Category Archives: Player Profile
A Closer Look at The Newest Devil: Matt D’Agostini
The Newest Devil
As not only a New Jersey Devils fan, but also a Devils blogger, I usually don’t react too quickly to the news of acquiring a new player. I like to look at numbers, and get some feedback. However, when I heard that the Devils had acquired Matt D’Agostini, I was pretty excited even before getting some feedback.
I’ve heard the name Matt D’Agostini for a while now, not because he’s exactly a high-scoring sniper, but there are certain guys on some teams that stand out. Guys that fans seem to love when they watch them play every game, even if they’re not lighting the lamp that often.
Of course, when a trade is made, one of the first things people are going to look at are the numbers. D’Agostini’s numbers, at least this season, are not that impressive.
However, let me take you back just to just short time ago… to the time when Steve Bernier was signed after being invited to camp.
Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!
Don’t worry it’s not ’94 all over again, this Matteau is playing for the New Jersey Devils! Stefan Matteau, the Devils’ first pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft, has finally made his way up to the NHL. You might remember his father, former New York Ranger, Stéphane Matteau, for his double overtime goal against the Devils in game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. But, let’s focus on the young Matteau.
New Jersey Devils Get Marek Zidlicky
President/CEO/General Manager Lou Lamoriello has made another move. The first reaction I noticed on Twitter was how much the Devils gave up. Mr. Lamoriello stated on MSG that he is not worried what we give up, just focused on what we are getting. The Devils acquired defenseman Marek Zidlicky from the Minnesota Wild. He is 35 years old and has a reputation of being the type of defenseman that can move the puck well and become involved in the offense. During his 7 NHL seasons, Zidlicky has had 5 seasons of 40+ points including a 53 point season in 2003-2004 with the Nashville Predators. In his last 2 seasons with Minnesota, Marek Zidlicky has finished with 42 and 43 points. Not bad for a defenseman. Marek Zidlicky also holds a Nashville Predators record of 35 power play points in one season.
The last two weeks across hockey blogs and Twitter, there has been a lot of buzz about Zidlicky only wanting to come to New Jersey. What a player wants doesn’t always transpire, but in this case it worked out. I personally feel that it is exciting when players WANT to play for a team – it means they are enthusiastic, energized and ready to contribute. What additionally makes me comfortable with this move is Zidlicky’s experience with Elias. These two players have won an Olympic Medal as well as 2 medals in the World Championships with Czech Republic National team.
Marek Zidlicky’s NHL Totals: Games 507, Goals 60, Assists 224, Points 284
For more details on the trade, check out a post by Mark on The Faster Times.
Best to Wear #20 – Jay Pandolfo
NUMBER: 20
HEIGHT: 6′ 1″
WEIGHT: 190
POSITION: Left Wing
SHOOTS: Left
BORN: December 27, 1974
BIRTHPLACE: Winchester, Massachusetts
The Devils drafted Jay Pandolfo as the 32nd overall pick in the 1993 draft. Pandolfo started his career as a Devil during the start of the 98-99 season. Some say his first season with the Devils was his best. He scored 14 goals and 27 points in 70 games.
Pandolfo has two Stanley Cup wins with the Devils. The first one in 2000 and the second in 2003. Pandolfo scored his first career hat trick on October 31, 2007 agaisnt the Tampa Bay Lightning. His first hat trick was also the first hat trick in the Prudential Center.
Jay Pandolfo’s 307 consecutive game streak came to an end on November 30, 2007 with a pelvic injury. He curently holds forth longest franchise record for consecutive games played. The current leader is Travis Zajac. Jay Pandolfo currently plays for the New York Islanders.
| Career Stats with the New Jersey Devils | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 819 | 99 | 124 | 223 | 15 | 154 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 1068 | 9.2% |
Player of the Week Winner: Johan Hedberg
NUMBER: 1
HEIGHT: 6’0″
WEIGHT: 190 lbs
BORN: May 5, 1973
BIRTHPLACE: Leksand, Sweden
Congratulations Johan Hedberg (a.k.a. “Moose”) on being voted our Player of the Week for the week of November 28th through December 3rd! That week in particular was a rough one for the Devils, but I wanted to take a moment to focus on the positive. For when it comes to Johan Hedberg, us Devils fans have a lot to brag about.
This season, Moose is 9-5-1 with a GAA of 2.37 and SV% of .913. He has been solid for us between the pipes, both on his own and when called in to relieve Martin Brodeur. He has two shut outs this season; one against the LA Kings on October 26th and the second against the NY Islanders on November 25th.
Perhaps most impressive however, is Hedberg’s statistics when it comes to shootouts. He is the league leader in save percentage in the shootout (of goaltenders involved in 15 or more contests) with a career .775 SV%, allowing only 25 goals on 111 shots. Of the 30 shootout contests he’s faced, his record is 23-7. This season, he is already 5-1. With all of the shootouts the Devils have found themselves in so far, these are some numbers that will put a fan at ease! I can see why Johan looks so confident in these high pressure situations! He’s great at it, and he’s got the stats to prove it!
Of course, all of these stats are only as of this writing. I’m sure we can expect more great things from Moose this season. So, next time I’m at a game, I hope to hear those Mooooooooooose chants, loud and proud! Johan Hedberg has certainly earned the recognition!
Best to Wear #18 – Sergei Brylin
NUMBER: 18
HEIGHT: 5’10″
WEIGHT: 190
POSITION: Center
SHOOTS: Left
BORN: January 13, 1974
BIRTHPLACE: Moscow, Russia
When fans think of the New Jersey Devils‘ three Stanley Cups, fans usually think of the same players: Daneyko, Niedermayer, Brodeur, and Stevens. However, Sergei Brylin is also a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils.
Brylin was drafted in the second round, 42nd overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.
After debuting during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, Brylin played the next 12 seasons with the Devils. While he wasn’t your top superstar, Brylin brought something valuable to the team.
Brylin was regarded as one of the best utility men in the game. While his game was usually defensive minded, Brylin could always fill any gap that the Devils had. He has played as a scoring forward, center, winger, penalty killer, powerplayer, first liner, fourth liner, he’s done it all. Except, he never was a defenseman.
Brylin signed away from the NHL after the 2007-08 season when the Devils didn’t offer him a deal.
He has made several attempts to come back to the Devils, but they have never been successful.
He currently plays for Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the KHL in Russia.
| Career Stats with the New Jersey Devils | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 765 | 129 | 179 | 308 | 49 | 273 | 34 | 2 | 14 | 1016 | 12.7% |
Best to Wear # 17 – Patrik Sundstrom
NUMBER: 17
HEIGHT: 6′ 1″
WEIGHT: 200
POSITION: Center
SHOOTS: Left
BORN: December 14, 1961
BIRTHPLACE: Skelleftea, Sweden
Patrik Sundstrom was acquired by the New Jersey Devils in 1988 from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Greg Adams and Kirk McLean.
Sundstrom had a solid first season with the Devils, but it was his postseason that was unbelievable. In game three of the Patrick Division finals against the Capitals, he set a NHL record for points in a playoff game with 8 points. He finished that postseason with 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists). The record still stands today.
Sundstrom’s offensive numbers started to slump due to numerous injuries and he eventually signed with a hockey club in his homeland of Sweden and finished his hockey career there.
| Career Stats with the New Jersey Devils | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 305 | 86 | 160 | 246 | 23 | 168 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 536 | 16.0% |
Best to Wear #16 – Bobby Holik
NUMBER: 16
HEIGHT: 6′ 4″
WEIGHT: 230
POSITION: Center
SHOOTS: Right
BORN: January 1, 1971
BIRTHPLACE: Jihlava, Czech Republic
Bobby Holik was acquired by the New Jersey Devils prior to the the 1992-93 season when he was traded along with the Hartford Whalers second round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft to New Jersey in exchange for Eric Weinrich and Sean Burke. What happened next was 10 strong seasons from Holik.
Holik is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, winning the Cup with the Devils in 1995 and 2000.
He left the Devils before the 2002-03 season when he signed a contract during the off-season with cross-Hudson rivals, the New York Rangers in a move that was considered Benedict Arnold-esque (that is until Scott Gomez pulled the same move years later.)
In 2005, Holik had his contract bought out by the Rangers and he signed with the Atlanta Thrashers. He stayed with the Thrashers until 2008, and even served as the Thrashers captain in the 2007-08 season.
Holik made a return to the New Jersey Devils in the 2008-09 season, marking the 11th season with the franchise.
He retired after the 2008-09 season.
| Career Stats with the New Jersey Devils | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 786 | 202 | 270 | 472 | 122 | 863 | 44 | 0 | 43 | 2046 | 9.9% |
Player Profile: Adam Henrique
NUMBER: 14
HEIGHT: 6′ 0″
WEIGHT: 195
POSITION: Center
SHOOTS: Left
BORN: February 6, 1990
BIRTHPLACE: Brantford, ON, Canada
His name has become quite popular in the last week amongst Devils fans, and with good reason. Adam Henrique didn’t make this team coming out of training camp, but went to Albany and continued to work on his game. Then, after playing just 3 games with the Albany Devils and notching one assist, the 21-year-old center from Brantford, Ontario, Canada received the call every minor league player dreams of. The New Jersey Devils needed him, and although it was due to an injury to another talented center in Jacob Josefson, that was all Henrique needed to hear.
He has made an immediate impact in the early season thus far, scoring 4 goals, and 3 assists in just 10 games. And after scoring back to back game winning goals against the Jets in overtime and the Hurricanes on November 8th, he has quickly become a fan favorite. Chants of “Hen-Rique!” Hen-Rique!” rang out from the crowd after each goal and during his post-game interviews.
Selected 82nd overall in the third round of the 2008 entry draft, Henrique has put up impressive numbers throughout his entire career in both the OHL and AHL. During the 09-10 playoffs while playing for the Windsor Spitfires, Henrique scored a stunning 20 goals in 19 playoff games, and was awarded the “Wayne Gretzky 99 Award” for OHL Playoff MVP as his team won its 2nd of back to back Memorial Cup Championships. Henrique also helped Team Canada win the silver medal at the World Junior Championships back in 2010. Clearly, he is no stranger to success in his young career, and that can only mean good things for the New Jersey Devils.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the talented Henrique as the season progresses. With the return of Josefson and Travis Zajac on the horizon, he’ll certainly need to keep up this pace if he hopes to stay with the parent club. So far, he’s making it pretty difficult for the Devils to send him back down to Albany.
What does the Devils Army think of Adam Henrique? Feel free to comment and Let’s Go Devils!
| 2010-2011 Season Stats | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 20.0 |
Best to Wear # 15 – John MacLean
NUMBER: 15
HEIGHT: 6′ 0″
WEIGHT: 200
POSITION: Right Wing
SHOOTS: Right
BORN: November 20, 1964
BIRTHPLACE: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
John MacLean was drafted sixth overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.
MacLean’s claim to fame for the New Jersey Devils, isn’t so much all the offensive records he set. No. MacLean is remembered for scoring an overtime goal against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 3, 1988. This goal would send the Devils into the playoffs for the first time.
MacLean was one of the Devils’ alternate captains when the team won the Stanley Cup in 1995.
He remained with the team until he was traded in 1997 so the San Jose Sharks.
He would go on to play with the New York Rangers and the Dallas Stars before retiring during the 2002 offseason.
MacLean would join the Devils coaching staff in September 2002 as an assistant coach, and was part of the coaching staff of the Stanley Cup winning team that year.
After being named head coach for the Lowell Devils of the AHL in 2009, MacLean was finally named head coach of the New Jersey Devils in 2010, but that didn’t go very well. MacLean was fired on December 23, 2010 while the Devils sat last in the Eastern Conference with a 9-22-2 record.
| Career Stats with the New Jersey Devils | ||||||||||
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | SH | GW | S | S% |
| 934 | 347 | 354 | 791 | 42 | 1168 | 92 | 10 | 55 | 2715 | 12.8% |
