Devils Practice Thursday Morning | NOTEBOOK

The Devils are practicing Thursday morning at the RWJBarnabas Health Hockey House inside Prudential Center.

Stay tuned to the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

Practice Info

Devils center Jack Hughes is not practicing with the team today. He is getting a maintenance day. Injured forwards Tomas Tatar, Erik Haula and Nate Bastian are on the ice.

Tatar has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, which was suffered Nov. 29 at Detroit. This is his first time back on the ice. Haula missed Tuesday’s practice.

"(Tatar and Haula) looked great. I’m planning and expecting they’ll be available tomorrow (against Seattle)," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We’ll get that word later today. More importantly we’ll see how they wake up tomorrow and if they respond well. But today was a good day."

Bastian (broken jaw) has been out since Nov. 1, but has been doing on-ice work with a full shield.

The Devils used the following workflow...

Palat – (Bastian) – Bratt
Meier – Hischier – Noesen
Tatar – Haula – Mercer
Cotter – Dowling – Legare

Dillon – Hamilton
Siegenthaler – Kovacevic
Hughes – Pesce
MacDermid – DeSimone

USA! USA! USA!

Devils center Jack Hughes was named to Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Team USA’s roster for the tournament – which will be taking place in February between USA, Canada, Finland and Sweden – features elite names like Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, brother Quinn Hughes and Connor Hellebuyck.

As expected, Jack Hughes was pretty juiced about it.

“I’m excited. It’ll be fun to put the USA jersey back on,” he said Thursday after practice. “It’s a really good team, but all four teams will be really good. We’ll see what happens.

“With the Olympics coming up (2026), that’s what everyone is really excited for. This is a pretty good steppingstone leading into that.”

While Jack is primarily a center by trade, he has played wing at times during his career. And with names like Matthews, Eichel and Dylan Larkin, there’s a good chance Hughes may end up playing wing during the tournament. At least, that’s what Hughes is anticipating.

“When I look at the roster, I assume I’ll play the wing,” he said. “That’s really exciting for me with the level of players there. Whether it’s center or wing I’m excited to play with some guys we see on a nightly basis. You watch them and go, ‘wow, they’re great players.’ For me, to get the chance to play with them, that’s pretty exciting.”

And of all the players, Jack is most looking forward to possibly playing alongside Matthews, another No. 1-overall draft pick.

“I’d love to play with Matthews," he said. "Seeing him and (Mitch) Marner do their thing, and it’d be fun to play with a guy that has scored 70 goals in the NHL. Even if it’s a few games I’m definitely looking forward to, the possibility of that.”

Frenemies

The Devils had four players selected to participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament: Jack Hughes (USA), Jesper Bratt (Sweden), Jacob Markstrom (Sweden), Erik Haula (Finland).

And while they’re teammates currently with the Devils, when the 4 Nations is underway, it’s all about playing for their home country.

“Once the puck gets dropped, you want to win,” Bratt said.

Some fun words have been tossed around amongst the group. It started with Haula jokingly saying he would finish his checks on Bratt and Hughes.

“That’s all I got on him,” Haula laughed in regard to Bratt. “I have to keep my feet moving and try to keep up with him. I probably have more to worry about than he does.”

And Jack?

“I’ll give him a couple shots, too. Smile about it,” Haula laughed.

While Bratt said he can’t match Haula’s physicality, he does have his own methods.

“I guess I’ll do it my way, maybe I’ll try to dangle him,” Bratt laughed. “We’ll get some good battles out there. It’ll be exciting.”

Bratt will also be facing his current linemate in Jack Hughes. He’s not exactly looking forward to being on the opposite side of play.

“It won’t be as exciting playing against him when he has the puck,” Bratt smiled. “I’ll get to experience that part as well. I’ll get to see and feel how it is being on the other side and playing against him.”

As far as stopping Hughes, that’ll be up to Markstrom. But if he’s got a book on Hughes, he isn’t letting on.

“I’m not saying anything. We’re teammates right now,” Markstrom said.

Hughes echoed that sentiment.

“Even if I did (know how to beat Markstrom), I have to keep it quiet because we have Devils hockey for a couple months still,” Hughes laughed.

It will certainly be a fun tournament. In the meantime, the current teammates have work to do and their focus is on New Jersey.

“It’s only going to be for a few days where we won’t be teammates,” Markstrom said. “When that day comes, it comes. But right now, we’re teammates and right now we want to be successful here with the Devils.”

He Said It:

Keefe on Jack Hughes' progress on the defensive side of the puck: "I have seen him take great steps right from the start of the season. I was concerned about it quite honestly coming into the season. How would that go? That’s an area Jack really needs to embrace for our team get to where we want to go. He’s been committed to it. I think he really likes it. He’s excited by it. He’s seeing the results, creating turnovers, getting the puck back to himself, being counted on to play in more situations, a few more D zone starts here and there."

He Said It 2:

Markstrom on playing with Bratt at 4 Nations: “I’m very impressed by how he carries himself, his preparation, the time he puts in in the summer and off-days, non-practice days, after practice, before practice. I’m very impressed of the dedication he has for his craft and his professional career. It’s paying off. He’s an unbelievable player. Playing against him you see how good he is. Being a teammate, he’s better than I thought he was. It's great having him on your team."