Goaltender Nico Daws sat on the bench and watched as the Devils ran through their special teams portion of practice on Monday afternoon. On the ice, Akira Schmid and the club’s emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) handled the duties.
Daws’ spectator role was a strategic measure by the team. The Devils’ 23-year-old netminder is coming off a week of playing four games in six nights, which included two starts on back-to-back evenings. And the Devils have another week ahead of four games in six nights.
With such a heavy workload, the Devils allowed Daws to take a breather for the second half of the practice – he fully participated in the opening 30 minutes. And while he didn’t mind the rest, Daws feels pretty energetic all things considered.
“I feel a lot better right now than I was expecting after playing four games in six days,” he said following practice. “It’s good and I’m happy with it.”
Prior to the marathon game sequence, Daws had gone 18 days without playing (partially due to the All-Star and bye week). The team was going to work him back into the mix slowly. That is until a lower-body injury to goalie Vitek Vanecek changed the plans.
Suddenly, Daws went from 18 days of no games, to four in six nights. Quite the tall ask, though he believed he was capable of handling it.
“I had enough confidence that I’d be able to do it,” Daws said. “Obviously, you never know until you do it. I held up well.”
“Held up well” is a humble statement. Daws held up remarkably. He went 3-1-0 in that stretch with a 2.01 goals-against average and .945 save percentage. That includes facing 145 shots in those four games (36.3 average) and recording an NHL record 45 saves in an outdoor game in Saturday’s Stadium Series victory against Philadelphia.
But playing in that Stadium Series contest was the culmination of a long and winding road for Daws. It started in March of last year while he was playing with Utica of the American Hockey League. He noticed something wasn’t right.
Daws felt was some pain and discomfort in his hip as he tried to get into his goaltending posture. As soon as he started to track his hips back to align his body, he felt it. The issue limited his range of motion and ability to get fully into his stance.
“It was hard to get my hips all the way back. It was a weird thing,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was at first.”
Particularly perplexing was the randomness of the issue.
“One day it was fine. The next day it wasn’t,” he said. “I was playing a lot down there because Akira was up here. All of sudden the one hip started bugging me.”
The team did some imaging on his hips and found a surprise. He had torn labrum(s) in both hips, not just the one that had been bothering Daws.
“Got it imaged and found out that both of them needed something,” he said. “The other one wasn’t bothering me yet so I got a cortisone shot and just finished (the season).
“(The other hip) didn’t bother me until the playoffs, it was a little sore, but nothing crazy.”
In June, Daws underwent surgery to repair the labrum in each hip. What followed was a grueling rehab process.
“Rehab was tedious. A lot of strengthening muscles I didn’t know I had in my hips, tiny little muscles,” Daws said. “It was hard. It was simple enough. I was lucky enough to not have any setbacks, which was really nice. Being (in New Jersey) you have the best in the business working with you. It was as smooth as it could have been.”
Daws’ rehab went so well that he was able to return to the ice ahead of schedule, making his season debut with Utica on Dec. 8. He noticed a difference in his game right away.
“I feel really good. It’s different ranges of motion than I used to have,” he said. “My hips feel good.”
After playing just three games with the Comets, the Devils recalled Daws – on Dec. 27 – to the NHL. He’s been with the big club ever since.
“It’s been a blast,” Daws said. “I didn’t expect to get a callup as fast as I did. Three games in Utica and here I am now. I’m happy with where my game is at right now and just try to keep building on it.”
Playing in the NHL isn’t new for Daws. He appeared in 25 games for the club in the 2021-22 season, leading the team with 10 wins on the year. However, he played all of the 2022-23 campaign in the AHL before finally returning on his current stint. And he feels much stronger in his game, especially in his head space.
“The base of my game is similar to how it’s always been, my pace, my strength. The mental thing is a big thing for me,” he said. “My first year I was OK mentally but not strong enough to be consistent. I think my highs were too high and my lows were too low. Now, I’m doing a better job of keeping it even keel and going day to day.”
Right now, Daws isn’t trying to let his current high get carried away from him. He’s taking each game as it comes. Even if the games come in four in six nights. After all, he’s come a long way to get to where he is.
“It’s been a long road back to get to that point,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “The team went through a process to help him get to where we thought he’d be healthy enough to contribute. To go down, play in the minors and find his way again, and I think he has.
“We thought a lot of him before, but I think the injuries set him back. Now, he’s in a good place to keep moving forward as a young goaltender.”
