Devils Young Guns and the future.

There has been many things said about Mattias Tedenby recently as he was +2 with a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup. (Highlight of his goal below) This came against the Islanders on Monday (Martin Luther King Day)matinee. For the six games he was scratched from the lineup many were already questions Jacques Lemaires decision to not play Tedenby. We should all have a little more faith as Tedenby worked hard in practices to make it back to the lineup and it paid off. Fans should be excited at watching a young talent like this develop. His goal against the islanders is one for the highlight real as it show cased his speed, puck control and shooting ability. (shown below)



The Fans should also keep an eye out for Zharkov as he finally netted his first nhl goal against the islanders as well. This was his first goal out of 11 shots this season and a total of 54 shots since entering the nhl. I predict he will break out with a few more goals over the next few games. Zharkov has played 9 games this season and has shown great improvement under Lemaire.
(see his goal below)



Lastly lets take a look at Palmieri who has been calling Travis Zajac and Kovalchuk his linemates pretty much the entire time he has been called up from Albany. Nick Palmieri has shown he can score and make great passes for zajac and Kovy. He sees the ice real well. He is composed and quick to make the correct decisions on the ice. Below is his 2nd NHL goal that came against the panthers on the 15th of January. His first nhl goal was a empty netter.



The young players that are developing in the minor league system show great promise for years to come. Even with a record that isn't so great, watching these young guns is exciting. Lamoreillo has always put together a great scouting team that has found some great players.

(also note that I didnt talk about taromina who is likely to be out the rest of the season or Josefson who is in albany currently. Also great young players)

-the Fans Voice

Devils Fans Stand Strong!

This has been one of the worst starts ever for the Devils. But, just when you’d think fans would begin jumping ship, many stand tall.

New Jersey Devils are trying to come together, using their blogs, tweets and status updates to lead the way. There is a uniform voice beginning to develop among the faithful. One saying let's unite; let’s figure out a way to give our team back the advantage of home ice. There is a group of us that want the team to know that we are behind them. That we’ve seen them do it before and we believe they can do it again.

The team is listening. For example, fans pushed for and got a "fan section" at The Rock in order to jack the volume of "Let's go Devils" chants. Then, friday night, the team offered discounted seats for this section. The fact that the front office listens to Devil’s fans is great news for all fans. (The gang at InLouWeTrust does a great job covering this here: In Lou We Trust Devils Supporters
For even more, check out the fan page for this as well: Devils Supporter Section

Now, we acknowledge that some sections that have always been loud and/or insane... 214, 230-233 come to mind. However wouldn’t it be better for the team and for the win column if the entire crowd were that loud and into the game?

The Devils are making an effort. Consider the "professional" fan. It was fun and increased the cheers for the few weekend games Cameron [[[Link to this guy’s wikipedia or whatever link you can find on him so people can see what you’re talking about]]] was available. The key is making the fans a part of something bigger. Whether chanting at The Rock or commenting on Facebook any fan who wants to be part of this team can make a difference.

And the fact is, the Devils are making that easier by reaching out to grow the fan base with twitter, Facebook and online contests. Despite this year’s bad start, the Devils deserve a strong fan base. Lou built one of the true dynasties in sports and we’ve been lucky to call that team ours for over a decade.

So, fellow devoted Devils fans, let’s continue to stand together and stay engaged. If anyone has comments about the added section please post it. Any additional ideas can be shared here or at The Fans Voice

And don’t forget... Many other blogs exist as well where ideas fly... lets unite as a fan base and increase this fan awareness –making the Devils feel at home at The Rock. Who knows? Maybe what this team needs is some good karma.


-R
Edited by Scott Brown Scott Brown Creative

Let's Inspire our Team to Win the Cup

Let’s inspire the New Jersey Devils to win a championship. Let’s let them know how much the team and the players mean to us. Post or send us your inspiring stories about your experiences with the team, players, games you’ve been too or watched. Maybe you have some video you’d like to share or some pictures with players. Let’s begin to “Rise Up” and show this team we care about them. When we build a library the best stories video and pictures will be put into a Fan Yearbook; that hopefully we can give to the players and the organization.

Our Goal is to collect Inspiring stories of why you are fans, or an experience you had with family, or the players or anything. Send stories or pictures or video to:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fans-Voice-New-Jersey-Devils/116071568436273

Devil Fans are one of kind and give a tremendous amount of Support, We want others and the team to know this! We are hoping to create a hard bound FAN YEARBOOK!

Devils still have fight. 2-1 over the ducks!

Despite more injuries to this team, the Devils were able to fight for the victory last night. Leading the way was our captain Jamie with the game winning goal. The Devils came out on fire in the first period recording the first 7 shots of the game. I hope the team keeps building off of this. The team was great back checking last night. Parise had a game saving play by lifting the stick of Selanne when he was sitting on the doorstep of his 612th. Awesome Win, lets bring this into the next game against LA.

Some Notables:

Marty has been sharp which seems to be a great starting point for this team. I thought he has been playing well the last two games despite the loss in San Jose.

Parise's goals will start to come, I still haven't seen a hockey player work so hard all the time. His sense of where to be on the ice is one of the best on this team.

Kovalchuck: I thought he played really well. His engergy level was there and he had opportunity. Kovalchuck crashing to the net on Vasyunov's pass was the reason Elias was able to score. If other teams are keeping a close eye on Ilya, then let's take advantage with the players left open, I'll take those goals everyday.

Kovy is getting paid the big bucks to shoot. In his case I'd rather him be a little selfish when he has the shot and just take it. There were a few additional opportunities that didn't amount to a shot. I think Kovalchuck can take quicker shots instead of that extra little touch and he will score more as well.

Langebrunner: Now that is how a captain needs to play!

Great Win! Let's string a few together. Lets Go Devils!

-Ross

Devils Third Period burst not enough to catch Rangers

The devils now drop to 2-6-1, with some 'growing pains' still needing to be worked out. We need to take shots when we have the chances, that's obvious. One period of aggressive play is not enough to win a game. The devils have rarely played a full 60 minutes, and again tonight it showed. We have to move past another loss, but use the third period to build upon with a long road trip coming up. Danyeko mentioned before the game that the team needs to have some bonding while away. This is extremely important with so many new faces.

Jacob Josefon still impresses me with his skill and awareness. The late penalty was him being overly aggressive but that will work itself out over a few more games. Zubrus' pass to kovy late in the third resulted in the loan goal for the devils. Zubrus' play has been strong along the boards and has had scoring chances over the past two games.

One of the shows on MSG had mentioned top 5 coaches on the chopping block, one being Maclean. I like his coaching style and being a rookie coach isn't easy when you have such veterans like Brodeur, Kovalchuck, Jamie and others. Maclean will earn their respect and be a fine coach. Don't forget last year we had a rough start at home as well. The end of last year we finished poorly due to rough second periods, if I recall properly. This issue of the team not playing together is just a continuation from last year, Maclean will repair this as I hope this 6 game road trip helps as well.

One more side note: Management needs to get the Elephant out of the room. I know Rolston is out on long term injury and so is salvador, but the lingering question of who will stay and who will go can still be a factor to some of this team.

-Ross

New Jersey Devils Management Whoas

I wanted to comment on the first few games. However, it really isn’t fair to critique or criticize any of the players. Management is an entirely different story. It is expected of the players to win; that is their part of the contract. Management’s part is to give the players the best possible chance to win and they are not. Allowing a team that has a lot of potential of winning to be playing with anything less then 21 men is unacceptable. With out the proper staff players will continue to drop due to injury. It was stated by a few players and management before the season started, that this team was built for longevity. I can’t agree if management is asking the all the players to play 20-25 minutes all season long. The probability of more players getting hurt is almost inevitable and there is no room to cover for those players.

A few other opinions on this as well:
http://www.versus.com/blogs/nhl-expert-opinions/hatcher-lamoriello-mocking-the-league/

Also, Tom Gulitti from Fire & Ice pointed out that the team played many games with dressing 17 or 18 players in 06 and 07. They won a few but the reason was the same, salary cap. I strongly feel that it is still unacceptable to put your team at a disadvantage.

Also, if you aren't putting a full team on the ice why am I still paying full price for my tickets?

Devils Summer Reform

The big question this off season is the obvious. “Will they be signing Parise and Kolvachuck?” Is this possible? The devils recently signed their top prospects. I say follow that trend and build the team with youth –same way Chicago did. Kolvachuck and Parise are young, so start there. It hurts to say but to clear cap room, its time for Rolston and Langenbrunner to go.

I do not know what happened with Langenbrunner at the end of the season and the blip that was the playoffs but if it’s about being benched, we have a problem. If the rumors are true, if he didn't care about what the team did at the end of the season, he shouldn't be captain. To be mad at a coach for benching you and then letting it affect your play is childish and immature. The coach holds the right to bench anyone for any reason. That’s part of skating with a club that consistently lives the idea of team above individual. If that’s true, then he’s no longer a good fit to wear the C.

What if the Devils make Parise Captain and start focusing more on offense.
Which reminds me of our defence. Face it my friends, as amazing as Marty still is, I it’s time to find a backup that will get 20 starts. Marty has been the focus of the team for so long we need to think about the team beyond Brodeur.

The Devils should also rethink their PR in the off-season. I've read a few articles about the team and one stands out. The players can pretty much go anywhere in New Jersey and not be recognized. Maybe this is part of the team not wanting to promote individuals over the team itself, but it isolates them from the fans, to a certain extent. The team needs to have more fan access and signings, or player appearances. Make the fans feel they are part of the team. It is a big way to keep fan loyalty and expand their reach. With more appearances you can begin to build a young fan base that will grow with the team. I remember back in 92 or 93, Martin Brodeur did a signing at a Kmart in Parsippany. I barely knew what hockey was, about 7 or 8 I was able to meet this young devils prospect. My father then took me to a game and pointed out that I met the goaltender, I've been a fan ever since.

There is one more thing that I really wish the Devils did. A yearbook.

I want a yearbook with well-written stories about the team, its history and the players. I want large beautiful photography of in-game action. I want to know more about the behind-the-scenes. Tell me about the Devils scouting, their prospects and how they fit into the future of this team. What’s the vision for the Devils going forward?

Instead, the players seem unreachable. They live in New Jersey. They’re our neighbors and part of our community. Let the fans know this. The fans will connect more with the players and, in turn, support the team with a larger fan base and increase attendance at the Rock, and the decibel level of “Let’s GO DEV-ILS!” Clap. Clap. Clapclap –clap.

-Ross
[edited by Scott Brown]