On the final day of development camp, the Devils hosted a scrimmage in front of a packed crowd on Friday morning.
The New Jersey Devils wrapped up their 2023 Development Camp with a scrimmage in front of Black and Red members at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark. The players were divided into two teams (Team White and Team Red) and played two 25-minute periods with a 15-minute intermission.
2023 Prospects Development Camp Roster
GOALTENDERS: Tyler Brennan, Cole Brady, Jakub Malek, Isaac Poulter
DEFENSE: Seamus Casey, Chase Cheslock, Spencer Cox, Ethan Edwards, Brendan Fitzgerald, Santeri Hatakka, Viktor Hurtig, Charlie Leddy, Tim Rego, Luke Rowe, Topias Vilen.
FORWARDS: Cole Brown, Will Dineen, Filip Engaras, Josh Filmon, Owen Fowler, Luke Grainger, Lenni Hameenaho, Petr Hauser, Timur Ibragimov, Erik Middendorf, Xavier Parent, Ondrej Psenicka, Jaromir Pytlik, Cam Recchi, Samu Salminen, Artem Shlaine, Cam Squires, Chase Stillman.
Scrimmage Lineups
Team Red
Filmon - Salminen - Hauser
Dineen - Engaras - Squires
Fowler - Recchi - Grainger
Vilen - Leddy
Cox - Hurtig
Rowe
Malek
Poulter
Team White
Ibragimov - Parent - Hameenaho
Middendorf - Shlaine - Psenicka
Brown -Pytlik
Hatakka - Casey
Fitzgerald - Cheslock
Rego
Brennan
Brady
Team White would eventually win the scrimmage by a final score of 4-3.
Quick Hits & Observations
- The scrimmage began with a goaltending matchup of Poulter versus Brady. Malek and Brennan were in the net for their respective teams for the second half.
- Goal scorers for Team White included Parent, Brown, and Fitzgerald. For Team Red, Squires, Recchi, and Salminen lit the lamp.
- Brown stood out in his first development camp, scoring two goals, including the game-winner. After the game, he was humble when he spoke to Devils' host Catherine Bogart about his performance, crediting his linemates and their passes.
- Squires' lone goal was off a turnover. During the 15-minute intermission, he spoke with Bogart on the ice. "Everybody wants to show their best skills and put their best foot forward. It's been competitive. (With it) 3-2 going into the second half guys are going to leave it all out there. Make their first impression and their last one here at the camp."
- In addition to the goal scorers, Casey, Filmon, and Hameenaho were all standouts. Casey is a smooth skater who can quickly join the rush. He undoubtedly left an impression on the team's front office. Something about Filmon makes me believe he can potentially be another sixth-round steal for the Devils. During the scrimmage, he showcased his skating ability, had good possession along the walls, and had some nice breakouts. Hameenaho did not score but always seemed to be in the middle of the action. The 18-year-old, who joined the Devils organization a couple of weeks ago, had an impressive showing at camp.
- Parent did an on-ice interview and spoke about the crowd in attendance: "I think it's amazing. Last year, I was here too, and it was full for three-on-three and five-on-five. Today, the same thing. It's just amazing."
In the Locker Room
Casey on going through development camp a second time: "It was a great week. Having gone through it again, I can't say if this one was better than last year or if last year was better than this year. It was just a lot of fun. They did such a good job getting us bonded in all the off-ice stuff, and it ended up being the most fun week. I love it here, and this is a great camp."
Squires on what he is going to takeaway from development camp: "Take all the resources and use them. You got to take advantage of everybody around you. For me, it's continuing to get stronger and faster. That's one thing that I really want to work on (and) I'm committed to doing that. I think being here and meeting the staff, they're invested in me as a player, and I'm really looking forward to working with them and showing them my commitment to getting better. I'm a young player, and this is a first step in the road, and it was exciting to get my toes in the water."
Rowe on what he learned this week: "It's like Mr. Fitzgerald said, just competition and compete. You have to get better. You have to want to get better. The tangible skills they'll come the skating, the shot, the hands. They'll come with training. The intangible things like that desire to compete and that effort and attitude every time you show up to the rink, I think that's what separates the pros from the amateurs."