The Devils open the 2022 Prospects Challenge tournament in Buffalo against the Montreal Canadiens.
You can watch the game streamed live right here on the Devils website with Matt Loughlin and Chico Resch on the call starting at 6:45 PM ET.
Read the game preview below and check back following the morning skate for our pre-game story, interviews, lineup updates and more.
Catherine Bogart gets you set for tonight’s game with Matt Loughlin and Chico Resch on the call. Stay tuned after the game for our Live Post-Game Show with Catherine and post-game reaction
Devils Prospects practice in Buffalo on Saturday.
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BUFFALO —
The much-anticipated Slovakian showdown between Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec, the Nos. 1- and 2-overall picks respectively in the summer’s NHL Draft, will have to wait.
For now.
The New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens will meet tonight in the annual Prospects Tournament, however, the Habs will not be dressing Slafkovsky.
“I was a little bit disappointed. It could have been the first game we played against (each other),” Nemec said. “Maybe in the NHL.”
The Devils and Canadiens open the preseason slate against each other in Montreal on Sept. 26. While the Slafkovsky matchup will have to wait, fellow Slovak and Canadien’s 26th-overall pick Filip Mesar is expected to be in the lineup.
“It was a special moment for our country, and everybody was happy,” Nemec said of the three Slovaks taken in the first round. “Everybody knows us now. It’s great.”
Despite the extra notoriety, Nemec’s life in Slovakia hasn’t changed. Much.
“Not really. I just have to take more pictures,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman with a smile.
Slafkovsky and Mesar both watched Nemec and the Devils morning skate, and the trio chatted for quite a while in the runway to the locker room.
“It was a great feeling. I saw them,” Nemec said. “It was a nice (feeling).”
Facing his countrymen on the ice aside, Nemec still has a lot to focus on at this year’s tournament. He’s made it clear he wants to play in the NHL from the start of the season. That’s a difficult task for any 18-year-old, but especially for a position as intricate and complex as a defenseman. However, he will get a chance, starting tonight, to prove that he belongs in a Devils sweater on opening night.
“It’s really exciting to play in this tournament for the Devils,” he said. “I’m excited to be here. I want to show what I know.”
Chase(ing) a Roster Spot
Devils forward prospect Chase Stillman is entering his second Prospect Tournament this year. The 29th-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft is hoping to make his mark heading into training camp.
“For me, it’s just to show the improvement I’ve made in the offseason and during last season, showing what I’m capable of and being able to progress,” he said. “I put on some weight since the last time I was here and the confidence side of things. This is my second time at this tournament. For me, it’s just being more confident with the puck, hanging onto it and making some plays.”
Stillman, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, watched last season as a forward Dawson Mercer used this tournament to spring himself into the Devils lineup, where he remained for his entire rookie season. Stillman is hoping to do the same.
“I think for the coaching staff and management, everyone is in the building here,” Stillman said. “This is a big steppingstone. If you can showcase your abilities here, then it’s going to help transition into camp.”
Second Time Around
Utica coach Kevin Dineen is entering his second camp. And it’s much different than last season when he was new and still meeting and learning about his players and staff.
“It’s a pretty seamless transition this year,” Dineen said. “A lot of people were very supportive of my transition to the organization. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an old goat like me or a young rookie in the lineup, you want to come in and get a lay of the land, and when you know a lot of the faces and get into this situation it makes you a lot more comfortable.”
–Sam Kasan, NewJerseyDevils.com
DEVILS vs. CANADIENS
TV: 7:00 PM ET; Streamed here on NJD.TV
Head-to-Head:
The annual Buffalo Sabers Prospects Challenge makes its return with some new opponents and an expanded format. Last season, there were three teams: New Jersey, Buffalo and Boston. This year, the slate has expanded to six with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators joining the others here in Buffalo.
Tonight, the Devils play the Canadiens. These two teams have never met in this tournament.
Devils team scope:
The Devils will be playing their first game of the tournament. Some of the players to keep an eye on include Alex Holtz, who had 26 goals and 51 points in 52 games last season with Utica of the AHL.
Second-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Simon Nemec, will also be a player to keep an eye on as he nears his professional debut. The blueliner was drafted second overall but was the second player from his native Slovakia taken in that draft as Montreal chose Juraj Slavkovsky first.
Canadiens team scope:
The aforementioned Slafkovsky found the scoresheet in Montreal’s first game of the tournament, a 4-3 setback to the Sabers prospects on Thursday night in Buffalo. Slafkovsky had an assist on Montreal’s second goal of the night, a shorthanded marker.
Emil Heineman led the way for the Habs prospects with a goal and an assist for two points.
Joe Vrbetec played in goal for Montreal on Thursday, meaning that Riley Mercer could potentially get the nod tonight against the Devils.
— Marc Ciampa, NewJerseyDevils.com