Unstoppable Force or Hidden Gem? Keefe’s Surprising Praise for This Gritty Forward Has Everyone Talking
The New Jersey Devils walked into training camp with barely an inch of wiggle room on their roster, a lineup mostly set but shadowed by the absence of defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, sidelined with a nagging knee injury. Imagine a squad featuring the likes of Evgenii Dadonov, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and a few others — a solid foundation that looked ready to roll when everyone’s healthy. But the early camp days threw a curveball: Stefan Noesen was benched by a groin injury, prompting head coach Sheldon Keefe to shuffle the deck, moving Dawson Mercer to Nico Hischier’s wing and Cody Glass into the third-line center slot — opening up fierce competition for remaining spots with players like Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney, and Juho Lammikko pushing hard. For many forwards coming up from the Utica Comets in the AHL last season, it felt like scaling a sheer cliff to snag a spot on Opening Night. One such contender, Nathan Légaré, isn’t dreaming naively; he’s pragmatic, embracing his role and keeping his head down, focusing on the grind to secure a full-time NHL gig. Keefe’s been singing his praises, too — the kid’s gritty, relentless, and already making waves with his aggressive play during preseason. While the odds might be stacked against Légaré cracking the lineup right out of camp, the confidence the Devils’ staff has in him suggests this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the 24-year-old. Curious to see how this tangled web of injuries and hopefuls untangles? LEARN MORE.
Entering training camp, there weren’t many spots available on the New Jersey Devils roster. When healthy, the group was expected to look something like this, with defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic out for an extended time with a knee injury.
Evgenii Dadonov – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier -Stefan Noesen
Ondrej Palat – Dawson Mercer – Connor Brown
Paul Cotter – Cody Glass – Arseny Gritsyuk
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
In the early days of camp, the Devils announced that Noesen would miss time with a groin injury. That news forced head coach Sheldon Keefe to move Mercer to Hischier’s wing and Glass to the third-line center position. In doing that, players like Luke Glendening, Kevin Rooney, and Juho Lammikko had the opportunity to fight for fourth-line center.
For the forwards who spent the majority of the 2024-25 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Utica Comets, it was a steep hill to climb to crack the Devils’ opening night roster.
For Nathan Légaré, he has a pragmatic approach to camp that accompanies his goal of transitioning his game to become a full-time NHL player.
“Everybody wants to make the New Jersey Devils, but at the same time, I think you have to be realistic,” he told The Hockey News in August. “It is not the end of the world if you go back to Utica. You work hard, and you never know what can happen.”
Over the last couple of weeks in New Jersey, Légaré has stayed true to his identity and embraced his role, catching the eye of the Devils’ coaching staff.
“He is a guy we are talking about daily because of the work that he has done, and this goes back to the games he played for us last season,” Keefe said. “I have been really happy with him.”
In four preseason games, Légaré has two points (one goal, one assist), two fights, and 10 penalty minutes. In his final appearance, he had a team-leading nine hits.
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“There is no doubt that he has played to his strengths,” Keefe said. “You talk about understanding who you are, understanding what your role is or might be, and then owning and being a star in that role, I think he has done that.
“Now he (plays) a game that is hard working, gritty, competitive, and is up and down the ice,” Keefe continued. “It is a little bit easier, quite frankly, to be that in this type of setting, where you are just working and skating. If you are a goal scorer and a playmaker, it is a little bit harder in a smaller sample to really make yourself known. You have got to keep that in perspective a little bit when you are assessing other players.”
Légaré is coming off a season in which he earned a career high of 25 points in the AHL over 69 games. He made his NHL debut at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2, 2024, playing three games with the Devils.
“There is more confidence about my game now,” the versatile forward explained. “Especially, now that I have played a couple of games in the NHL. That is a check mark, but the next one is to stay in the NHL and be a full-time NHLer.”
The likelihood of the 24-year-old making New Jersey’s roster out of camp appears slim, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at some point, considering the trust Keefe has in him.
“Whether he starts here with us or not, we are confident he can play games for us.”
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