Devils team discussion (news, notes and speculation) - 2023 training camp edition

[Devs3cups]

Getting that +5 OVR line chemistry in NHL 23.

 

[britdevil]

Come on Alex, I'm rooting for you big time kid.

 

[devilsfan950003]

To add to it:

The devils need to give Holtz as much time as he deserves. He put a lot of work in this summer, allow him to show it off. Could he cost us a few games on our third line? Perhaps. He's only 21 years old and the seventh player pick in his draft. Coaches need to let him shine.

 

[njdevil26]

Holy crap man if Holtz is ready to go

Bratt-Hughes-Toffoli
Meier-Hischier-Holtz
Palat-Haula-Mercer
Nosek-McLeod-Bastian

HOLLLLLY CRAP I'm excited.

 

[Darkauron]

Its like Holtz is still young and needs to be given time still!

 

[Devs3cups]

Holy crap man if Holtz is ready to go

Bratt-Hughes-Toffoli
Meier-Hischier-Holtz
Palat-Haula-Mercer
Nosek-McLeod-Bastian

HOLLLLLY CRAP I'm excited.

 

[guitarguyvic]

I'm rooting for the kid, and it's good that a couple of folks are noticing some positives early on. But it might not be wise to put too much stock into the opinions of couple of reporters on day 1 of training camp.

 

[devilsblood]

It's happening.

Not seeing the needed skating improvement from Holtz there.

 

[My3Sons]

No good meme replaced it?! Where's the batsignal for @NjDevsRR for Dano memes when you need it?

We need the "Listen here, you little shit" over here, stat!

The Dano stuff is different. I love those memes but they aren't player related. The other one that stuck with me was the disbelief that the Devils were actually good. First you had the heater then you had a stretch of losses and then the team righted the ship and ran with a great season and a playoff win over the hated rival. The main board thread was a fun read and every now and then I get a chance to suggest that while NJ is having a good run it's still early and one of these seasons they will start having to play a good team but at this point most folks accept NJ as a good team. With success comes less dark humor.

 

[OmNomNom]

i hope our top guys added some muscle as well, would love us to be a bit bigger

 

[devilsblood]

I don't expect him to turn into his brother, but Tage was a very late bloomer. At the end of his D+5 year Tage had 35 points in 146 games and was constantly getting yo-yo'd between AHL Rochester, the press box, and the 4th line. Looked like a career journeyman in the making.

Then out of nowhere in '22 it suddenly clicked and he exploded for 38 goals and 68 points despite his previous career high being just 14 points. Followed it up last year with 47-47-94, the best points per game by any since Mogilny in 1993.

Now granted - Tage is 6'6" 220lbs and Tyce is listed at 6'1" 174 lbs and that's a pretty enormous difference. He's got the skill, he's got the pedigree. I'd like to see him work on his strength and conditioning. But I'm not ready to write him off quite yet despite the fact he's clearly been leapfrogged by a number of other forwards.

Right now we just need him to be a good AHL player. Give us a season like Clarke gave us last year. Or, slightly different, give Utica solid play at center.

 

[My3Sons]

Come on Alex, I'm rooting for you big time kid.

If he hits it's going to really push NJ forward. Fingers crossed.

 

[devilsblood]

The devils need to give Holtz as much time as he deserves. He put a lot of work in this summer, allow him to show it off. Could he cost us a few games on our third line? Perhaps. He's only 21 years old and the seventh player pick in his draft. Coaches need to let him shine.

If by deserves, you mean, what he has earned, then I agree.

Would be great if he proves to be a good NHL player, so I don't want to get too negative, but we heard talk of him getting in much better shape last off season, then he looked pretty good in preseason, before not looking good once the real season started.

So I'm waiting on the reg season before I hop on the hype train.

 

[My3Sons]

If by deserves, you mean, what he has earned, then I agree.

Would be great if he proves to be a good NHL player, so I don't want to get too negative, but we heard talk of him getting in much better shape last off season, then he looked pretty good in preseason, before not looking good once the real season started.

So I'm waiting on the reg season before I hop on the hype train.

Very fair point to wait and see. I will offer one glimmer of hope "Help me Alex Holtz you're my only hope" which is that the video shared later in the summer showing Holtz skating with Bratt did look markedly better to me and a few others who watched it compared to last season. That doesn't mean he will be able to make use of better skating and it has been my observation it's more processing that is holding him back, but he's clearly figured out the AHL so hopefully he is going to be decently capable to start the NHL and work his way up. Hopefully.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I am also going to reserve judgment on Holtz until we see him in actual NHL games. But I am very encouraged by what I am hearing so far.

 

[HBK27]

If Holtz pops off, you probably won't see me for a while as I will surely get banned after the amount of gloating I will do in all those Meier trade threads that bashed the kid.

 

[HersheyBob27]

Evidently he’s recovering from a shoulder injury still. I forgot about that truthfully.

He’s separate from the groups and highlighted in yellow.

Must be progressing well if he had surgery in may

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Holy crap man if Holtz is ready to go

Bratt-Hughes-Toffoli
Meier-Hischier-Holtz
Palat-Haula-Mercer
Nosek-McLeod-Bastian

HOLLLLLY CRAP I'm excited.

Would flip Mercer and Toffoli but that's such a disgusting top 9.

 

[JimEIV]

while also acknowledging that he is now a shell of his former self, a walking relic who should have been out of the game years ago.

See I don't think that is reasonable at all...not one bit.

That is to squawk, hoot and holler and point out the pimple on the ass of the super model.

We see this shit all the time with great players, we saw it with Marty.

I just see it as ridiculous... it's almost like you've been waiting for decades to say "ha ha, you're not good as you used to be"...of course douche bag that's how life works for everyone....even the people that didn't accomplish a pubic hairs worth of success compared to Lou will at one point be "not as good as they used to be"

At some point after a guy has climbed the highest mountain, twice, and crushed that mountain to rubble with the weight of his accomplishments ...pointing out the mistakes or the inevitable slow down, is the most petty, dochey, peanut gallery nonsense there is.

Oh you you had 5 bad years at the end of your story book nearly 60 years of unimaginable success of building fortunes and setting precedents... "your a shell of your former sell now"...

You don't see the ridiculousness in that? It's absolutely ludicrous. It's the stuff that petulant children are made of.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

If Holtz pops off, you probably won't see me for a while as I will surely get banned after the amount of gloating I will do in all those Meier trade threads that bashed the kid.

Them all saying he's a trash prospect and being rewarded with Zetterlund who doesn't fit their team or future is poetic justice. Would love Z back though. But also to be fair, Mukamadullin is probably better for them than Holtz too but we had no need for him.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

This would be like our NHL 3rd line in the toilet paper lineup days

 

[JimEIV]

This would be like our NHL 3rd line in the toilet paper lineup days

Or our 3rd line without Fitz.

 

[HBK27]

This would be like our NHL 3rd line in the toilet paper lineup days

Foote is not being exposed to waivers to try to sneak him down to Utica. Good chance he'd get claimed.

 

[Saugus]

See I don't think that is reasonable at all...not one bit.

That is to squawk, hoot and holler and point out the pimple on the ass of the super model.

We see this shit all the time with great players, we saw it with Marty.

I just see it as ridiculous... it's almost like you've been waiting for decades to say "ha ha, you're not good as you used to be"...of course douche bag that's how life works for everyone....even the people that didn't accomplish a pubic hairs worth of success compared to Lou will at one point be "not as good as they used to be"

At some point after a guy has climbed the highest mountain, twice, and crushed that mountain to rubble with the weight of his accomplishments ...pointing out the mistakes or the inevitable slow down, is the most petty, dochey, peanut gallery nonsense there is.

Oh you you had 5 bad years at the end of your story book nearly 60 years of unimaginable success of building fortunes and setting precedents... "your a shell of your former sell now"...

You don't see the ridiculousness in that? It's absolutely ludicrous. It's the stuff that petulant children are made of.

Everybody loses a step at the end of their career, and it isn't petulant to acknowledge that universal fact. The trick is to recognize it and get out with dignity, while people still remember the good times and not the decline. Lou isn't doing that, and it's fair to point it out.

To use your analogy, it's like an aging supermodel is trying to hang onto the beauty of her youth with surgeries and copious makeup, and it's obvious (and slightly embarrassing) to everyone that she isn't quite pulling it off.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

Getting that +5 OVR line chemistry in NHL 23.

And so it begins...the hyping that never materializes.