Fortunately Fortunate | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Whenever I sit down to start plotting out my 10 Takeaways for the week, I look through stats and stories and scour my brain for anything I noticed I wanted to make sure I'm sharing with everyone. 

But there are also times where you're doing an interview with a player, and the conversation starts veering off into all kinds of directions, sometimes not even about the original subject you approached them for.

So, not everything makes it into the final article, but sometimes there are stories that still need to see the light of day.

That's why I love having these weekly 10 Takeaways, which I can use as a kind of cutting room floor for some of the stories that didn't quite make it into the final cut.

And that happened this week when I was speaking with Nathan Bastian for the latest Stallmates article...

1.

I had asked him which players he's observed that might have some weird quirks or routines that he doesn't want to get involved with or interrupt, it didn't have to be one of his two stall mates.

His immediate answer was Dougie Hamilton.

"A big one would probably be Dougie. He's got, he's got a lot going on. Dougie's got a lot. I mean, I'm sure he's always been like that. Not so much on the side of like, don't bother him. We're talking, kind of just shooting it like all the time, but equipment-wise and stuff, he is all over the place. I think if you asked him he'd say the same thing. He's very, very particular."

2.

There is a lot that goes into the success of a hockey team, and so much of it goes on behind the scenes. It's the people who are always the first at the rink and the last to leave. The ones whose job is just beginning when the plane lands on the road after players make their way into the hotels.

While everyone else is getting ready to sleep, the equipment staff is at the rink, right off the plane, in the middle of the night, setting up the locker room to make sure it's ready to go the next morning when players arrive. It could be 1 a.m., and they're headed to the rink. They're always the first to arrive and last to leave. They are machines.

They know each individual player's preferences and execute them to a T. They make sure visors are immaculately cleaned, they have unbelievable reflexes when a stick breaks mid-game, handing a new one to a player as they skate by at top speed.

They are the equipment managers. And the Devils have the very best, led by Chris 'Frosty' Scoppetto.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate Frosty on working his 2000th NHL last Friday.

2000!

That's a wild number. 

Wherever we go with the team, somebody knows Frosty, and somebody is always asking for Frosty. He is one of the greatest people you'll ever meet, who treats everyone like a member of the team, so it's little surprise he is so well-liked league-wide.

Frosty has been working in the NHL since 1997 when he started with the then Pheonix Coyotes as an assistant equipment manager. He spent two years with the Coyotes before moving on to the Nashville Predators for six seasons. In 2005 Frosty joined the Detroit Red Wings where he won the Stanley Cup in in 2008 before taking his first head equipment manager job with the Florida Panthers until 2016 when he joined the Devils as an assistant. In 2017 he was named the Devils head equipment manager.

Congratulations on this milestone, Frost!

(He'll probably hate all this, because he's so low-key, but I refuse to let it fly under the radar!)

3.

By the way, Frosty's son Brekken was the little boy who appeared in Jack Hughes's magic trick during the All-Star Game in Vegas.

Brekken is a heck of a hockey player in his own right.

Here's a little bit about how it all unfolded:

The Devils equipment staff was at the All-Star Game representing the Metropolitan Division, so Brekken was already going to be there, accompanying his dad. And Jack wanted to find something for the shootout challenge that was, what he called, 'Vegas-y'.

"Obviously magic was one of them," Hughes said after the event, "and I thought about the black box and then 'Frosty,' he's talking to me and 'Brek' was going to show up," Hughes said. "It's all about 'Brek.' If he had a lot of fun than that's what it was meant to be, and I hope he had a lot of fun."

4.

"Jack may join us in Pittsburgh"

Well, that was an exciting sentence to hear from Lindy Ruff on Monday.

Although, it is important to remember its a 'may' scenario. However, even the possibility is excellent news. After that scary crash into the boards in St. Louis, we kept hearing from both Ruff and GM Tom Fitzgerald how "incredibly fortunate" the club was when it came to the evaluation of Jack's upper-body injury.

It was a 'week-to-week' situation when it came to his absence. But before leaving for Winnipeg when Lindy said Jack 'may' meet the team, we can really see why now, the team said how fortunate they were with Jack's evaluation.

Again, it's a 'may' situation for Pittsburgh, but that's incredibly encouraging.

Jack wouldn't meet the team in Pittsburgh at the tail end of a road trip if there wasn't a possibility that he'd be healthy enough to play.

So whether it happens or not on Thursday, we're fortunate that it's even an option.

5.

How good was Jack's opening to the season?

He's missed three full games and played just 3:55 against the Blues and he still sits in the Top 10 in points this season amongst all NHL players. Today, he ranks 10th with 20 points.

He's just five points from the NHL lead, held by Vancouver's Elias Pettersson.

It seems like Jack's return is sooner rather than later, so you know he'll be gunning to get back a top really fast and there's no reason he won't be able to.

Jack is also the only player in the NHL's Top 10 who has played less than 14 games.

6.

I did not expect to learn that Chris Tierney's hockey nickname was once Cobra.

And yes, as in the cobra snake, to which of course we needed a backstory.

Turns out, it was Joe Thonton's doing, back when Tierney broke into the league in San Jose.

Here's how it goes:

"That was back in San Jose, we were out in LA, it was Kobe's last game when we were there and (Joe Thornton) was saying how cool a nickname ‘Mamba’ was. So he was like, ‘you need a nickname.’ And he started saying ‘Garter snake’ or something – something pretty lame. Then we were joking and I said, ‘What about the Cobra? That’s a cool one.' and he just kind of ran with that. Knowing him, he started yelling it through the room and it catches on and then Twitter gets a handle on it and it just kind of goes from there."

But what he mostly goes by now, is your generic hockey abbreviation 'Tierns'.

“It's the one most guys use now, the Cobra pretty much stayed in San Jose,” he said. “But Timo still calls me that sometimes, he was around for that.”

7.

Simon Nemec had his first four-point game in the American Hockey League over the weekend. The budding defenseman put up two goals and two assists against the Rochester Americans in the Comets 6-0 victory.

It was an offensive breakout game for the 19-year-old defenseman, continuing to build his game, hopefully leading to more of the same as the season goes on.

8. 

Dawson Mercer registered his 100th career point, in his 177th NHL game on Friday.

Mercer has been incredibly durable to start his NHL career, now up to 177 consecutive games since he began his career in 2021-22. That's the franchise record, which used to be Scott Gomez's 140 games, Dawson just blowing past the record. 

It also ranks Mercer for 14th in the NHL for all active skaters, tied with former Devil Blake Coleman, and just down the list is Tyler Toffoli, who has appeared in 143 consecutive games, ranking 24th in the league.

9.

Just because Luke Hughes is no longer with Michigan, doesn't mean that the Devils name isn't attached to a young, up-and-coming Wolverine defenseman.

Seamus Casey is putting on a show.

Hughes and Casey had one year of overlap in Michigan, but now, along with Ethan Edwards, the torch has been passed.

And Casey has had quite a season to start. Casey is more than a point-per-game player, with 17 in 12 games. He has four goals and 13 assists, five of which are primary.

And he also scored this ridiculous shootout goal for a Michigan win, showing off his filthy mitts.

10.

The first time I ever heard about something called Kam Jam was at a practice a few weeks ago, when after several players, led by Brendan Smith, headed out on the practice rink ice with their shoes on, a couple of buckets and frisbee-looking discs.

Turns out, Smith and some of his teammates weren't just out there to have fun, but were filming a promo video for Smith's charity event coming up on Jan. 7, 2024. Smith is hosting his first event Kan Jam tournament to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer through The Jam Kancer In The Kan Foundation.

For those who will be participating, you'll be paired up with two Devils players to compete on your team, which means you'll be able to brag to your friends that you have been teammates with an actual New Jersey Devil.

If you can, make sure you get involved and be a part of Smith's first-ever event!