Running With The Devils - The Devils Below
| 10
|
THE SEASON PREVIEW
Running a minor league team is an interesting endeavor. On the one hand you always want to win. On the other hand, the purpose of the minor league affiliate has to be to train and develop the generation of NHL players. Thus, it is important to find the right mix of prospects, NHL depth players and career minor leaguers.
As with any team that has a prolonged period of success, the New Jersey Devils success finally caught up with them over the last few years when it comes to prospects. With guys like Travis Zajac and Zach Parise making quicks leaps from the college ranks to the NHL, the Devils have been short on top minor league talent. Thus, the Lowell Devils are stocked with marginal prospects and former NHLers trying to keep their careers going. Leading the pack of former NHLers is Grant Marshall with his 790 NHL games and 1 [Stanley Cup]. Marshall is an NHL grinder who lost his regular spot when the NHL changed rules. His NHL days are over and he is simply playing out the string in Lowell. Joining him this year is Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, a bruising former NHL defenseman who returns to the U.S. after two years in the Germany. Grand-Pierre, unlike Marshall, has the potential to see some time with the parent club this year. On the overall depth chart he is probably the 9th defenseman, 8th if Colin White doesn't return from injury. Thus, if his play in the minors warrants it, and an injury or trade creates a vacancy in New Jersey, Grand-Pierre may find himself back in the bigs. However, more than likely his biggest contribution will be joining Pierre-Luc Leblond-Letourneau and Olivier Magnan-Grenier in making the Lowell Devils the most hyphenated team in the league.
There are a few prospects in Lowell although none of them are sure shot future NHLers. On the front line, there is Nicklas Bergfors who started the season with the Devils and will likely finding himself shuttling back and forth this season. Joining him in that endeavor is Barry Tallackson an imposing 6'4 former former Golden Gopher who needs to use his size to be effective. If he skated better he'd be a nice NHL prospect, but his deficiencies in that area will likely limit his NHL production to a few games a year.
Defensively, Lowell does not have many future NHLers. In addition to Grand-Pierre, the little Devils added Ian Moran this year, another NHL veteran with 555 career games. They join the only two real prospects on the blueline, Mark Fraser and Sean Zimmerman. Fraser, a 2005 3rd rd pick saw 7 games on NHL action last season, managing to get his butt whipped by Chris Simon in his first NHL fight. Not bad for a 20 year old. Fraser needs another year or two to develop, but has the skills to crack an everyday NHL lineup. Zimmerman was a 6th rd pick in that same draft. He makes his debut in Lowell this year after a successful career in the WHL. A special shout-out has to go to Olli Malmivaara, the [Zdeno Chara] like 6'7 Fin. I saw him last pre-season and he is not a particularly good player. But it is always fun to watch a guy that big try to skate.
Neither of the goaltenders on Lowell's roster are Marty Brodeur's eventual replacement. That guy is Jeff Frazee, currently a junior at the University of Minnesota. Frank Doyle is a former Maine Blackbear and is technically the number one goalie in Lowell. His NHL prospects probably consist on the potential to one day catch on in a backup role. His backup, Jordan Parise, probably has a little more potential. Parise had a stellar three years at the University of North Dakota before signing with the Devils as a free agent. It is not out of the question for Parise to make it to the NHL one day. He has good bloodlines as his dad is former NHLer J.P. Parise and his brother is current Devils star Zach Parise.
This brings up an interesting aspect of the Lowell Devils. They currently have four players with relatives playing for the parent club. In addition to Parise, Brian Gionta's "little" brother Stephen joins Jay Pandolfo's two brothers Mike and Mark. Having so many family connections is good management for the Devils. With Pandolfo, it can be seen as repaying Jay for his years of dedication to the Devils. With Gionta and Parise, it is a sign of loyalty that just might help keep them in New Jersey when free agency rolls around. After all, for years the Devils tried to sign or trade for Rob Neidermayer knowing that his presence on the team would likely keep his brother Scott from bolting.
Last year the Lowell Devils had the best record of teams not making the playoffs. With the infusion of NHL veterans and young talent, the Devils should have enough to squeak into the playoffs although I would not expect them to stick around long.
Upcoming
The New Jersey Devils open up their new arena tonight against the Ottawa Senators followed by a game against the Tampa Bay Lighting on the 31st. The next volume of Running With The Devils will recap those games followed by next weekend's feature on the Devils ECHL affiliate the Trenton Devils.
