The New Jersey Devils are five games into their season, and thus far it’s been a moderately successful one. The Devils hold a record of 3-2-0 at the end of their homestand to start the season. So, in the early parts of the season, which Devils are impressing the most?
Dougie Hamilton
Statistics:
Points (PTS) – 4 (1G, 3A)
Corsi-For Percentage (CF%) – 59.26%
Expected Goals Percentage (xG%) – 50.92%
Analysis:
After the Devils signed Dougie Hamilton to a seven year, $63,000,00 contract this past summer, you’d expect him to be on this list. He’s looked as advertised, not just with his base points and analytics, but with the eye test as well. The only time where he appeared to struggle was against the Calgary Flames when he was paired with Ty Smith for the first time.
Hamilton was advertised as a legit number one defenseman for the Devils and that’s what he’s been already. He’s averaging just under 24-minutes a night, that number ranks 21st in the NHL. It is also almost three minutes more than the next highest average time on ice on the Devils which belongs to Ryan Graves.
Nico Hischier
Statistics:
PTS – 2 (1G, 1A)
CF% – 57.58%
xG% – 63.65%
Analysis:
Nico Hischier is an interesting case. Analytically, he’s been dominant this season, however his base numbers tell a different story. Part of that could be because he could very well have two more goals to that total. One was disallowed via the clock and the other due to a goaltender interference call.
In almost any way you look at it, Nico has been a bit unlucky this season. Hopefully that means that his scoring will pick up soon enough. He is certainly due.
Pavel Zacha
Statistics:
PTS – 5 (4G, 1A)
CF% – 52.59%
xG% – 61.64%
Analysis:
Pavel Zacha might have the best shot on the Devils. He’s been using it this season thus far scoring four goals in five games. There’s a reason that even before the Hughes’ injury, Zacha was the gunman on the top power play unit.
A lot of people may be thinking that this is a continuation of his play last season, and in a sense maybe. However, it’s not a true extension because there’s one big difference: his analytics. The big knock against Zacha last season was that his underlying numbers were not flattering. That seems to be changing this year as thus far he ranks 10th on the team in CF% and 4th on the team in xG% of any skaters with 30-plus minutes of five-on-five ice time.
Dawson Mercer
Statistics
PTS – 4 (3G, 1 A)
CF% – 56.07%
xG% – 52.90%
Analysis:
Dawson Mercer was lights out in junior hockey last year. He was also great at the under-20 tournament last winter. Additionally, he was fantastic at the prospect tournament, training camp, and during preseason. There was no way he wasn’t going to be making his NHL debut a couple weeks ago against the Chicago Blackhawks.
He’s continued his solid play in the NHL. Mercer collected his first career point in his first game and his first goal a game later. He’s not only been good on the scoresheet, but he is passing each the eye and analytic test as well. Mercer ranks 3rd on the team in CF% of any skaters with 30-plus minutes of five-on-five ice time. It’s safe to say that Mercer has been a steal in his draft thus far.
Damon Severson
Statistics
PTS – 3 (1G, 2A)
CF% – 53.64%
xG% – 64.13%
Analysis:
Damon Severson has been very good for a few seasons now. He missed game one, but has played every game since. He’s been great in these games, potting a goal in his first game and a tallying couple of assists since then. His analytics have been good as well, but again, they have been for a few years now. If you have been following this page for a while now you should know that. Damon Severson is very deservedly the second and final defenseman on this list.