Definitely. I don’t get a chance to see or hear about the kids except when they get called up, and rely on others to keep me semi-informed.

A few months back John put together an article about the state of the Devils’ minors system and I was horrified by what appeared to be a bleak future. The team had always managed to avoid the dreaded “rebuilding phase” before by filling in gaps in the lineup from within, to obvious success, but it was starting to look like that might be coming to an end.

With the immediate and impressive success of the kids I’ve seen called up, and what I’m hearing about guys who are in the system but haven’t skated for the big team yet, I’m breathing a sigh of relief :)