The New Jersey Devils navigated their injury and illness concerns well. One rookie was a big part of the equation on Saturday.
Anton Silaev didn’t earn one of the three stars on Saturday. Nor did he reach an NHL milestone like Connor Hellebuyck did.
But that doesn’t matter. For Silaev, it was all about proving New Jersey made the right decision when they slotted him into the lineup for his NHL debut.
Silaev played in 18 shifts across 12:45 of ice time. Both were the lowest among all Devils defensemen, but that was by design. Silaev did his job, landing six body checks, stealing the puck once, shooting it twice, and invading a scoring lane to block a shot.
Not bad for a player making his NHL debut on such short notice. His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Via Amanda Stein of NewJerseyDevils.com, Keefe said of Silaev:
“I thought he looked really good, confident, assertive. That’s probably the biggest forward group that there is in the NHL, so you’re going to get in some physical confrontations.
“It looked like he won every one of them, and that’s a great sign. He goes into people, he ends plays, and I thought he had some good puck plays as well. So he looked really confident.”
It is only one game, but Silaev played every bit like a first-round pick. He will ultimately have his ups and downs during the early stages of his NHL career. But with such a strong debut, he already looks like a pivotal part of this brewing New Jersey Devils team.
Anton Silaev Received The Call-Up On Short Notice
New Jersey found itself in a less-than-admirable situation before calling up Silaev. Brett Pesce has been dealing with an illness. Ditto for Vladislav Kolyachonok. Meanwhile, Johnathan Kovacevic landed on injured reserve.
It was especially disheartening to see Kolyachonok miss Saturday’s matchup as he enjoyed an incredible first game with New Jersey following his own call-up. That said, Silaev held his own against one of the league’s bigger and most physical teams.
So, it raises the question: If Silaev can play against one of the most intimidating teams in the NHL, what can he do against opponents where physicality is supplementary to their game? The same goes for opponents who lack a physical presence.
Silaev, when he gets more opportunities, should add edge and an intimidation factor to New Jersey. For a team with high playoff aspirations, that could be a massive plus in the postseason.
Silaev Isn’t The Only Youngster Playing Impressive Hockey
While Silaev enjoyed a successful NHL debut, Lenni Hameenaho has also been trending upward. Hameenaho has two goals and four points in two appearances with the Devils. He is making a case to stick around in Newark long-term.
Hameenaho came up big in the clutch on Saturday night. When Pierre-Luc Dubois opened the scoring at 5:13 in the first period, Hameenaho struck back to tie the game at 8:15.
Washington ultimately took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. Then, Hameenaho provided the primary assist at 10:33 in the second period on Jesper Boqvist’s goal to tie the game 3-3. That goal marked the game’s turning point, and New Jersey won 7-4.
With so many youngsters playing fine games this week, New Jersey could be in for even more of a shakeup in the near future. This is a good problem to have for a team that is winning, regardless of the situation they’re facing.
Devils’ Sheldon Keefe Makes Strong Statement About Rookie’s NHL Debut