In the summer of 2013 at Prudential Center, his new home arena, Lazar was selected 17th overall by the Ottawa Senators. Despite that day being 10 years ago, it's easy for him to recall the emotions surrounding the Draft.
"The overall excitement (stands out)," Lazar remembered. "I was fortunate to be in a pretty good spot, knowing I was gonna get picked in the first round so it was a whirlwind of a day. Just to have my family and friends around and just really celebrate the small victories in life.
"My parents and my siblings, they have sacrificed so much to allow me to get to that point," Lazar continued. "You look back and you can't help but reflect back in this building so now to call this building my home rink, it's pretty special."
Fast forward nine years and Lazar has overcome some ups and downs in his career, but he's still pushing.
"I was a first-round pick, I was probably slotted to score goals," Lazar explained. "As my role kind of altered I said instead of putting up a fuss about not scoring or not getting this opportunity, what can I do to be effective and what will make me valuable throughout the league?"
Lazar changed his game to being a defense-first forward, who is physical, can take face-offs, and is a staple on the penalty kill. That's quite the departure from constantly scoring and being a go-to offensively. During the 2019-20 season Lazar rejuvenated his game with the help of Devils assistant coach Chris Taylor.
"We go back to our time with the Rochester Americans," Lazar said. "We talked about the career, you gotta have your ups and downs so I had to re-establish my game.
"He pushed me every single day and especially a few years of NHL experience under your belt it's pretty easy to get down and think I might not ever make it back to the big leagues. But he worked with me each and every day. That relationship was awesome. He pushed me, we didn't always agree on things which I think I appreciate now too. Especially being back around him and knowing that he has my best interests at heart, and he really did push me so to be here, bounce a few things and also catch up, it's been a lot of fun."
As Lazar is known for being a hard worker, it's a perfect compliment for the never give up attitude and culture that's developed in the Devils locker room.
"They're so young but they're so talented and they expect so much out of themselves and each other. It's awesome to see," explained Lazar. "That's what winning teams do with solid cultures, not being content with just winning one game, saying OK we won let's focus on this next one and kind of that snowball effect just keeps on rolling. So to see that kind of work ethic on a day-to-day basis is special."
A journey that has had stops in Ottawa, Calgary, Buffalo, Boston, Vancouver and now back to where he was drafted, Lazar continues to use his hard work to keep finding his way in the NHL. This next chapter is particularly exciting as the 28-year-old is very happy to join this fun, young group in New Jersey.
"I'm 28 years old but being around these guys I feel like I'm breaking into the league again so it's been awesome," Lazar said. "The fans, they're rallying behind the Devils so they know that this team's special so hopping on the ice it's always fun knowing that they got your back."
