Stefan Noesen just scored his career-high 15th goal of the season for the New Jersey Devils, and it’s not even Christmas yet. It hasn’t been a linear path to NHL success.
He previously spent time with the Anaheim Ducks, Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, San Jose Barracuda (American Hockey League – AHL), Toronto Marlies (AHL), Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Wolves (AHL) and Carolina Hurricanes, before returning to New Jersey.
In 2021-22, he carved out a monster season for the AHL Wolves, notching 57 goals and 110 points in 88 games between the regular season and Calder Cup Playoffs. As an assistant captain, he helped lead them to a Calder Cup championship.
He followed that up with two successful seasons for the Hurricanes, posting 36 and 37 points, respectively, and 12 points in 26 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The 31-year-old from Plano, Texas parlayed that into a three-year, $8.25 million contract with the Devils this past offseason. He’s been a menace around the net, bullying his way toward gritty goals in the crease with consistency. He’s now on pace for ~34 goals and 55 points…including 16 power-play goals, which is a large reason the Devils’ man advantage is ranked second in the NHL at 29.5%.
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Noesen spoke on his journey and head coach Sheldon Keefe’s trust in him:
“In Carolina, I probably didn’t get the greatest opportunity to play a lot of minutes. And Keefer’s really trusted me. I signed to play up and down the lineup. That’s kind of what I do best. You need me to run through a wall, I’ll run through a wall.”
– Stefan Noesen
It doesn’t seem like a knock on the Hurricanes, but rather they were a very talented team during Noesen’s tenure and had other guys who boasted more of an accomplished resume to fill big roles. Now, he’s been a huge part of the Devils’ buy-in to Keefe’s system, adopting a team-first mentality, “As long as we win games, that’s all that matters. If I score because of it, great, if we win because somebody else scores, that makes me even happier.”
You don’t score 57 goals in an AHL season by accident. New Jersey’s ability to bet on that upside, plus Keefe’s trust, has been the ultimate success.
Keefe said, “He’s just so well-intentioned…he’s trying to do the right thing all the time. He plays with intent and purpose. Both offensively and defensively, he’s consistently engaged in the game…he gives us important minutes. He’s an important guy for us that I feel I can move up and down the lineup; special teams, power play, penalty kill – all those things. It’s been nice and I’m happy for him. I didn’t realize it was a career-high for him tonight. Just great for him.”
The Devils as a whole are really buying in as a group, no matter what facet of the game. They’re physical, stifling, and can generate tons of offense. Their .653 points percentage is good for fourth in the NHL and second in the Metropolitan Division. But that wouldn’t be the case without Noesen, who has been a stellar addition to the Devils’ forward group.
