We're only a few short weeks now from the beginning of New Jersey Devils training camp.
The team and its hopefuls will gather at Prudential Center under the watchful eye of new head coach Sheldon Keefe as they prepare for opening night. Not only will it be a time to learn the Xs and O's of a new system under the 43-year-old coach, but it will also be about getting to know one another with many new faces, Keefe included, joining the fold.
For a player like Jack Hughes, who is very much a student of the game, he's looking forward to arriving back in New Jersey to have some face-to-face time with his new coach.
"I’m excited to get to New Jersey and pick his brain (in person) and figure some things out," Jack shared from his home in Michigan, "It's probably a fresh start for a lot of guys, a fresh start for a team after a frustrating year, and definitely going to be really exciting with him.”
Keefe has the same approach. His door and brain are always open when it comes to his players.
“Just like players you coach at any other level, these are guys that want to be guided, they want information, they want to know that you can make them better and how you’re going to do that,” Keefe said just after being hired in late May. “They want to know that their feedback is valued. But they want to be pushed, they want to be challenged, they want to be great.”
Jack says Keefe knows a thing or two about coaching great players. He has coached some of the best in the current game while standing behind the bench in Toronto with the Maple Leafs. The Devils have a list of their top-tier talent as well that will now be under that same guidance.
"Watching (Keefe) with (William) Nylander, (Auston) Matthews and (Mitch) Marner, he did a really good job in Toronto over the 5 years," Jack said. "We're lucky that he sees a vision with us. I think we're confident in him, and hopefully, it's going to be a good relationship between our team and him, and we're really excited for him."
The Devils veterans report to training camp on Sept. 18.
