Devils' Sheldon Keefe Provides Reason for Seamus Casey Being Assigned To AHL
On Monday morning, the New Jersey Devils announced they assigned rookie defenseman Seamus Casey to the American Hockey League.
Oct 15, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman Seamus Casey (24) comes off the ice after the warmups before the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images - Devils' Sheldon Keefe Provides Reason for Seamus Casey Being Assigned To AHLAhead of Monday morning's practice, the New Jersey Devils announced they had assigned rookie defenseman Seamus Casey to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.
In terms of Casey, the decision was made to get him down to Utica, get him comfortable, rolling there," Keefe said. "He's filled an incredible role for us. He did a great job and really helped us in the early going with the injuries that we've had. To be able to overcome that and be off to a decent start as a group is a credit to Seamus and the job that he's done. He's scored big goals, made big plays for us. For a young defenseman like him, it's important to get down to the American League, really round out his game, and be a big part of the team."
Since Oct. 15, the rookie defenseman has seen his ice time steadily decrease.
Against the Carolina Hurricanes, he played 15:57; two nights later, against the Ottawa Senators, his ice time was reduced to 10:03, and on Oct. 19, the coaching staff put Casey on the ice for a season-low 7:35 against the Washington Capitals.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke about Casey's decreasing ice time on Saturday.
"To me (Casey) has done a really good job here, we've talked about it, how impressed I've been with him," Keefe said. "To me, it looks like the schedule is eating him up. Not just him but our whole team. We just played six games in ten days. That's a kid that's not only not played in the NHL before, but he's played a college hockey schedule, so this is all unheard of."
Through eight games, Casey earned four points (three goals, one assist). He quarterbacked the second power-play unit, where he earned a team-leading two goals on the man advantage.
The organization recalled 24-year-old defenseman Daniil Misyul from the Comets. He joined the team for their practice paired with Simon Nemec.
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