Posts About "Brian Rafalski"
New Jersey Devils: Top 10 Rookie Seasons
May 26th, 2020 This article was originally published in October 2014, and recently updated. Since the New Jersey Devils' inception back in 1982-83, two players have earned the Calder Trophy honors. While a rookie skater hasn't won the award since 1999-00, the Devils have had rookies shine in recent memory. Let's revisit the Devils top 12 rookie...
Brian Rafalski: An Undrafted and Underrated NHL Star
April 16th, 2020 When thinking about the best defensemen of the 2000s, Brian Rafalski is not one of the first names that come to mind. His junior career was turbulent, and his path to the NHL was an underdog story for the ages. Despite that, and his unintimidating stature, Rafalski persevered. It is easy to brush his legacy aside, as he routinely...
What If Scott Niedermayer Stayed With the Devils?
September 18th, 2017 Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 hangs in the rafters of Prudential Center. The banner years read from 1991 to 2004. Of course, everyone knows his career concluded in 2010 with the Anaheim Ducks. Yet, what if he had stayed with the New Jersey Devils his entire career? What if his story went the other way with Rob Niedermayer eventually...
Devils Top 10 American Players
December 12th, 2016 Throughout their history, the New Jersey Devils have employed some great American players. Many of these players have represented their country at the Olympics and team in the Stanley Cup Final. As New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen would say, let's take a look at some of the best Devils players born in the U.S.A. 10.) Cory...
Severson & Auvitu Add to Devils Rush
November 14th, 2016 A common misconception and narrative regarding the New Jersey Devils during their era of winning three Stanley Cup titles is how the team was strictly a defensive trapping team. Sure they had a system and defensive defensemen like Ken Daneyko and Colin White but they could also move the puck and score. It's an element the Devils have...
The All-Time Underrated New Jersey Devils Team
July 9th, 2015 The New Jersey Devils have had some very successful teams over the existence of their franchise (see: three Stanley Cups, five Eastern Conference titles). Although there were Hall of Famers and legends of the game on those championship teams, as well as other successful teams they had: there were also unsung heroes, underrated...
Brian Rafalski U.S. Hockey Hall Of Famer
December 5th, 2014 From small things mama, big things one day come. Brian Rafalski of Dearborn, Michigan, used every inch of his 5-10 frame and parlayed his way into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum, in Eveleth, Minnesota. Joined by Karyn Bye Dietz, Jeff Sauer and Lou Vairo, Rafalski's journey is a prime example of why you should never give up on your...
The Key to Sustained Success for the Red Wings' Powerplay
November 9th, 2014 Over the past six games, the Detroit Red Wings finally got their powerplay going, scoring seven goals in their past 25 chances (28.0%) and have seen their overall powerplay% (PP%) increase from 6.67% to 16.4%. A large part of that has been due to the improved play of the Red Wings defensemen on the powerplay. Jakub Kindl has scored two...
Enshrined: Brian Rafalski Elected to U.S. Hall of Fame
August 8th, 2014 Dearbon, Michigan native Brian Rafalski was elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday. The 40-year-old had 79 goals and 436 assists in 833 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings. He won two Stanley Cups with the Devils, one with the Red Wings and two Olympic silver medals with Team...
The Right-Handed Key to Detroit's Defense
May 24th, 2014 After the season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, general manager Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock mentioned that they would like to add a right-handed top-four defenseman in the offseason. For those that have been living under a rock and haven't noticed, the Wings are loaded with left-handed shooters. In fact, the Wings only had four...
Top 10 New Jersey Devils Offensive Defencemen
December 23rd, 2013 When one thinks of the New Jersey Devils, a defence first approach comes to mind. In addition to hitting opponents crossing the blue line, they've had some who hit the puck pretty hard as well. After watching rookie Eric Gelinas score his first overtime game winner, it made me think about which Devils' defencemen have carried a big...
A Look at the Young Devils Defensemen: the Kids Are Alright
September 24th, 2013 As we all know, no one can predict the future, but as of right now the future is looking bright for the New Jersey Devils defense. During their three Stanley Cup championships (1995, 2000, 2003) they boasted some of the best d-men in the NHL at the time. Legends like Scott Stevens & Scott Niedermayer anchored the D and the always...
Ilya Kovalchuk is the NHL's Version of Barry Sanders
July 12th, 2013 It was a normal, summer afternoon in the NHL world on July 11 and then at 3:33 ET, the New Jersey Devils PR Twitter account posted this tweet that turned a quiet day into a crazy day, quite unlike one we have really ever seen. https://twitter.com/NHLDevilsPR/status/355409585886076930 Everyone immediately assumed that the Devils’...
