devils fans loved Henrique for his on-ice work, but perhaps even more for what he did off the ice. For the second year in a row, Henrique served as captain of the Devils' Movember movement. On Tuesday, he hosted his inaugural "Rico's Soiree" charity event to promote Movember along with seven Devils players (including former Duck Kyle Palmieri) and 200 fans at the Cadillac Cantina in Hoboken, New Jersey. Henrique's efforts
helped raise more than $60,000
for the Movember Foundation, including more than $12,100 through his own donation page since 2015. This year,
he sold t-shirts and hats
with the term "Mo Bro" and his No. 14 inside a mustache logo, with all proceeds benefiting the Movember Foundation.
He also reached out to a Devils fan this past June after a house fire destroyed her (and her fiance's) belongings, which included a
custom-designed Henrique-inspired graduation cap
. Henrique sent her a signed jersey and the team invited them to the season/home opener on October 7.
Tweet from @NJDevils: Remember @AshleyStan12 who lost all her belongings in a fire earlier this year? We invited her to the game & she got to meet @AdamHenrique! pic.twitter.com/HSc2fA1cW6
Henrique's ability to play center and wing gives Ducks bench boss Randy Carlyle flexibility when it comes to his lineup. With team captain Ryan Getzlaf and shutdown center Ryan Kesler nearing a return, the Ducks could be one of the league's deepest teams down the middle. Henrique said he won't sweat the details. For now, he just wants go out and play.
"I'm not sure how the lines shake down tonight, but I'm wherever I am, I'm just going to play," he said. "I have the ability to play center or wing, which will be a nice touch especially with how things have been going here with all the injuries. It doesn't really matter which position. There are a lot of similarities. Just looking forward to going out and playing tonight."