The Devils practiced at Prudential Center Friday afternoon before traveling to Columbus to kick off their dads/mentors' trip.
The New Jersey Devils hit the ice this afternoon at 11:00 A.M. with some additional spectators in the crowd.
The team is hosting their yearly dads/mentors' trip this weekend, with the Devils traveling to Ohio on Friday to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night before hosting the Anaheim Ducks at Prudential Center on Sunday.
"It's fun. It's something that we are really going to cherish forever," Tyler Toffoli said. It's one of those things where you can tell all the dads, and everyone is having a great time, and now we just have to get a couple of wins here."
Not every player has their dad with them this weekend, but a few familiar faces returned including Rino Hischier, Paul Marino, and Jim Hughes. One new face is Andreas Schmid, who is experiencing his first-ever father's trip.
"This is amazing," Andreas Schmid said. "It's overwhelming because we live in a little town, maybe 9,000 inhabitants. They have two times the size here (at Prudential Center)."
The fathers and mentors were scattered throughout Sections 17 and 18 of Prudential Center as the Devils' practice started. One thing I did notice was that Mr. Bastian and Mr. McLeod sat together. It led me to wonder how many different arenas they have sat in together over the years.
In the locker room, the players' nameplates at their stalls were replaced with their fathers' names, which was a nice touch.
Below are the lines and defensive pairs utilized ahead of the team's game versus the Blue Jackets:
Ondrej Palat - Nico Hischier - Timo Meier
Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Erik Haula - Dawson Mercer - Alexander Holtz
Curtis Lazar - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler - Simon Nemec
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Luke Hughes - Colin Miller
Akira Schmid/Vitek Vanecek
Extras: Chris Tierney & Brendan Smith