Head coach Sheldon Keefe and his staff put the Canton, Michigan native on a line with Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian.

The New Jersey Devils opened training camp less than a week ago, but one player is already making an impact and winning fans' hearts.

Paul Cotter, 24, was acquired by New Jersey on June 29, 2024, along with a third-round pick. At the time, fans voiced their displeasure with the trade as Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald shipped Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Fitzgerald explained Cotter is the type of player his forward group needed.

"Adding a guy like Paul Cotter, who we believe has upside and has a little bit of Miles Wood in him, he can skate, he's physical. The pieces and the identity that we were looking for," he said.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe and his staff put the Canton, Michigan native on a line with Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian.

"I think he is a good blend of a few things," Bastian said of Cotter. "Obviously, you see the hands he's got and the moves he can do in a shootout. He is a heavier guy who likes to play that fourth-line game. I think he will suit me well."

"He is very skilled," Lazar said of his newest linemate. "I did not know how skilled he was. High speed, his hands are incredible. (...)Having that element to kind of open up the ice and create room is going to help (Bastian and I). Cotter is not afraid to get dirty as well. I think that is going to be our identity as a line, and I am excited to play with him."

The trio plays a simple game that focuses on physicality, getting pucks deep, and crashing the net. Fans saw the new line Sunday night in the club's first preseason game against the New York Islanders. They combined for five shots and six hits.

Despite being on the ice for a couple of goals against, Keefe praised the line during his postgame press conference.

"(They were) a real positive for me. There was the one sequence that led to the first goal against, but other than that, I thought those guys had a real good game," he said. "There is going to be a number of things we will pull out of the game specific to that line that look the way we need it to look. It was really positive to see those three guys working well together.

"I thought Cotter did his thing and did a really good job of getting the puck to the net. That was encouraging for his first game."

In addition to impressing his head coach, Cotter's gritty style of play on Sunday night caught the attention of Devils fans.

"My mom sent me a couple of videos of the announcers making some cool comments," Cotter said on Tuesday afternoon with a smile. "I am not really the biggest social media guy, but some friends showed me some tweets people tagged me in and stuff. It's good. It's better that way than the other way, right?" So far so good."

Keefe will again utilize Cotter's line Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens. After the team's morning skate, the head coach shared what he needs to see from the threesome in their second preseason game.

"They need to continue to grow their chemistry," he said. "Those guys need to get the puck deep, make it difficult for the opposition to break out. They need to spend as much time in the offensive zone as they can."

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be live-streamed on the Devil's website, mobile app, and Connected TV app (Apple TV). Fans can also tune in on the Devils radio network.