Alexander Holtz played alongside Jack Hughes and Erik Haula for the New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring a goal and receiving praise from his interim head coach.
Alexander Holtz played alongside Jack Hughes and Erik Haula for the New Jersey Devils against the Pittsburgh Penguins scoring a goal and receiving praise from his interim head coach.
Hughes and Holtz are finally playing together. Two players who perfectly complement each other's game. Hughes is a great skater and an even better playmaker. He loves to skate with the puck in transition and in the offensive zone. Holtz has a deadly shot. He's powerful and accurate with both his wrist shot and his one-timer. Holtz’s quick release and ability to get open in high-danger areas should amount to many goals that come off of passes from Hughes.
This goal isn’t a perfect example of how Holtz and Hughes can play together but it’s a good indication of what they can do. Hughes creates space with the puck and gets a shot on goal. Holtz uses his goal-scoring instincts to shed off the defender, find the rebound and slot it home.
Holtz made a mistake that led to the Penguins' first goal but wasn’t punished for it like he previously was. Punishing young players for mistakes can work. It can get a response out of the player to focus and avoid repeating that mistake but in other cases, it doesn’t. For Holtz, last game was a good example that showing trust in a young player to play through the mistake can also work. Finding a nice blend of lighting the fire underneath a player and showing trust to help their confidence is important for a coach. Interim HC Travis Green explained his reasoning for showing faith in the young Swede.
"Years ago I probably would have pulled the trigger in that scenario, but I do think that Holtzy’s been, for me, giving a real honest effort and a harder effort to doing things that maybe he’s not great or comfortable with".
Being praised for his hard work and receiving constructive criticism for his mistakes is a part of the developmental process that he hasn't received much of in his time with the Devils. Green knows this and wants to help him instead of singling him out for every mistake he makes.
"It’s not that it goes unnoticed. As a coach there's different ways of teaching, different ways of coaching. Hotly and I had a conversation on the bench about that play that was very direct. But also giving a player a chance to go back out and play is important as well. That might change in different nights and different scenarios, but I felt that last night Holtzy was going and putting him back out was the right thing to do".
Holtz was the seventh overall pick by the Devils in the 2020 NHL draft and they have been extremely patient with him. Before this season Holtz had only played in 28 NHL games. This season he’s played in 69 games scoring 15 goals and 26 points.
Playing just 11:37 a night and playing in the bottom six for almost the entire season, there hasn’t always been the most opportunity for him to flash his offensive skill set. He’s played a bit on the second power-play unit but has only registered one goal and one assist on the man advantage.
Understandably it’s almost impossible to get him on the first power play unit when everyone is healthy. Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier are all deserving of playing those minutes but if Holtz can show the Devils that he can score and play alongside Hughes, he’ll give the Devils' coaching staff a reason to consider him and possibly play him there if injuries do occur.
The Swedish sniper is just 22 years old and has a long career ahead of him. Building trust in the coaching staff and letting your play be the reason you carve out ice time is just part of the process most first-round picks go through. Holtz will get another look on the right wing with Hughes and Haula when the Devils host the Winnipeg Jets at 7:00 P.M. EST.
Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.