Holtz's Dream to Come True in the Magic Kingdom | FEATURE

Utica head coach Kevin Dineen called Comets forward Alex Holtz with a question.
"Have you ever been to Disney Land?" the coach inquired. Holtz hadn't. "Well," his coach retorted,
"You're going now."
Although Holtz, who boarded a flight Wednesday, didn't make it to Disney Land, he did make it to California where he joined his Devils teammates for Thursday's practice ahead of making his NHL debut Friday night in Los Angeles against the Kings.
"This is what you dream of your whole life," Holtz said. "I'm really pumped for this."
Holtz isn't the only one pumped for this. Just ask his (new) head coach Lindy Ruff.
"You look at his numbers. You like them," Ruff said. "I'm excited to see him play."

His numbers are five goals in four games played in the American Hockey League. The 19-year-old Swede has earned his chance to show what he can do in the NHL.
"He's played well, which is important," Ruff said. "He understands this is a different level he's going to have to play at. But we're going to try to put him into a position where he can help our club win."
What the team needs to win is scoring goals. The wicked shot and finish that Holtz possesses is one of the many reasons he is joining the Devils. And they're hoping he can help pull up their power play, which is clicking at just 13 percent (27th in the NHL).
"We want to see if Alex can bring an element to our power play that we need, which is a righthanded shot that can be dangerous and other teams have to respect," Ruff said. "If other teams have to respect that, then other things open up."
Holtz, the Devils' first-round pick (seventh overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, has never been shy about using that shot in his career. And he doesn't feel the burden of being a power-play sniper.
"I don't feel that as pressure. I feel that's really fun that they trust me in that situation," he said. "I feel really comfortable on the power play. I worked on it a lot."
Holtz was one of the Devils better players during training camp and the preseason, leading the team in scoring with two goals, four points and a plus-3 in three games. However, a numbers game landed him in the AHL to start the season. Instead of sulking, Holtz went right to work by being arguably the team's best player in the opening weeks of the season.

"It's been good. I've had a chance to play a lot," Holtz said of his AHL time. "I have good teammates down there. I had some luck and some goals. I was feeling good down there. Improved my game and got some confidence."
The coaching staff saw some of that confidence from Holtz in the preseason, which is why general manager Tom Fitzgerald said that he would be back in the NHL sooner than later when they assigned him to the NHL.
"I thought the preseason games I saw him play," Ruff said, "he did a good job of keeping his feet moving and matching the speed of the game, and being able to put himself in the right place to get some quality scoring chances."
"I felt good in the preseason games," Holtz said of dealing with the speed at the highest level. "I just want to have the confidence all the time, the speed level. I'm going to try to improve that the whole time."
The wait is over. Holtz is here, and on the cusp of his NHL debut.
"A thrill of a lifetime for the young man," Ruff said. "Everybody remembers their first game. They've been waiting their whole career to get to this point. I'm excited for him. I know that he's going to be really excited to play."