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Duggan Joins the Devils
Esche Full Circle with Utica Devils
Jonas Siegenthaler
Nolan Foote
Ty Smith
GM Fitzgerald and Subban
Tyce Thompson
The Original Devil: Chico Resch
Sherry Ross
There would be more obstacles than those 10 goals ahead for Daws, whose journey to become a New Jersey Devils draft pick and signing his first professional contract has been one filled with self-reflection, care, and revisiting his own commitment to the position.
He was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League by the Guelph Storm, a highlight for any kid growing up in the province. And so began his up and down journey.
"It was a tough few years," Daws shared of his first two seasons in the OHL. He played mostly as a back-up, with 14 and 20 games played respectively in his first two years. His save percentage and goals-against average were nothing to write home about. "I just don't think, not that I wasn't ready, I don't think I was mentally prepared, you know, for the real grind of junior. The O is one of the top junior leagues in the world. So, I think coming in I was, I was young, I still 17 years old, and I was overweight, and I didn't have that work ethic that I needed to have."
And then his first year of NHL draft eligibility rolled around without hearing his name called.
"For me, I think, you know, I had a lot of growing and maturing to do and, it was really hard for me to see that at the time."
He knew he had to be honest with himself. After a run to the Memorial Cup with Guelph, something changed. Daws made the decision to go 'all-in', as he described it.
"I kind of figured, this was one of my last chances, last real good chance, you know, coming into my 19-year-old year. So, it was a pivotal, pivotal point of my career, you know, making that decision."
On the podcast, Daws explains exactly what he did during those summer months to recommit to his craft, if he wanted to make a run at being an NHL goaltender one day, he needed to commit like he never had before.
The summer process worked and transformed his game.
"Coming into the [next] season, I just felt like I had nothing to lose, like, I had no pressure on me. It was just almost easy, in a sense to be able to go in and not worry about anything but playing hockey."
That attitude and changes worked wonders. He was handed the starting role for Guelph and posted the best numbers of his career. 38 games played, 2.48 goals against average, and a .924 save percentage. He represented Canada for the first time, appearing in two games at the World Junior Championship where the team took home gold, things were coming together.
And in October 2020, he heard his name called. A year later than perhaps originally expected, he was now drafted into the NHL when the Devils selected him in the third round, 84th overall. Seven months later, the ink dried on his first-ever professional contract.
"To get that a message that, you know, I was going to be signing, was really exciting for me. It's one of those things that you dream of as a kid, you know, it's one step closer to being in the NHL, and that's a that's where I want to be one day."
For more from Nico Daws, listen to the Speak of the Devils podcast as Daws joins Matt Loughlin and Amanda Stein on this week's edition.
