Devils Announce Two Training Camp PTOs

The calendar has turned to September and we are less than a month away from the start of a new New Jersey Devils season. A busy month is on the horizon with training camp two weeks away.

Veterans are expected to report to camp on Sept. 18th, and two new faces will join the group.

The Devils announced that defenseman Jakub Zboril and goaltender Michael Hutchinson have joined the team on Professional Tryout contracts (PTO).

Zboril, 27, was a first-round pick by the Boston Bruins in 2015. The 6-foot-1, 200lbs Czech defenseman split the 2023-24 season as a member of Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence, as well as with Columbus’s AHL affiliate in Cleveland following a mid-season trade.

In 76 career games, Zboril has scored one goal and 15 assists and has averaged 15:38 in ice time.

After an injury-plagued 2023-24 season, the Devils have fortified their defensive depth with Johnathan Kovacevic, Santeri Hatakka, and Nick DeSimone, and now add another body with NHL experience in Zboril.

The Devils then added goalie Michael Hutchinson as they added more depth to NHL experience to a position group that struggled mightily last season.

The 34-year-old spent the 2023-24 season with Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids, where in 32 games he had a 14-14-3 record with a 2.89 GAA, 0.892 SV%, and two shutouts.

Hutchinson has spent his 13-year career with six different organizations. In that time he has a career 57-62-18 record, with a 2.94 GAA, 0.903 SV%, and six shutouts. He’s been primarily an AHL goalie for the past nine seasons but will add even more experience to a position group that added Jacob Markstrom this summer.

If both players can earn contracts it will likely be to start the season in the AHL. However, last season’s lone PTO signing, Max Willman, played in 18 games. The Devils also used four different goalies throughout last season, and will likely use multiple again due to injury, leaving a window open for Hutchinson.

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