Devils Notebook
Devils Notebook: Training Camp Groups; Absentees; Injured Defenseman Skates
The New Jersey Devils held their first on-ice training camp session on Thursday. Dawson Mercer wasn’t the only absentee, and an injured defenseman was a full participant.
NEWARK — Day one of the New Jersey Devils’ training camp revealed a lot. We got a look at some of the newbies, what some lines could look like, and anticipated updates on injuries.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe issued an intense practice, bag skating each of the two groups before they even participated in a single drill. After a 40ish-minute break, the groups re-emerged for practice drills in an equally high-paced practice.
The best news of the day? It looked like Simon Nemec was a full participant in drills.
Here’s who skated in each group:
Devils Group 1
Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, Simon Nemec, Jonas Siegenthaler, Jacob Markstrom, Curtis Lazar, Paul Cotter, Johnathan Kovacevic, Nathan Bastian, Kurtis MacDermid, Justin Dowling, Chase Stillman, Samuel Laberge, Xavier Parent, Cam Squires, Santeri Hatakka, Jakub Zboril, Mikael Diotte, Jackson van de Leest, Nico Daws, Tyler Brennan
Devils Group 2
Tomas Tatar, Ondrej Palat, Nolan Foote, Nico Hischier, Kevin Labanc, Shane Bowers, Stefan Noesen, Ryan Schmelzer, Max Willman, Brian Halonen, Filip Engaras, Mike Hardman, Dougie Hamilton, Colton White, Nick DeSimone, Brenden Dillon, Topias Vilen, Seamus Casey, Will MacKinnon, Andy Welinsky, Jake Allen, Isaac Poulter, Jeremy Brodeur
Group 1 Devils Lines
Forwards
Timo Meier — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Paul Cotter — Curtis Lazar — Nathan Bastian
Kurtis MacDermid — Justin Dowling — Chase Stillman
Cam Squires — Samuel Laberge — Xavier Parent
Defenseman
Jonas Siegenthaler — Johnathan Kovacevic
Santeri Hatakka — Simon Nemec
Jakub Zboril — Daniil Misyul
Jackson van de Leest — Mikael Diotte
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom
Nico Daws
Tyler Brennan
Group 2 Devils Lines
Tomas Tatar — Nico Hischier — Kevin Labanc
Ondrej Palat — Shane Bowers — Stefan Noesen
Nolan Foote — Ryan Schmelzer — Max Willman
Mike Hardman — Filip Engras — Brian Halonen
Defensemen
Brenden Dillon — Dougie Hamilton
Colton White — Nick DeSimone
Topias Vilen — Seamus Casey
Will Mackinnon — Andy Welenski
Goaltenders
Jake Allen
Isaac Poulter
Jeremy Brodeur
Read between the lines of these groups. If you see the guaranteed Devils on the roster lined up next to each other, Keefe explained to take some stock in that.
“I think [the lines today are] a pretty good representation of if we were playing tomorrow night, that’s how I think we would look,” Keefe explained.
Devils Absences
Dawson Mercer wasn’t the only one missing from the first day of on-ice training camp activities on Thursday. Forward Erik Haula was absent due to an illness. General manager Tom Fitzgerald said Haula should return to the team tomorrow.
Defenseman Brett Pesce was missing, too, and that news was less optimistic. Pesce is still recovering from a lower-body injury in which he had surgery on earlier this summer. He’s considered week-to-week.
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