Here are four questions from James O’Brien of Pro Hockey Talk. This is how we answered them.
Which position battles are most crucial to New Jersey’s success?
Oddly enough there could be battles at Left Wing, Center, and Right Wing. The Devils have a bit of excess in riches going into this season on offense. Also coach, John MacLean has made it clear he is willing to experiment with players out of position a bit. Already Patrik Elias has been tested at Left Wing and even Right Wing. This means that the bottom six positions are wide open for a bevy of players. Depending on who is left after trades, a guy like Adam Henrique could find himself on the squad as a 4th line center with some scoring touch. His battle with 2009 1st round pick Jacob Josefson has the potential to be the highlight of camp. Also, the third line battle for RW between Dainius Zubrus and Mattias Tedenby (2008 1st round pick) could be very intriguing. These two positions are ones most crucial to the team’s success and also happen to be the greatest source of competition as well.
What Are New Jersey’s Biggest Strengths And Weaknesses?
Well to be honest, they have a quite a few forwards who can put up some points. That is the team’s biggest strength. There is some balance on this squad with the addition of Jason Arnott and the resigning of Ilya Kovalchuk. If guys like Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, and Jamie Langenbrunner can lift their games a hair, the Devils could be very proficient offensively. The potential big weakness could be the lack of a true, speedy puck moving defenseman. Andy Greene is steady and can score some but he is far from the most swift. Another potential weakness of this team could be age as the Devils rank once again in the Top 5 in terms of age. That could have an affect later in the season on the team and may explain the early playoff exits somewhat.
Who could come out of nowhere to surprise and maybe make camp more interesting?
Look for the tryouts to spice things up a bit. Adam Mair and Marcus Nilsson could make a potential 4th liner’s job very uncomfortable. If Vladamir Zharkov can find his scoring touch, then it could be another surprise battle for that 4th line Right Wing spot. However, if a few trades are made, then some of these battles are quite honestly moot. The surprise of camp could be Adam Henrique, who has the potential to be a perfect two way player for the New Jersey Devils with a little more scoring touch than Jacob Josefson. Needless to say, the Devils will not have to look outside the organization for any positional players for a change unless some defensemen are moved but that is another story.
