New Jersey Devils notes: On Holtz, Vesey, and Siegenthaler
New Jersey Devils notes: On Holtz, Vesey, and Siegenthaler
Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess
Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with me and fellow subscribers.
Have a friend or family member with an upcoming birthday? Surprise them with the best gift money can buy: an Infernal Access subscription!
A few thoughts as the New Jersey Devils finalize their roster and prepare for Friday’s opener:
On Alexander Holtz
Heading into camp I didn’t expect Holtz to make the opening night roster. I thought he needed some work in transition, and off-puck, and that issues in those areas would hold him back. That didn’t happen.
Holtz showed better than anyone could have realistically hoped or expected.
He was among the team leaders in xGF% during preseason play. He displayed his jaw-dropping shot on numerous occasions and only Dawson Mercer generated more scoring chances at 5v5.
Put simply, Holtz did what he was supposed to do – and then some – offensively while not lagging behind with the details. His level of play was plenty good enough to earn him a chance to continue proving himself; and he’s not going to get it.
Now, it’s not as if sending Holtz down means he’s stuck for the long haul. Injuries or finishing problems could lead to an opportunity sooner than later.
I just don’t like that he out-performed almost all of his competition for a job – and not in a ‘low bar’ kind of way – and is still being demoted.
It’s not as if Holtz is perfect and has nothing that can be worked on. It’s that he showed he can help in areas the Devils might be lacking (finishing) and, despite that, less deserving players will remain on the team.
Yeah, yeah, he can and will get more ice in Utica. That’s great. But Lindy Ruff definitely could’ve fit him inside the top-9 while also giving him some PP reps on the 2nd unit. That’s not nothing.
On Jimmy Vesey
I have to tip my hat to the guy. He came to camp with nothing promised and a lot of competition to beat out for a job. Not just in terms of young bubble players like Jesper Boqvist, Nolan Foote, and co.; but with PTOs such as Mark Jankowski. And, well, he did it.
Vesey checked all the boxes with his preseason performance. He finished with his head above water in terms of Corsi, Expected Goals, and actual goals. He found the back of the net a couple of times. He finished tied for the team lead in hits. And he also played a regular shift on the penalty kill.
Prior to camp, Ruff said the guys who separate themselves in the bottom-6 will be the ones who show they can contribute in a variety of ways, be it physically, on special teams, whatever. Vesey did that.
Can he sustain this level of play? That’s a fair question. But he earned the chance to show he can.
I think he could work well with Miles Wood and Michael McLeod on the 4th line.
Siegenthaler SZN
While the reasoning – injuries to Ty Smith and Damon Severson – is far from ideal, I’m excited to see what Jonas Siegenthaler can do in an enhanced role to start the season.
His defensive metrics were very strong during his cup of coffee with the team last season and, in my opinion, he was one of New Jersey’s best players during the tuneup games.
Siegenthaler led the Devils in Rel CF% and Rel xGF% while doing a better job at suppressing chances than all but Dougie Hamilton.
With Hamilton’s two-way prowess on the top pairing, and Siegenthaler’s defensive acumen on the 2nd pairing, the top-4 could still be OK.
The 3rd pairing – with a couple fringe NHLers playing together – is where I think the Devils could really run into trouble.
Colton White has looked serviceable with the right guy. I don’t think the right guy is Christian Jaros.
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com