Posted on

Prospects Challenge Kicks Off as Devils Fall to Sabres 6-4

Hockey season has officially started! Kind of.

The 2018 Prospects Challenge got underway tonight at HarborCenter in Buffalo as the Devils took on the Buffalo Sabres in the first game of the rookie mini preseason tournament.

The Sabres came away with the 6-4 win as they looked a little bit more physical than the Devils and threw their bodies around, taking advantage of their bigger size overall. The Devils did a good job of responding generally, especially John Quenneville, who was arguably the Devils’ most physical player.

Two other takeaways from the game that I noticed was the Devils’ ability to respond offensively, as the majority of the game would see Buffalo go up a goal and the Devils immediately tie things up. It remained that way until the third period when the Sabres finally pulled away and scored two to take the 6-4 lead that would be the final.

The other thing of note was the debut of the first overall pick in this summer’s NHL Draft: Rasmus Dahlin, who had a pair of goals and an assist. He seemed to be real deal for the Sabres and gave the Devils some fits all night.

Of a minor note was the condition of the ice. It is still hot and humid out in Buffalo and the ice was not in the best of shape.

Regardless of some of the negatives, the Devils who did stand out were Brett Seney and this year’s first round draft pick, Ty Smith. Smith, especially was praised by the Buffalo announcers who were calling the game for putting a good showing in. Seney recorded a goal in the first period, the one that tied it up at one.

Cole Coskey had the first goal of the game for the Sabres, scoring at the 17:31 mark of the first. Seney tied it at one on the power play at 18:53.

In the second period, Victor Olofsson scored at 7:02 before Nathan Bastain tied things up just over 30 seconds later.

Buffalo then jumped out to a two goal lead as Alexander Nylander scored shorthanded at 10:19 and Dahlin scored his first 59 seconds later at even strength. The Sabres crowd gave the first overall pick a standing ovation following the goal, but his night was just getting started.

The Devils would respond quickly to those two goals, as Colton White scored at 11:53 and Fabian Zetterlund scored at 12:01. Seney had the lone assist on Zetterlund’s goal, giving him two points on the night.

In the third period, the Sabres pulled away when Dahlin put them up 5-4 for his second of the night at 4:28. Dahlin would also assist on Tage Thompson’s shorthanded goal that ended the night. It was the second shorty of the night for the Sabres.

The Devils were a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill but failed to scored on any of their seven power plays.

In goal, Mackenzie Blackwood looked pretty good, making 26 saves on Buffalo’s 32 shots on goal for a .812 save percentage. Buffalo’s Jonas Johansson made 30 saves on 34 Devils shots.

The Devils next play tomorrow at 3 PM against the Pittsburgh Penguins prospects.

Posted on

Devils Ink Seney to Entry-Level Deal

The Devils announced today via a press release on their website that the team has “signed forward Brett Seney to a two-year, entry-level contract.” The release says that the contract will kick in next season (2018-19).

Seney, the Devils’ fifth pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, 157th overall, is a 22-year-old native of London, Ontario who has played the last four years with Merrimack College of Hockey East. The release says that “he will sign an AHL Amateur Try-Out Agreement and report to the Binghamton Devils” today (March 17).

The press release gives some of his college career highlights, stating that he completed his “career ranking 12th overall among all active Division I players with 42 goals, 73 assists for 115 points in 139 games.” He was a 2018 Hockey East Third All-Star Team member “during his senior season with a career-high 32 points, his second consecutive 30 point campaign.” He led Merrimack with 13 goals and 19 points this past season. He also ranked seventh in Hockey East in points, tied for ninth in goals and was fifth in power play points (18) and fifth in power play goals (seven).

The 5-foot, 10-inch, 175 pound left shooting forward “shared or led Merrimack in points in each of his four seasons.” He was “sixth overall in the nation among active Division I players with 11 career game-winning goals.”

The Devils are probably hoping they have found another gem in the later rounds of the NHL Draft, a la Jesper Bratt. Seney had a good career playing in a top NCAA conference in Hockey East. Hopefully that translates well to the NHL and everything works out for him and the Devils. Also, it is good to see the Devils lock up an NCAA prospect without him going to free agency as we have seen so often with players like the Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey or the Devils’ own Will Butcher. Another prospect to develop in the system is always good for the parent team.