Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler arrived in New Jersey during the 2020-21 season following a trade from Washington. The Swiss blueliner hadn't seen much action with his previous club, Washington, at that point, playing in only seven games on the year.
Siegenthaler, who would appear in eight games for the Devils, admitted that the adjustment to being thrown into the lineup with a new team was challenging.
"I'm not going to lie, when I got here last year and I didn't know the system, I was kind of lost," Siegenthaler told the Speak of the Devils podcast. "It wasn't easy."
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Zurich native used his summer to get his game right, and to do that, he got his mind right.
"My summer I was working with my coach. I think it has a lot to do with mental (aspects)," he said. "The whole game is mental, if you're good or not, if you break down or not. When I came in this year at the start of the season I kind of knew the system and it helped me a little bit.
"This year, it was good from the get-go."
Siegenthaler's play speaks for itself. He's been the team's most consistent and steady defenseman. And he's maintained a high level of play whether he's skated with P.K. Subban, Damon Severson or Ryan Graves.
Siegenthaler, 24, worked hard on his own confidence. Part of that, is not beating himself up over every little mistake.
"I think it helped a lot that I didn't take everything that seriously. Sometimes you just have to go out there and have fun," he said. "You can't get too serious. You have to stay loose. That was something that helped me a lot. When I go into a game, I go there as I would a practice. That helped me a lot actually."
Here are some other topics discussed…
New Jersey Devils Official Podcast
·
Jonas Siegenthaler | Speak of the Devils
Siegenthaler Makes Most of Fresh Start | PODCAST
Devils defenseman has been arguably the team's most consistent player after having a summer to prepare
