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The New Jersey Devils are fully embracing a rebuild and as such their young players will be given ample opportunity to take on bigger roles next season.
With that in mind I'm going to take a look at a few players that could really take positive strides and breakout playing in John Hynes' up-tempo system.
Note: I only picked players who have established themselves as NHLers but have yet to really breakout and reach their potential.
Jacob Josefson
Josefson has been in and out of the lineup throughout the entirety of his five-year NHL career and he's never really developed into the player the Devils hoped he'd become.
While he's yet to put it all together he did show some positive signs last season playing in a career-high 62 games.
I don't think he's ever going to be an offensive force but I do believe he has some untapped potential and think playing with younger, faster linemates in Hynes' up-tempo system will benefit him.
His 11 points in 62 games don't come off as overly impressive but when you factor in he was used in defensive situations, played for a horrendous offensive team and his most frequent linemates were Tuomo Ruutu and Jordin Tootoo I'm willing to give him a pass.
Again, I don't think he'll be a force offensively but with Scott Gomez out of the picture the 3rd line center spot is now up for grabs. If the Devils return Pavel Zacha to Sarnia - which is probably the best thing to do - I could see Josefson taking that spot and providing the Devils with good defense, some minutes on the penalty kill and some offense on occasion.
Adam Larsson
After a solid rookie campaign Larsson was never really able to take the next step forward under Pete DeBoer.
While I am a fan of DeBoer I'd be ignorant to suggest that he handled Larsson as well as he could have.
After DeBoer was relieved of his duties last season Larsson instantly gained some confidence and played some really good hockey down the stretch.
Larsson recorded 20 points in 46 games under Lou Lamoriello and looked good while playing big minutes alongside Andy Greene on the top pairing.
Larsson now knows he can play at a high-level and with a long-term contract in his back pocket he is surely feeling pretty good about himself.
I expect he'll carry that into next season and have his best year yet.
Eric Gelinas
After signing consecutive one-year deals GM Ray Shero provided Gelinas with some stability by giving him a two-year extension this summer.
Gelinas has been heavily criticized for his defensive game and, while he certainly has his lapses,
I think he's actually better in that regard than he's given credit for.
Regardless of how you feel about Gelinas' defensive game there is no disputing he can contribute offensively.
We've already seen some of that as
he's been one of the very best defensemen in hockey at putting points up on the man advantage over the last two years.
Hynes has talked about wanting to activate the defense more and using their mobility and offensive skills to the team's advantage.
That should be music to Gelinas' ears and if Hynes stays true to his word I think Gelinas could really take a big step forward this season.
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