FEATURE: Ruff Placing Trust in his Young Players

The New Jersey Devils had a 3-1 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins with just 52 seconds remaining in regulation Thursday night at
Prudential Center
.
A faceoff was forthcoming in the Devils zone. The Penguins trotted out six skaters, with goaltender Tristan Jarry on the bench, with the hope of generating some heroics. Dynamic players like Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Kasperi Kapanen and Kris Letang, along with disturber Brandon Tanev, lined up for Pittsburgh.
With fresh legs coming out of a timeout and an important faceoff ahead, one would have expected New Jersey to dispense its most reliable defensive center Travis Zajac.
Instead, Ruff turned to 19-year-old Jack Hughes to handle the job.

It seemed to be an odd choice. After all, Zajac had done a good job all night of keeping the Penguins' top line of Guentzel-Crosby-Rust in check with zero 5-on-5 points. He also enjoyed quite a successful evening in the faceoff circle - going 14-12 at that juncture. And Zajac was the veteran with 15 years of experience playing against Crosby.
Late in a tight game, typically head coaches will turn to the veteran "safe" players on the bench to finish the job.
But Lindy Ruff isn't a typical head coach.
"I have a history of trusting young players in big roles," Ruff explained of his decision. "It's how I've brought them up in the past, whether it's Dallas or whether it's Buffalo, it's not trying to guard them or play them five, six minutes. I put them in a situation where I want to see what they can do. I don't want to take them out of the lineup in the last 10 minutes and play veteran players. If they've played well, I want to see them play."
Hughes and 22-year-old Janne Kuokkanen were two of the five-man unit on the ice. They were joined by forward Kyle Palmieri and defensemen P.K. Subban and Damon Severson. The group got the job done, getting to two clears and grinding the clock down to 10.5 seconds.
After those five players left the ice, the Penguins did score a late tally with 4.5 seconds, but it was all too late by then as New Jersey would hold on for the 3-2 victory.
"That's the only way you can judge whether (a young) player can withstand the pressure," Ruff said. "It's easy when the game is going well to say he played well. I want to see when you're under the gun, it's 3-2, the other team is really coming. Are you going to win a wall battle? Are you going to win a 50-50 battle? Are you going to be in the right place? That's the best time to judge a young player. We've had a lot of young players pass the test."
Hughes, who tied his entire 2019-20 rookie season output with his seventh goal of the year on a sniped shot against Pittsburgh, past that test Thursday night and rewarded his coach's trust and decision. Other young players have passed the test in other ways throughout the season.
A pair of 22-year-olds in Kuokkanen and Yegor Sharangovich have found chemistry with the aforementioned Zajac. The trio have combined for 17 points (7G-10A) in the last six games while transforming into the club's most consistent offensive threat.
Kuokkanen enjoyed a career-best four-game goal-scoring streak and five-game point streak, while Sharangovich posted two goals in his past three games.
"We have had a lot of young guys that have played important (roles)," Ruff said. "'Sharan' and Janne are playing a big role for us. When you get a line that plays that well together, it stays together for a long time."
Rookie blueliner Ty Smith has opened a lot of eyes around the league with his play on the year. The 20-year-old's 12 assists on the current campaign lead the Devils. That 12 count also leads the entire NHL among rookie defensemen and places second among all rookies in general. Smith's 14 points are the most by all NHL rookie defensemen while ranking fifth among all league rookies.
"We've seen Ty Smith in his first year has given us more than I expected," Ruff said, "and has played well defensively."
Including Mikhail Maltsev, 22, the Devils have three rookies in the NHL's top-12 in rookie goal scorers: Sharangovich (6 goals, tied-6th place), Kuokkanen (5, t-10th), Maltsev (4, t-12th). They also have three rookies in the NHL's top-12 in rookie scoring: Smith (14 points, 5th), Kuokkanen (12, t-8th), Sharangovich (10, t-12th).
The Devils' 49-combined points by rookies tops in the NHL, while their 19 rookie goals place second (as of Thursday).
And that's not even counting the contributions by other young players that aren't rookies, such as Hughes or Pavel Zacha. The 23-year-old Czech native enjoyed a career-best 10-game month-long scoring streak, racking up four goals and 12 points from Jan. 30 to Feb. 28.
Miles Wood, 24, leads the Devils with nine goals, and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, 24, has shown flashes of brilliance during a difficult season health-wise. Meanwhile rookie Nathan Bastian has developed into a solid penalty killer and physical presence.
That doesn't mean that there haven't been growing pains along the way, which is to be expect with the NHL's second-youngest team (22.5). But each mistake and success will serve as a learning experience for the neophyte group.
"That's part of the assessment process. The opportunity that these guys are being given, and being patient with them," Ruff said. "We didn't know exactly what they could bring with additional responsibility. We're just trying to evaluate where they're at and where they can be good. I think we're reaping some benefit from that."
Ruff, who is still in his first season behind the bench for New Jersey, is attempting to build the foundation of the future for the franchise. Part of that involves developing the Devils' dynamic but still raw talent. In the early part of the season, he relied a lot on those around him.
"Part of it was trusting the insight that I got from (general manager) Tom (Fitzgerald) and his staff on what these players can bring," Ruff said. "(Binghamton head coach) Mark (Dennehy) and his coaching staff talking about the qualities of these players. A lot of trust went into how they used them, how much they liked them, what they thought they could bring."
As the season has progressed, Ruff has gotten a better grasp on the talent on his team and where they are in the development process. At the season's halfway point, he also has high expectations for what he wants to see in the second half for his young squad.
"A lot of them have played in important situations for us. It will really help their growth," Ruff said. "I feel good about where they're at. From a coaching standpoint our staff is trying to get them to another level, understanding that where we're at isn't good enough. We're disappointed as a group. But at the same time, we're still building this foundation that will lead to us being a strong team."
Over the course of the season the players have gained the trust of the coaching staff, and the same is true in the reverse.
"They're realizing that they have a coaching staff that trusts them, believes in them. Sometimes they feel if they make a mistake maybe they won't play or won't get much ice time. What they're seeing now is play hard, play the game the right way, everybody is going to make a mistake. Be accountable for your play. We trust them. But that trust is a two-way street. They have to trust and believe in what we're trying to do. That's what I see. I see a group that trusts that they have a staff that believes in them, and they're really starting to grow."