Maybe you’ve noticed but I’m a decent Devils fan. I’d never say hardcore since I know some that devote a good chunk of their time to all things Devils. My only claim to Devils fandom maybe is that I once went to a whole season. That’s 41 games or around that.

My path to being a Devils fan may be similar to yours whether it’s this team or another: when I was a kid they were winners. I’m a 90s kid and remember going to games with my best friend. If anything we also enjoyed the fact that you could fight other kids at the arena. Then you got some hotdogs and watched more fights on the ice. As a Passaic kid one was pure testosterone.

Everyone knew the name Brodeur. Maybe you knew Stevens, Neidermayer, or Danyeko, but Brodeur was a saint. He carried the Jersey name like it was a cross and then threw it down a hill. In my passive watching of hockey I just assumed a goalie was everything. I mean they kind of are. Look at the Rangers right now, they’d be shit without their goalie.

Today’s hockey is different from when I was in my teenage years. Well, the whole world was different. Sometimes the nostalgia settles in and I wish things were still the same. Scott Stevens was crushing people, Layne Staley was still alive, and America was unquestionably the most powerful country on Earth. But none of that is reality. And it is my firm belief that one of the most true of Jersey values is to have the deep desire to be a winner. It doesn’t matter how you win, just that you win.

It is different today, but the bones are the same. We just need to approach it with a different style. And after years suffering with a stagnant team I am starting to see where we are headed. I don’t know if it’s a clear path to winning at the highest level, but something is there. And there’s one particular player that is slowly symbolizing it for me, Dawson Mercer. It is his rookie year and he’s only a few games in, but man just watch him. I know he’s Canadian, but he plays just like how a true Jersey kid would play. We aren’t the biggest, the fastest, nor the most skilled but we go at it with such aggressive abandon. Did you see the Columbus game Sunday? Their goalie even punched him in the face. Everyone hates this kid, and he’s not even trying to be a jerk. He’s just going at it as hard as he can and sometimes it just happens that way. He seems like a nice kid, but when it’s time to go, that’s it. That’s the type of playing that gets me excited because it’s a mentality like that you can’t break. People with a lot of skill are always prone to getting hot and cold, or they get depressed. The Devils in general as of late have been a team that is just like that. They need to develop a mentality that loves the nasty grind. They have to love breaking down other people, and especially so since they have only 2-3 highly skilled players. I could be wrong about all this of course, but I hope players like Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, and Dougie Hamilton help turn the team around.

APEM isn’t a sport, but we operate similar to it. We have a season that is a long grind. And everyday is the same. Throughout the season we also have many injuries. This is why both Jenny and I spend a lot of time doing maintenance on our bodies. There’s part of me that wishes we could be open longer portions of the year, but the winter break is definitely needed. It’s when my brain gets to mostly shut down, because during the season it’s almost going at an anxious pace with the whole covid vibe plus keeping things interesting. I can’t wait to find some people who can really help us kick it into high gear. I really hold myself up as a high standard of ice cream/gelato place for Jersey. Sometimes I’m like a caged animal just looking across the river at those punks in Manhattan making their shitty ice cream and waiting for someone to let me loose.

I love this fucking state. Some other states are prettier or bigger, but they aren’t Jersey. One day this state is gonna drown into the ocean, but for now it’s an amazing place full of people that make America great. I’m not saying it’s perfect and there aren’t problems. I mean Camden? But there’s something in the air that makes us so good. I think of the food, the people, the towns, the parkway, the lakes, and the Shore where all kinds of shit happen. The Devils are the only team left that represent that potential. And I feel the tide turning in our favor not just for the team, but for the state and our business. After these last few years how much lower can you go? Plus success is infectious. This is why we must strive for it constantly, especially when things are in a rut. You bite down harder and keep going while bringing everyone else along with you. It is the only option.

So go buy a Dawson Mercer jersey.

New Jersey Devils