PRE-GAME STORY
NEWARK, N.J. - For the first time in his career, Sheldon Keefe will be behind the home bench at Prudential Center. Although it’s preseason, it’s still an exciting opportunity for the new bench boss in the Devils' first preseason game of the 2024-25 season.
“I’m excited, get behind the bench,” Keefe shared pre-game. “Probably most importantly for me, just get working with our guys in a game environment, both on an individual level and on a team level. As we’re really starting to build something, you really need to get into the games to really make that happen.”
When it comes to how he’ll be behind the bench, Keefe shared how vocal he is as a coach during games.
“I’m involved,” said Keefe. “I’m talking to the players, I’m engaged. A lot of times I’m sort of narrating the game a little bit from the back and giving some direction that way. But you feel it out as you know your team and what they need.”
Getting Up to Speed
Sunday’s preseason game will be the first chance for Devils players to put into motion the systems and schemes of Sheldon Keefe and his coaching staff. However, the expectation isn’t for things to be perfect as the Devils held their first on-ice session of training camp just three days ago.
“We’ve covered a lot in a short amount of time,” Keefe explained. “But the idea is so that as you get into game one here today of the preseason, the players have a sense of anything you’re really trying to coach. They have a reference point, they’ve roughed it out in practice, they’ve seen it in a meeting. And there’s going to be some things to fine tune here and there of course, and that’s going to take some time, well beyond preseason for that. But the guys have a sense of what we want to do, and then now it’s about building it in a game environment, and then building those fundamental habits we need to outside the structure too.”
Another goal of this preseason is to get the NHL players up to speed quickly as their season will start on Oct. 4 in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres.
“We don’t have necessarily a great deal of time for that so we’re prioritizing more getting the NHL players ready for real games and trying to maximize it,” Keefe shared. “The way that our schedule lines up here, with four games before going to Prague, and two of those games are back-to-back situations. Basically we’re in a situation where our NHL players are going to likely get two games for sure and a lot of them three.”
Since Keefe is a new coach and doesn’t have extensive first-hand experience with anyone on the roster, this is an opportunity for the Deivls head coach to gain even more insight about his roster and the type of players in the organization. These preseason games can help him and the coaching staff figure out which players might get a shot at the main roster out of camp due to injuries.
“A lot of times when you come into training camp you kind of know what you have,” Keefe explained. “You know who your NHL players are. Certainly we know who the NHL players are, but I’m learning a lot about them. And I’m also trying to learn about the guys who are trying to compete for spots and who’s going to perhaps push and potentially fill in for some of our injured guys, who’s going to be the first call ups, all these kind of things you get sorted out through preseason.”
-Catherine Bogart, NJD.TV
