The prospect challenge kicks off this week in Buffalo. This post covers it.
When and where to watch
Per the NHL press release, the prospect challenge will take place between September 11-15 in Buffalo in a small tournament between the Bruins, Sabres, Blue Jackets, and the Devils. The first game of the series will be between the Devils and the Blue Jackets at 7 P.M. The Devils will also play the Bruins on September 12th at 7 P.M. and the Sabres on September 14th at noon.
In past years, the prospect challenge was streamed on NewJerseyDevils.com and their mobile app. While I have not seen confirmation yet as of the time of the writing of this article on Saturday night, there is no reason to believe that will not be the case again this year.
What to look forward to
Most urgently, I am looking forward to an official roster, which may or may not be released before this article publishes. Overseas and college-bound players do not typically attend this event, so one should not expect Anton Silayev, Mikhail Yegorov, and similiar-situated prospects. Silayev, especially, as the KHL has started its season. As such, Lenni Hameenaho was absent last year, but is likely to be part of the prospect roster this season. Jakub Malek and Tyler Brennan are likely to be two of the goalies invited. If tradition holds, there should be a number of invitees as well and encouraging prospects such as Cam Squires and Matyas Melovsky. It would be exciting to get a glimpse of Arseni Gritsyuk, but don’t be surprised if the Devils leave him out of the tournament to prepare for the NHL season instead.
Around the Pool
- The KHL kicked off its season. Defenseman Daniil Orlov earned an assist in his first game. While other current Devils prospects were held pointless in their first game of the season, one blast from the past scored twice in a 7-4 victory for the inaugural game of the new Shanghai Dragons, former Devils prospect and social media influencer Nikita Popugayev.
- Even with some serious depletion from trades, the Devils still have a pretty good pool.
Your Take
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