The puck officially dropped on the NHL regular season on Friday with New Jersey defeating Buffalo by a score of 4-1 in Prague. A number of brand-new Devils made a great first impression with their new team in this game, so that's who I'll focus on here.

Playing in his first game with the Devils, Stefan Noesen scored the first goal of the NHL season. Noesen was used on the third line with Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat while also skating on the second power play.

WELCOME TO THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS STEFAN NOESEN! 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/IaanjfoP8u

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 4, 2024

As my Devils fan friend said, you can't stop Johnathan Kovacevic, you can only hope to contain him. Also in his Devils debut, Kovacevic assisted on Noesen's goal, then scored the second goal of the game. Injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce allowed Kovacevic to take on a more prominent role than he normally would, as he logged 20:29 in this game.

Staying on the blueline, Seamus Casey made his NHL debut and received second-unit power-play minutes over Simon Nemec, playing 13 minutes total. Aside from having an amazing name, Seamus was picked 46^th overall in 2022, the same draft where Nemec was picked second overall. Casey is only 20 years old, so he is probably AHL-bound once Hughes is able to return. He certainly has a bright future and could be considered in keeper leagues. For more, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

Acquired in the Alexander Holtz trade with Vegas, Paul Cotter scored an empty-net goal and added an assist. Cotter has been a modest scorer throughout his career, but he is of interest in bangers leagues because he can pile up the hits. Cotter averaged about three hits per game over the past two seasons in Vegas.

As far as new Devils go, I've saved the best for last. Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced in backstopping his new team to a win. One of those saves was for the highlight reel. The Devils have upgraded their goaltending in acquiring Markstrom, which makes their playoff chances a lot brighter compared to last season.

JACOB MARKSTROM ARE YOU SERIOUS pic.twitter.com/BVBUWqN35U

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 4, 2024

The two teams will play again early today, probably not long after I post this. Have your lineup set extremely early… maybe the night before… or don't even change it from Friday. Backups Devon Levi and Jake Allen will likely start in this game after Markstrom and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played in the opener.

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After missing all of training camp due to injury, Yaroslav Askarov has been sent to the AHL. That means the Sharks will likely proceed with the goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek to start the season. Both veteran goalies are UFAs and should be trade bait for the rebuilding Sharks by the deadline, so expect to see Askarov in the NHL at some point this season. I would be hesitant to roll with any Sharks goalie this season anyway.

Another player on a PTO has made the team. One day after the Flames signed Tyson Barrie, the Golden Knights signed Tanner Pearson to a one-year, $775,000 contract. Pearson had been plagued with a serious hand injury during his final season with the Canucks in 2022-23, so it's good to see him battle back to extend his NHL career. Even though he had a strong preseason with two goals and an assist in four games, Pearson is likely destined for the bottom-6 with Vegas.

Jack Campbell has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and will be out indefinitely. Campbell signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings after the Oilers bought out his contract. Best of luck to Campbell, who comes across as an easy guy to root for.

An injury that I missed yesterday, Matt Boldy (lower body) didn't play on Friday, but he hopes to be ready for the Wild's season opener on Thursday. Boldy was injured three days into training camp and did not play at all in the preseason.  

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For the second consecutive season, I was invited to the Fantasy Puck Content Creators league. The live draft was completed on Tuesday, which Nate from Apples & Ginos recorded on video.

Scoring and settings are at the beginning of the video. Below is the team I drafted, with some comments about my picks and thought process.

1.            (7)          Cale Makar (COL – D) – I was debating between Makar and his teammate Mikko Rantanen here. Rantanen was the highest-ranked player according to Yahoo. I opted for Makar as the highest-scoring blueliner. Nate liked the pick, so I guess that's good enough for me. Rantanen fell to 10^th, with Nate admitting that he preferred Kirill Kaprizov at 9^th over Rantanen. On a side note, KK was undervalued by Yahoo in my opinion.

2.            (18)       William Nylander (TOR – RW) – This was between Nylander and Elias Pettersson. I guess I'm a bit more concerned about Pettersson's cooldown late last season season than Nylander's.

3.            (31)       Igor Shesterkin (NYR – G) – I knew I was in a draft with Nate and some other Zero G proponents, plus I've said all along that top-tier goalies like Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck are okay to pick if they fall to the third round. Goalies falling farther than normal could provide great value in this format. My strategy is to zag when the other zig. Let's see if it works. Hellebuyck went later in the third round, with Juuse Saros drafted early in the fourth round. Did I start the goalie run by picking Shesterkin as the first goalie?   

4.            (42)       Sebastian Aho (CAR – C) – I wanted a scorer and he seemed like the safest possible option. He should be good for another 35 goals and 80 points.

5.            (55)       Chris Kreider (NYR – LW) – I wouldn't pick him this high in a pure points league. The hits boost his value, while this league rewards goals (6) a bit higher than assists (4).

6.            (66)       Carter Verhaeghe (FLA – C,LW) – This might be the first time I've ever picked Verhaeghe in a league, as I was slow to adapt to him when he first arrived in Florida. He has at least 30 goals and 70 points in back-to-back seasons and is now on the top power play for the Stanley Cup champions.

7.            (79)       Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA – G) – Again, I'm trying to grab goalie value. This pick will backfire if he has nothing left in the tank after two runs to the final. He has an ADP of 40, but this is the kind of draft in which goalies fall.

8.            (90)       Nick Suzuki (MTL – C) – This pick will really pay dividends if Suzuki can reach the 80-point mark. With Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky on the top line, I could see it happening.

9.            (103)     Noah Hanifin (VGK – D) – I needed a defenseman, as I had only picked one so far (Makar). Rewatching the video, I see a lot of d-men getting picked in rounds 4-6. I searched far and wide and came up with the d-man that is projected to be on the top power play for Vegas. They've invested a lot in him, so he'll receive every opportunity to succeed.

10.         (114)     Brock Boeser (VAN – RW) – Boeser is due for some regression this season, so I'm not enamored with this pick. Still, right wing is thin, and his ADP was much higher. Too high, in fact. Yet I'm a Canucks fan, and I somehow feel like I don't draft enough Canucks in my various leagues. Even when I tell anyone who will listen not to be too much of a fan of players from their favorite team in fantasy leagues.

11.         (127)     Rasmus Andersson (CGY – D) – I'm not thrilled about this pick either, but I was after another defenseman. Let's see if he can find his way back onto the top power play in Calgary.

12.         (138)     Matvei Michkov (PHI – RW) – I'm not huge on rookies in single-season drafts. Yet Michkov looks like he could be magical this season. He's my Calder Trophy pick when the writers' season predictions come out.

13.         (151)     Gustav Forsling (FLA – D) – Becoming widely regarded as one of the top defensemen in the league, can Forsling translate that success to fantasy leagues? He's only about a 40-point guy, but he could provide decent peripherals with lots of icetime. His ADP of 95 was way too high, though. Newly acquired Adam Boqvist has been receiving top power-play minutes during preseason, which could be telling about which way the power play will swing.

14.         (162)     Adin Hill (VGK – G) – This must have been a good pick because Nate was starting to worry a little about not having a goalie, mentioning Hill in particular. I'll have to work on a trade offer. If not, I know he plays on a lot of nights that Shesterkin and Bobrovsky don't play. I know this thanks to the Same Night Tool.

15.         (175)     Cutter Gauthier (ANA – LW) – A super rookie that plays on the top off-night team… what's not to like?

16.         (186)     Anze Kopitar (LA – C) – Age-related regression will eventually hit. But what's to say he won't reach 70 points again?

17.         (199)     Filip Hronek (VAN – D) – Last pick, so let's go with one more Canuck. But as far as I'm concerned, he is droppable if he is not paired with Quinn Hughes.

Overall, I think I did okay. This wasn't my best draft, but that was to be expected with the level of competition. Let's see how it turns out. Even if the draft isn't that great, it will be up to me to find strong waiver-wire pickups.

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