With the New Jersey Devils 2021 NHL season starting tomorrow, there will be many eyes on many different players on the roster. There will be some new faces, while some familiar faces on the team will be returning to play better than last year, hopefully. With that said, however, three still could be several players to look for against the Boston Bruins tomorrow night. Here are three leading key players that could turn heads for the Devils.
Ty Smith Finally Makes His Devils Debut
One of perhaps the Devils’ best prospects that everyone has been waiting to see is Ty Smith. Smith got drafted 17th overall in the 2018 NHL draft by the Devils. However, he never got a chance to make his Devils debut as a new defenseman, so he stuck around in the WHL, where he played with the Spokane Chiefs. Throughout that time in Spokane, Smith became the best defenseman in the WHL, averaging over 40 assists per year.
During the last season, Smith had 59 points in 46 games and was well on his way to having his best season. That is until the pandemic ruined any chances of that happening. When he got to the Devils’ training camp, Lindy Ruff saw the potential he has and decided that this would be the best opportunity for him to play in the NHL. This prospect has waited a long time for his NHL debut, and the fans will see what he can do tomorrow night against Boston.
Yegor Sharangovich is a Devils Prospect Nobody Saw Coming
With Yegor Sharangovich taken in the 5th round of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Devils, he is a player that no Devils fan expected to see in the roster this year. But when he did get to training camp this year, he surprised the fans and the coaches by showing his impressive skills. It seemed that almost every scrimmage game, he was scoring a goal, getting an assist, or just getting points in general.
Sharangovich is a goal scorer that seems excellent and impressive for his goal-scoring ability and ability to skate fast. Now that Yegor is on the roster, there’s a lot of promise here. If the Devils can make Sharangovich work with specific players to match his goal-scoring ability and speed, this could be a steal that no one knew about, except for the Devils organization.
Jack Hughes Has a Chance for a Stellar Sophomore Season
Now we come to a player who many felt didn’t impress in his rookie season. After Jack Hughes got taken in last years’ NHL Draft 1st overall by the Devils, many saw that he wasn’t showing how impressive he can be. Sure, Hughes had many flashes, but he never had anything that good to make people impressed. But that all can change if Hughes has a great second season.
Hughes has stated he has gain 15 pounds of muscle and has shown a greater sense of shooting and stick handling in the Devils training camp. Seeing Hughes play like this seems like an excellent sign for Devils, plus people who Hughes could be a sure bust. If Hughes shows that if he is now a better player than ten months, people will be impressed with him. It also would be suitable for the Devils for making the right choice number one overall.
Conclusion
This Devils team may not turn out to be great like many people are anticipating, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay attention to this young team. There will be players like these who will probably get people to pay attention to this team. Maybe enough to show people how impressed the Devils franchise could work with really young talented players. It would be so nice to find these players doing amazing things by opening night. Let’s just sit back, and see what happens.
main image credit
