NHL Hockey: Surprise Teams and Catalyst Players Roundtable
By Bryan Nelson
Suraj Sukumar (Contributor)
Flying under the radar, the New Jersey Devils have all the makings of an underdog story in the NHL. After trading for Taylor Hall, they added an elite scoring forward to compliment their current squad.
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Adam Henrique is not an elite offensive player, but when paired with a high-end scorer, he has proven himself in the past. Henrique found tremendous success with Zach Parise, and there is a good chance he finds the same chemistry with Hall. Not only did they play their junior careers together with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, they even represented Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championships.
In terms of overall success, it will come down to the young forwards for the Devils. Pavel Zacha, Reid Boucher, and Joseph Blandisi (spent time with the Devils later in the year) are all top-end offensive producers at the AHL level, and should get a shot at cracking the NHL roster. It will be interesting to see if anyone separates themselves in training camp, but the fact is the Devils have several young forwards to choose from in 2016-17.
The one knock against the Devils is defense. Several players are still young and inexperienced, but the leadership of Andy Greene can help bring the unit together. The Devils have always played well defensively, and there is a good chance they can continue that trend with the right combinations on the blue line.
Not to mention, Cory Schneider is an elite goalie and provides an incredible insurance marker from a defensive perspective. Even if the Devils have to give a couple younger prospects a look, they have the team to find success down the stretch.