The New Jersey Devils will need at least one or two defenders to replace some of their injured players at the start of the season. Right now, Seamus Casey is looking like an odds on favorite to make the team.
Through their first thee preseason games, the results have not been what the New Jersey Devils want to see. Or maybe it is what they want to see after going undefeated last preseason and finishing out of the playoffs. Either way, an 0-3 start isn’t encouraging for a team and a fan base that are starving for a better result than 2023-24. There are still a number of parts adjusting to their teammates, and hopefully they can get it together prior to beginning the season overseas next week. Additionally, there should be a few players returning from injury or illness as the season progresses (Erik Haula should be back to playing any day now as he recovers from illness) that can bolster the lineup and hopefully lead to more success.
Speaking of bolstering the lineup in relation to injuries, let’s talk about Seamus Casey today. The Devils will more than likely be down two defenders who were set to be regulars (Luke Hughes & Brett Pesce) to start the season. While they do still have five other regulars, the team will still want to carry at least two more defenders, including one who will play on a nightly or almost nightly basis. After the last couple of preseason games, despite being a fourth healthy right handed shot, I think Casey has the edge to be one of those two players who are announced as part of the opening night roster.
Watching him play the past pair of nights has shown that Casey is clearly ahead of a lot of the other young Devils on the development track. In addition, in recent action, he outplayed Santeri Hatakka, who also might be injured now, and greatly outplayed Nick DeSimone, two players who would be in similar contention for the spot(s) Casey is eyeing. He picked up his first assist of the preseason last night, and had some plays where he made some Washington players look downright silly. That’s not to say he was perfect in either game, but rather that he has turned in two strong performances where he was clearly better than a lot of his teammates.
Casey is known more for his offense than his defense, but right now he’s not looking out of place in any area on the ice. That does need to be taken with a grain of salt, as some of the competition he has faced is not NHL level. The good news is Montreal and Washington did ice a decent amount of players who will more than likely be regulars for them the past couple of games, so it’s not as if Casey was dominating all AHL or lesser competition; I would even argue that if someone wants to say he was only dominating AHL competition, that’s still good and means he’s above that level. I’ll also add that his presence (and ability) on the ice during the six on five situation last night bodes well for him because why would Sheldon Keefe deploy him with NHL regulars if he didn’t plan to have Casey possibly playing that role? It’s not a lock that Keefe used him with that logic behind it, but it is at least something of a logical conclusion.
I know that I previously said that it didn’t look like there were any spots for young players to make the team this season, but that was a “without injury” situation, which the Devils currently are not in. As such, there are a couple more spots up for grabs (aside from the battles for certain forward spots) and right now I think Seamus Casey has a big lead towards grabbing one of those spots. Management could see his play, and still decide however that the best path for him long-term would be top minutes in Utica, which would also be understandable. At the same time, if Hatakka is hurt, and DeSimone continues to look like he’s not an NHL level defender, than Casey might be the team’s best bet. The goal for the season is to be a competitive, winning team, and with some of the moves and plays Casey has made, having him on the ice gives the team a better chance at winning than some of the alternatives.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of Seamus Casey making the opening night roster; do you think the Devils will have him be a part of the group heading to Czechia? Are you concerned that he’s not ready for NHL level hockey on a nightly basis? If he does make the team, what is it you hope to see from him when he’s on the ice for the Devils? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!