Devils' Camp Continues Wednesday | NOTEBOOK

Following a double shot of success Monday night in their preseason opener(s), the Devils were given the day off on Tuesday. New Jersey went 2-0 with their split squad sessions, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-0, at home and triumphing, 4-2, at Montreal on the same evening.

The Devils will hold three practices Wednesday afternoon at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center.

Stay tuned to the notebook for updates, interviews, videos and more from throughout the day.

Today's Videos:

PLAYER INTERVIEWS: Holtz | L. Hughes | Toffoli

COACH INTERVIEWS: Lindy Ruff

DEVILS NOW: A Big Opportunity

Part of the Team

Devils defenseman Luke Hughes missed the first on-ice day of training camp. But he’s been on the ice and with full contact since then, including participating in both scrimmages. And he said he feels ready to play in game action.

“I think I’m good to go. I don’t know who’s playing (Thursday at NY Rangers), but I’m ready to play,” he said following Wednesday’s practice. “I feel really good on the ice. Everyone around the rink is excited to get started. I’m very excited.”

Hughes joined the Devils late in last year’s regular season, appearing in the final two regular-season games and three playoff contests. Now he has a full training camp to learn the team’s system and his teammates.

“I missed a couple days early. Just getting back into it,” he said. “Learning the system and learning the tendencies of the guys. It’s a good group of guys, really skilled out there. It’s been really good.”

More importantly, Hughes feels more a part of the team than his previous arrival last year.

“I’m pretty comfortable right now,” he said. “Coming in (last year) I was ‘on the team’ but I didn’t play during the season. I played two games during the regular season. I was a pretty late addition. The guys were unbelievable to me in the playoffs, bringing me along, teaching me things and making me feel part of the group. Now I’d say I’m ‘in’ the group.”

Schneider Retires

Schenider has the second most games played by a goaltender (311), shutouts (17), minutes (17872) and saves (8023). He also retires with the Devils' top save percentage in franchise history at .915.

His 115 wins is third in franchise history, and his career 2.50 goals against average with New Jersey (Minimum 100 GP) ranks second all-time in franchise history behind Brodeur’s 2.24 GAA. 

In 2014-15, Schneider played in 69 games for the Devils, which is the most of any Devil goaltender in a single season, other than Martin Brodeur.

A four-time All-Star, Schneider represented twice the Devils and Canucks at the NHL showcase game, including in 2016 with New Jersey in the midst of posting his career-best 27 win season.

Full story here. 

Practice Group A

The Devils hit the ice at 9 a.m. with the first practice group of the day (1 of 3). Below are the participants and workflow used during the session.

Practice Group B

The Devils hit the ice at 11 a.m. with the second practice group of the day (2 of 3). Below are the participants and workflow used during the session.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

The Devils are a week into training camp and the groups are starting to shift. Originally, Groups A, B, and C had a good balance of NHL, AHL, try-outs, and junior players. Now that some junior players have been returned to their teams and preseason continues on, Devils head coach Lindy Ruff and his staff have started to put certain players together.

"We're trying to put some people together we'd like to see," Ruff explained following Wednesday's practice. "(We) put some lines together we'd like to see in game, watch them in practice, work with a lot of different power play groups. So you notice in both groups we had all NHL players in those groups, so we're working on that. We're working on the penalty killing, so thoughts are trying to split up where we're at with special teams and trying to split up guys going into games."

In Their Own Words:

Alex Holtz on training with Jesper Bratt in the summer: *I think he’s going to have a year. Every time I see him on the ice it’s pure art basically."

Tyler Toffoli knew Jack Hughes was a special player, but even more so after playing with him in Montreal during the Devils first preseason game.

"He's definitely one of the most skilled, if not the most skilled guy I've ever played with," Toffoli shared. "And I'd like to say there were some pretty good players throughout my career. Obviously no offense to them.

"Some of the stuff that he does on the ice is impressive," Toffoli continued. "The way he competes and everything and demands the puck, it's pretty special."