Palat: 'I'm Ready to Be the Leader' | FEATURE

Ondrej Palat is excited. For the first time in her life, his daughter Adelka is going to see snow.
"It's gonna be different. You know, my daughter has never seen snow, my dog neither so, it's gonna be different but we're excited and we can't wait to get into New Jersey."
Adelka will turn four in November. She was born in Tampa Bay, where Palat has played since he broke into the league during the 2012-13 season. In many ways, it's been pure sunshine since then, wracking up 423 points including 280 assists, in his 628 games. Add to that making the playoffs eight of his 10 NHL seasons, and most importantly those two Stanley Cups in consecutive years, in 2020 and 2021.
And that is in part why he is now a New Jersey Devil.

"We wanted a top six support type winger, with the two centers that we have, checked that box with Palat," Fitzgerald said, "as well as championship pedigree, somebody who can lead, who understands winning, plays the right way. Someone that can help our young players navigate to the phase in the area where you need to go."
Palat considers himself more of a 'lead-by-example' type of leader but says he isn't afraid to speak up if he feels it necessary. Just by virtue of his experience, his words will carry a lot of weight. He's a player who knows what it takes to grind out a regular season to make that playoff push, he understands the value of strong practice habits, all those areas along with his 138 playoff games in the last 10 years make him what Fitzgerald called 'the closest thing there is to a player-coach there is out there, because of how he thinks the game."

The 31-year-old understands the Devils are at a different point in their evolution than the Tampa Bay Lightning are right now. The Lightning has been at the top of the standings for years, the Devils are acquiring their top-end talent to get there. After 10 seasons with the Lightning, this is a whole new experience Palat has decided to embrace.
"I've been there when I was younger with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now I'm kind of the older guy," Palat said. "I'm really excited to join a younger team with great young talent and I think I can bring a little bit of experience."
"It's gonna be different, but I'm excited for that, for that role," he continues. "I think New Jersey has a great, young team that they're ready for the next step and I'm excited for it, to be there and help them."
He's learned from some of the best too, Palat saying it felt like the Lightning had three captains these past few years with Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Ryan McDonagh on the Tampa roster, in his role, he didn't have to speak up as much but says he learned if there's something that needs to be said, he'll say it.
"I'm ready to be the leader and help the young guys a little bit out and I'm very excited."
That's exactly what Fitzgerald was looking for.
"We targeted right from the get-go because of the characteristics we valued in a player like that, in what we believe he could bring to the table and help us really have our young players understand what it takes to not only get in the playoffs, but you know what it takes to battle through, round by round by round."
And while Palat is walking into a different circumstance than he had with the Lightning, that hunger for more success just simply doesn't disappear. If anything, it makes it stronger and he feels this is the right group to make that next push.
"When you win like once, you want to win again," Palat said, "So it's not like I don't want to win, I just liked, I really liked the team and I believe in this New Jersey team. They're young and they're there, they can do something special. They have a lot of talent. And I think they're ready for the next step."