Is it October Yet?! By: Sam Stankiewicz

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Heck yea it is! Hockey season...finally! And opening night is tonight! As many people know, I am a pretty big New Jersey Devils fan. I find hockey so entertaining to watch, especially during the playoffs! It is not even close to being comparable to the NFL playoffs or the NCAA tournament. I recently started to learn about all of the NHL players, their positions, and what line they are on (who they play with). Everything associated with hockey is just so so exciting! Plus, there are not many hockey fans, so us NHL-lovers are like a family. I am happy to be a part of the craziest and wildest fan base! For example, throwing beer and food is common when there is a goal scored, constant screaming, and not even sitting down because the game is so intriguing.
     The Devils just "remodeled" their entire roster, so a whole new team will be present on the ice! We recently picked up P.K. Subban from Nashville, Wayne Simmonds from Philadelphia, and Nikita Gusev from the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League- Gusev played in Russia). I am familiar with the players individually on their teams from last year, but playing all together will be interesting, hopefully the chemistry will click easily. Speaking of chemistry, I am crossing my fingers that the regular season goes as well as preseason! The Devils only lost two games- to Boston and Montreal (NHL.com). 
     On the New Jersey team, my favorite player would have to be Nico Hischier. Swiss-born, the twenty year old centerman is very talented. My sisters love Taylor Hall, league MVP in 2018, because of his goal-scoring abilities. But Hischier can score, assist, and finesse around players consistently each game. He happens to be arguably one of the best players on New Jersey, playing on the first line, and being the first overall draft pick in 2017 (chosen by the Devils).
     The Devils were lucky enough to receive the first draft pick in both 2017 and 2019. A few months ago, the draft was on TV, and I got to witness my favorite team select Jack Hughes! Hughes played on the USA National Development Team before NJ, and was expected to grow, develop, and play further as a career in the NHL. He has done well in preseason, but I am looking forward to watching him play with the rest of the New Jersey team this year. 
     The other NHL teams provide a strong competition for the Devils especially nearing the playoffs which are in May/June. Thirty-one total teams is a lot, and only sixteen go to the playoffs. Certain teams are better than others, but you can never tell until the playoffs, which is after eighty-two regular season games! Even in the playoffs the "good" teams have a high chance of getting knocked out of the Stanley Cup race because ANYTHING can happen in the playoffs. Also, playoffs are a "best-of-seven" series, so it is challenging to win in a series quickly.
     I am so excited for the 2019-20 NHL season, and to hopefully see my team work together and win the cup! Go Devils!! 


Related image
NJ vs. NYR-  Fight in a Game

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Blake Coleman (Right) shoves New York Rangers player into the boards
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NHL team logos

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2019 at 11:23 AM

    Michael would like this. lol. Go Devils

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 3, 2019 at 3:32 PM

    I'm obviously not a huge hockey person but I do understand the appealing nature behind the sport-what's not to love about grown men beating each other *gasp* ON ICE!?!?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 5, 2019 at 11:52 AM

    I've never really watched hockey but this makes it seem really interesting. Maybe I'll give it a try this year...

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 6, 2019 at 7:31 AM

    After the horrible season the devils had last year I was incredibly disheartened. Honestly, I lost all faith in the team ever living up to its former glory, that is, until we picked up Jack Hughes and the other new players sure to be assets to the Devils. With the Devils only losing two games in the preseason I strongly believed that this year would be the one where we took the cup (or at least weren't one of the worst teams in the devision for the entire year). And then our opening game happened. I can probably rant about that one for hours but I held out faith that once Schneider recovered by the next game we could maybe NOT lose after winning 4-0... Then the next game happened. There's not much I can say about that one other than the fact that I just hope the Devil's can get it together by their next game.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DanielleOctober 7, 2019 at 4:55 PM

    My family members are huge Devils fans and we go to the home opener every year together and since we go with a large group we get to go down on the ice. It's cool to hear your excitement about it - such a fun, fast paced game to watch!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 8, 2019 at 5:04 AM

    Not a hockey fan but this did get me excited though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousOctober 8, 2019 at 1:10 PM

    My family is very into hockey as well (we're devils fan) and it is such a fun, fast paced, thrill seeking game... and you never know what will happen. "Will someone loose a tooth," or "who's gonna get into a fight in the game." You never know what is going to happen.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousOctober 18, 2019 at 5:34 AM

    I've only been to one devil's game but it was so fun! The crowd was crazy. Also Jack Hughes is so cute omg.

    ReplyDelete

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