Smith Impresses in Red vs. White Scrimmage

I was able to attend the Saturday morning Red vs. White Scrimmage at Devils Development Camp, but was not able to post anything until now due to a busy weekend I had.

The event began at 11 AM in the RWJBarnabas Hockey House with all of the trimmings for the packed rink. Devils public address announcer Kevin Clark was there to announce goals and the Devils used a recording of the goal horn and song whenever one of the players scored.

The game was divided into two 25 minute “halves” with a 15 minute intermission between them and the clock only stopping in the final two minutes of the second period. A few players were not available to play: Mackenzie Blackwood and Bradon Gignac were injured and John Quenneville was excused due to a family commitment.

The Red team jumped out to an early lead, scoring four times in the first period with two from recent 2018 first rounder Ty Smith. Defenseman Smith would go on to complete the hat trick in the second period. Among some others that had good showings were forward Marian Studenic of the Red team, who scored a goal and forward Michael McLeod, the Devils’ first round pick a few years ago, also of the Red team, who registered a point. White team defenseman Colby Sissons and forward Yegor Sharangovich also impressed the fans in attendance. On the goaltending side, the Red team’s Akira Schmid looked pretty impressive in the period that he played.

The final score was 5-4 the Red team as the White team mounted a comeback in the final frame. Following the scrimmage, there was a shootout as the players each got to showcase their individual talents.

Overall, this event showed that the Devils’ future is bright and that they have the talent coming through the pipeline that a club needs to succeed. This year’s draft picks, in particular Smith, Sharangovich and Schmid showed that the Devils’ drafting and scouting has gotten so much better and that the franchise is in good hands.