Devils Prospects Challenge Recap: Casey & Stillman Among Standouts
Seamus Casey and Chase Stillman were among a few New Jersey Devils standouts at the 2024 Prospects Challenge
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The Prospects Challenge has come and gone, with the New Jersey Devils winning two of the three games they played in. While a few of the Devils' top prospects weren't at this tournament due to their European seasons beginning, the team still fared well.
Who stood out at the four-day event in Buffalo, New York? Let's recap the Devils' Prospects Challenge ahead of them returning to New Jersey for the start of training camp.
Seamus Casey Looks the Part
With Lenni Hämeenaho, Anton Silayev, and Arseni Gritsyuk's seasons beginning in Europe, Seamus Casey was easily the Devils' best prospect in action at the Prospects Challenge.
Casey got caught a little flat-footed on one of his first shifts of the tournament against the Ottawa Senators, leading to him getting beaten off the rush and taking a penalty. But it was mostly smooth sailing for him after that.
Casey's best skills were on display throughout the tournament. He was consistently creating time and space for himself in the offensive zone with his stickhandling, and his patience with the puck is something I wasn't too familiar with before the Prospects Challenge.
That patience is on display in all three zones of the ice. He doesn't force anything in the offensive zone, and waits until he has the right play when breaking out of the defensive zone.
Casey showed off these attributes some more against the Boston Bruins this morning, as there were a couple of instances where he displayed great escapability and patience with the puck on his stick in the defensive zone, and he was dancing around Bruins defenders in the offensive zone.
I also thought Casey defended quite well this weekend. Despite being 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, there were times when he was winning one-on-one battles on puck retrievals and gaining possession for his team. Of course, this is coming against players in his age group. It'll probably be a bit tougher against veteran NHLers, but that's an encouraging sign since smaller defensemen can struggle on puck retrievals.
Casey will be one of my most fascinating watches during the preseason, especially if Å imon Nemec misses extended time with an injury. Casey looked the part and could compete for an NHL roster spot.
Chase Stillman Made an Impression
I know it's fun to make Chase Stillman jokes on Twitter. But 1) It's not his fault he was a first-round pick. 2) He was one of the Devils' best players this weekend, specifically against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
It started when the Devils were trailing 1-0. Max Graham laid down a hard hit on a Sabres skater to free up the puck, with Stillman corraling it and keeping possession in the OZ. He then made a beautiful seam pass to Xavier Parent, who made no doubt about it and tied the game at 1-1.
With the run of play going against the Devils to start the second, Stillman forced the Sabres' netminder into a turnover when playing the puck behind his net. Stillman stole the puck and put it in an empty net to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.
Though the Devils lost 6-4 to the Bruins earlier today, Stillman added another goal on a breakaway via a great stretch pass from Igor Mburanumwe, who'll play for McGill University this season. That was Stillman's fourth goal of the tournament, with him scoring in all three games this weekend.
Stillman also played with a bit of an edge and added some physicality. He was one of the older players at the tourney, but he did produce at a 19-goal pace in the AHL last season. Perhaps his game is trending upward.
Cam Squires Will Be Worth Keeping an Eye On
A fourth-round pick in the 2023 draft, Cam Squires showed out this weekend, particularly against the Senators on Friday afternoon. He scored twice against Ottawa, but it wasn't just his goal-scoring that caught my eye.
Squires showed some playmaking ability that I didn't know he had in him. There was one play, in particular, in the first period of the tilt against the Sabres where he won a race to the puck on a dump-in, then fed Kocha Delic for a grade-A chance in the slot.
Squires even showed some physicality (he was a bit too physical against the Sabres, taking two boarding penalties), so it looks like he's been diversifying his game. He's returning to the QMJHL for one more season, but he seems like a prospect to keep an eye on in 2024-25.
Xavier Parent Is Fun
I don't know what Xavier Parent's NHL future holds, but you can't deny that he is a fun player. He was all over the place this tournament, and in a good way.
Parent made a great cross-ice pass on Squires' second goal against the Senators, and showed some goal-scoring prowess himself. His most impressive tally came against the Senators when he forced a turnover at the blue line and then used his speed to spring himself on a breakaway for a goal.
Parent is just 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, but there's a lot of skill, speed and shiftiness to his game. He was a 106-point player in the QMJHL in 2021-22 as a double over-ager, and he posted 45 points in 71 games for the Utica Comets last season.
Judging by the Devils' CapWages page, Parent is not on an NHL contract. But based on his progression since coming into the organization and his strong play this weekend, I think he might have a season with the Comets that earns him an entry-level contract with the Devils.
Quick Hits
Isaac Poulter made just one start this weekend, but it was impressive. He turned aside 33/35 shots against the Sabres en route to the 5-2 win. Nico Daws may be the No. 3 netminder in the organization to start the season, but Poulter may have something to say about that. It looks like he's picking up where he left off in 2023-24.
Topias Vilén had a fine tournament. There were a couple of instances where he jumped into the play offensively and showed that part of his game. His defensive game seemed sound for the most part, too, but he didn't do anything overly impressive. We'll see if that means anything for the start of training camp.
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Just a note - if you can't deny that Parent ISN'T fun, you're saying he's not fun. 😜
I watched parts of all three games. I liked Parent, Casey, Stillman, Squire as well, but I thought there were glimpses from van Leest (budget Silayev), Melovsky, Pikkarainen (nice hands), Graham (aggression), and Ghantous as well.