Off to Buffalo | NOTEBOOK

The Devils prospects are practicing at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House inside the Prudential Center on Thursday afternoon. After the practice session, the prospects will board a bus and travel to Buffalo, NY for the upcoming Prospects Challenge.

You can see all the tournament info here.

Below is all the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Rookie Camp Participants

Above is the team's roster for the Prospects Challenge. One note: forward Josh Filmon will not participate due to an upper-body injury.

Filmon's injury is "not anything long-term," but he will likely miss the first couple of weeks of camp, per Utica head coach Kevin Dineen.

Defenseman Seamus Casey, who has worn the number 72 in his previous Development Camps, is now sporting the number 24 in his first official Training Camp.

Lettermen

The Devils have given an 'A' as alternate captains to Chase Stillman and Xavier Parent for the Rookie Challenge.

"Work ethic, competitiveness, consistency. They’ve been here before. That’s important. They have a lay of the land. They get my terminology," Dineens aid. "They play the game the right way so we thought it was proper to put the A’s on."

"Management picked us for a reason," Stillman said. "We're returning guys. ... It's always nice. For me, it's a confidence boost. I always want to be a leader. It's a privilege."

NHL Aims

The Rookie Challenges is typically the first step for a young prospect to make an early impression on the entire hockey operations staff. That includes the coaches. For a few players, they’re not only hoping to have a good showing at the tournament, but to carry it into main training camp, and possibly earning a spot on the NHL roster.

“When you look at Rookie Camp, it’s the first time our GM, our head coach and our scouts will all be together and looking at these prospects, and evaluating them,” Dineen said. “They’re playing against like players, same age, coming up, fairly new to the pro game. It’s great to have eyes on you.

“It’s a great chance to make a statement with your game.”

Two of those are forward Chase Stillman and defenseman Seamus Casey. Stillman, 21, played with Utica of the American Hockey League last year and is looking to make the jump.

“Playing a full season in my first-year pro is good for me to get a feel for what the jump is to the next level,” Stillman said. “There were ups and downs, but toward the end I feel I was finding my stride.”

Casey, 20, finished his sophomore campaign with Michigan at the collegiate level last season.

“My goal is to make the team. That can’t be all you focus on,” Casey said. “Long-term I want to get better. I want to learn from the pro guys, from the team, from the coaches, force them to make some tough decisions.”

He Said It:

Casey on trying to make the NHL roster: "I’m just ready to be a pro. It’s a big step coming from junior or college. I just want to prove that I have what it takes to be at this level."