Devils, Sabres eager to begin season in 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia

PRAGUE -- They were hanging over the railing by the tunnel leading the players onto the ice, hundreds of kids, all local hockey players, holding their homemade signs, screaming for their favorite players, and, well, begging for souvenirs.

"I want the puck," read one sign.

Many of the kids chanted exactly that throughout the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres practices at O2 Arena on Thursday.

"Stick or puck for candy," read another sign.

One had a creative sign: "Hockey stick for candy," and the boy who made it taped five different Czech candies onto the sign.

In total, there were more than 300 kids and several coaches and parents in the stands to watch the practices. The kids all participate and play in tournaments created and operated by the League's international grassroots program NHL Street Hockey.

Their energy and excitement were so palpable, Devils and Sabres players and coaches alike were saying they could feel their own enthusiasm to start the regular season ramp up higher than it already was.

New Jersey and Buffalo open the NHL regular season Friday with the first of two games in the 2024 NHL Global Series Czechia presented by Fastenal at O2 Arena (1 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, MSG-B, SN). They also play Saturday (10 a.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, MSG-B, SN).

"They don't get to watch an NHL game or practice over here so it's great to see their faces out and how they were smiling," Devils forward Dawson Mercer said. "If you looked at our faces, we were smiling the exact same way they were. It was a good moment."

Many players engaged with the kids as they were coming off the ice, signing autographs, giving away sticks, throwing pucks into the crowd and even holding phones to take selfies with them.

Memories for the kids, but special for the players too.

"They love hockey here and for me it's special," said Devils forward Ondrej Palat, who is from Frydek-Mistek, Czechia, about 175 miles east of Prague, "because just the little things like throwing them the puck or giving them a stick or a signing an autograph or taking a picture, it goes a long way.

"For us sometimes it's a little thing, but for them it's not life changing but it's a very great experience. I remember when I was a kid and somebody threw me a puck, I was excited and I had the puck above my bed. It's just little things like that that make it special."

Also in the stands were dozens of members of the Sabres' Prague-based Czech fan club, which will have 70 people at the game Friday and 62 Saturday.

There were 350 Czech coaches watching Buffalo practice, all taking part in the NHL Coaching Clinic held Thursday with special guest coaches Todd McLellan and Jay Woodcroft.

All of it gave the players and coaches a better appreciation for the impact these Global Series games have in these European markets.

"Oh, it's really cool, really cool," Sabres forward Jack Quinn said. "Great to see the fans. Even when we were doing the team picture, they were chanting 'Buffalo!' Great to see the kids with all the energy and making noise. We had a blast."

And now it's time to get down to business.

The Devils and Sabres each enter this season with big expectations fueled by significant changes.

Sheldon Keefe will be coaching his first game with New Jersey. Lindy Ruff, who was coaching the Devils until he was fired March 4, is back coaching Buffalo. It'll be his first game with the Sabres since his first stint ended 11 years ago, a 16-year run from 1997-2013.

Buffalo hasn't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, the longest current drought in the NHL. The Sabres think they have the team to end it this season, especially after a preseason that "checked all the boxes," Ruff said.

"We have to start well," goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen said. "It's not that we're hoping and we're young anymore. We know how we have to start. We know what we have to do. Really, there aren't any excuses anymore. We have a lot of guys who have been in the League a long time. We know what we have to do. We just have to do it."

New Jersey is coming off a down, injury-plagued season, finishing 10 points out of a playoff spot. The season before, the Devils finished first in the Metropolitan Division, set franchise records with 52 wins and 112 points and advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round.

They'll be missing two of their top-six defensemen with Luke Hughes (shoulder) and Brett Pesce (fractured fibula) each back in New Jersey rehabbing injuries. But that is not ruining their optimism and belief in what they can accomplish this season.

"We've got to have high standards," captain Nico Hischier said. "A lot is possible, but I don't want our team to look at the big picture. I want us to take it game by game, work hard every game, get better every day and grow into the team that we can be and push the limits high. There's definitely a lot possible with this team."

It all starts Friday, when the puck officially drops on the 2024-25 season at O2 Arena.

Maybe some of the kids in the building Thursday will be there Friday too. They're in for a treat.

"We're ready to go," Quinn said. "We've got a lot to prove. We've got a lot to work toward, and we're excited for it to get meaningful here."