How Devils’ Seamus Casey Earned a Spot on the Opening Day Roster

Casey will make his NHL debut on Oct. 4 against the Buffalo Sabres.

The past 151 days have been a whirlwind for 20-year-old Seamus Casey.

He signed his three-year, entry-level contract to begin his professional career in May. A few months later, the defenseman appeared in his first Prospects Challenge in September.

Now, in October, he is in Prague, Czechia, as the Devils begin the season, participating in the 2024 NHL Global Series.

Ahead of the Devils regular-season opener against the Buffalo Sabres, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Casey will make his debut.

"We had a number of defensemen in camp competing for a spot," Keefe said. "There's no handouts here. He's earned it. With our injuries, we have an opportunity available on our back end, and he's given us reason to believe in him.

"It's exciting as a coach to get a lot of these types of moments. I'm still the new guy here; I'm not here the day he's drafted, so I'm sure there's a lot of people in the organization who are excited to see Seamus start his pro career."

Casey was one of 20 defensemen who made up the Devils' training camp roster. While he may have blended in over the first couple of practices, he shined when given the opportunity to play in a preseason game.

That first opportunity was against the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 24.

He played a little over 20 minutes and was credited with one hit and one shot on goal. 

"It was awesome," Casey said. "I mean, it sucks to lose, couldn't be on the board, but it was a blast. Bell Centre was a really cool place to play the first one. I thought it was a really good game. Couple tough bounces at the end, but process felt good and just a ton of fun."

"I thought he did well," Keefe said of Casey. "He played with lots of confidence, with his head up, and played with intelligence. I was happy with the way that he played here today, and good first game for him."

Casey was back in the lineup against the Washington Capitals the next night. He finished with the second-most ice time among defensemen behind Dougie Hamilton and earned an assist on Jack Hughes' goal.

"He (is) an example of a guy who this is his first go around here, and he is getting better and better," Keefe said of the defenseman. "Obviously, I knew he was coming in and knew his abilities and what he had accomplished in college, but it is a whole different beast when you get out here. As a coach, you watch, and you're learning. You are looking for guys to jump out at you and looking for guys to continue to make progress and improve. He has done that."

The Miami, Florida native showed poise on the ice and excellent positioning in both preseason games. Despite his small stature, he has defensively been strong and was a bright spot in preseason.

"If you had to wager on it, you would have said he'd be going to Utica to start the season and gaining valuable experience down there, but we have opportunity here with the injuries that we have, and he's performed well," Keefe said.

Casey told reporters that his parents would be traveling to Prague with potentially one or two of his siblings. Based on the defensive pairs from the team's practices this week, the youngster will make up the third pair with Simon Nemec.

Puck drop between the Devils and Sabres is scheduled for 1:00 P.M. EST. on Friday (MSGSN, NHLN, MSG-B, SN).