From Gulitti’s post last night, the only hint as to the “mystery player” was that he was on the Devils’ reserve list. The Devils don’t have too many players in Europe so it was either going to be a prospect or a former prospect.

Like I said, I don’t think Lou is done.

Wow this is the guy Lou signs???

That’s what it looks like to me… well, between him and Pierre-Luc. Can he play center?

Wow half of the 3rd and 4th lines are players from Lowell… Yeah thats what people come to see….

Here’s some info on Pikkarainen – back when Parise was at AHL (2005) and ranked the #1 prospect, Ilkka Pikkarainen was … ranked #20.

20. (-7) Ilkka Pikkarainen, RW, 5.0 A

Though he dropped all the way to the bottom of the top 20, Pikkarainen still had a very solid and respectable season for an Albany team that continued to struggle. His drop is more due more to talented players being added to the system more than anything. Pikkarainen showed improvement in all aspects of his game, scoring 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 71 games, and he still showed an antagonistic side to his game by hitting triple digits in PIM’s with 102. Pikkarainen was by far and a way one of the most consistent Rats performers throughout the season.

What you see is what you get with Pikkarainen and he likely has already peaked in terms of his NHL potential. He has great potential as a fourth line sparkplug/energy winger. Whether there is room for him this year is another question, but with a strong training camp and pre-season, Pikkarainen definitely has a chance to make an impression. He may get a chance sometime this season to crack the Devils line-up possibly as an injury fill in.

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/7900/devils_top20_prospects/

ROD PELLEY apparently is ready to return as the 4th line center – good at faceoffs, and tenacious (i.e., like John Madden, but lots younger and cheaper)

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/rod_pelley

Talent Analysis
Pelley is a tough, hard-hitting forward who excels in the faceoff circle. He plays with an edge and is fiercely competitive. Pelley’s skating ability combines power with good speed and quickness. He is strong on skates and is tough to move off of the puck. He has great on ice vision and hockey sense. He anticipates where plays are going quite well too.

One of Pelley’s best attributes is his cannon-like shot. He’s a player who also loves to shoot and has a superb wrist shot. He has a real nose for the net and is willing to pay a price in high traffic areas to make the plays.

Future
Pelley’s strong first year on the farm, combined with his steady play when up with New Jersey should earn him a long look in training camp next season. His upside isn’t fantastic, but Pelley knows what his role is and does it very effectively. Foot soilders like Pelley are the type of unsung heroes that often go unnoticed by casual observers but appreciated by teammates.

finally caved and signed up to join the threads because of all the reactionary opinions and off-the-hip speculation.

this is my guess, based on comments by Lou saying Pelley needs another chance (he did play 50 games or so two years ago) and Clarkson deserving more playing time:

Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner
Elias-Rolston-Bergfors (promoted from AHL)
Shanahan-Zubrus-Clarkson
PLL-Pelley-Pikkarainen/(Halischuk)

Bergfors playing w/ Elias and Rolston is good for 20 goals as a rookie. And guess what – that’s what Gio produced.

i think as i said before the devils strength comes from there recruiting and traing of new players.this season will be no exception Bergfors, Pelley, Halischuk, Vasyunov, Zharkov, Walter these are your new players some will be star quality right away.i didnt put corrente cause i think if he comes this year it will be around the deadline but i am excited too see how he does.

You guys are amazing! Were you like this back in 99/2000 when NJ brought in Gomez, Rafalski, White & Madden and won a cup!? You realize that those guys were all from the farm or non drafted signings by Lou. Or let me guess you guys all knew back then those 4 guys were going to be pivotal and immediate impact players? If you’ve been a Devil’s fan long enough you’ll notice this is a trend of bringing in the youth… and you’ll also notice that there’s always years of misses, frustration and first-round exits before everything suddenly clicks and next thing you know we have another Cup.

Cut the team and Lou some slack already for having the sense to not sign a free agent just to sign one. Right now your chastising a bunch of kids who haven’t even touched the ice yet and shown you what they got. The Devils have a proven track record of success with bringing in their prospects. Please someone correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t the Devils consistently ranked at the bottom of the prospect charts yet continually keep churning out more NHL caliber and valuable players from their farm system then anyone else besides maybe the Wings?

I can’t wait to watch you guys fall over yourself gushing about one of these rookies when they step up and act like you knew it was going to happen all along.

Don’t be Devils fans because it’s geographically convenient, be one because you love the team and the philosophy behind it! One that knows how to manage itself and put out a strong and competitive team each and every year despite what you armchair GMs complain about each and every year.

I’m all for bringing kids up, but we need a solid, veteran 2-line C. Plus, Rolston and Shanny aren’t going to play full seasons so there will be plenty of room for the kids to show what they’ve got. I don’t think Bergfors has shown enough potential to be set as the #2 C going in to the season.

Cool !
Let’s see what IIkka & Walter can bring to the Devils camp? I still think Lou has another player in mind. Lou is a deep thinker! lol

a)

Why didn’t we just sign Chris Chapell??? Instead of this guy. Chapell is much better than IIkka. He played 68 games, had 38 goals and 38 assists, had 18 powerplay goals, for 76 points in 68 games. He is 6’4 bigger than IIkka, was in the OHL All Star Game. I just think Chapell would have been a better signing.

any one else notice the finn guy actully scored quite a few goals in the finn league.mabey he will be a bobby holik(at 28 yrs old )type.

didnt the devils used too really mix the lines up before sutter i hope they go back to that more anyways it would be kinnda funny to c him matched up against pronger cause of his size.he would have too be on a top line with parise when they play the flyers for that.