Connect with us

New Jersey

New Jersey Prospect Update: Where are they Now? Goaltender Edition

Published

on

New Jersey Prospect Update: Where are they Now? Goaltender Edition


It is often said that goaltenders are voodoo, so what is a goaltending prospect to do when he is stuck behind the voodoo king? Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look at some goaltenders of the Devils past prospect pools and what happened to them.

Ari Ahonen

The Short: Former first rounder, who never played in the NHL, but got free bench tickets a few times to watch Marty up close

The Long: Ari Ahonen leads this list as a former first round (27th) overall pick by the New Jersey Devils in 1999. If you were like me at the time, you may have questioned why the Devils chose a goaltender in the first round in 1999 when Martin Brodeur was still well in his prime starting 70+ games a season. I don’t really have an answer for that other than the next player drafted after Ahonen who played at least 400 games in the NHL was Mike Commodore, also selected by the Devils, in the 2nd round at 42. So, it wasn’t a very deep draft in the late first/early 2nd rounds.

Arohnen played five years for the Albany River Rats, never really putting up stellar numbers, but received at least five call-ups to the New Jersey Devils as an emergency back-up according to this New York Post article by Mark Everson in 2004. The article quotes Ahonen:

Advertisement

“The more time you spend here, the more you want to play,”

Ahonen would get at least one more call-up the following year, but never get into a NHL game. His career would divert to the Liiga, where Ahonen would earn the distinction of being the first goaltender in league history to play for all three teams in the Helsinki area per Wikipedia. Ahonen’s best years would be for KalPa and his best season, 2011-2012, where he put up a 2.13 GAA and .916 SV% during a 23-15-11 run.

Jeff Frazee

The Short: Slightly better than Ahonen, Frazee earned multiple call-ups before finally getting 19 minutes of flawless NHL game action in 2012-2013,

The Long: Drafted by the Devils in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2005 NHL entry draft, Frazee had a fruitful AHL career for Lowell and Albany spanning 2007-2013. His GAA was fairly consistently in the 2.60 range with a high of 2.90 one year and his save percentage never dipped below .902 with a high of .920. In other words, Frazee seems to have been a legitimate victim of Brodeur’s dominance in the New Jersey net.

After four plus seasons toiling in the AHL, Frazee would finally get his chance on March 9, 2013 in Carolina. With Brodeur out of the lineup with a pinched nerve, Johan Hedberg had been holding down the fort, but this was not his night. Hedberg got lit up for five goals through two periods, opening the door for Frazee to play some mercy minutes. Frazee stopped all three shots he faced in a flawless third, allowing the Devils to comeback and tighten the knot to 5-3 before an empty net goal by Carolina sealed the team’s fate for the 6-3 loss. For history, Frazee’s only game worn NHL jersey has been preserved by the goaltender museum, Heroes of the Crease and you can view it online here.

After the high of that game, Frazee would never play in the NHL again. He backpacked around Europe at various goaltending gigs for a few seasons, ending his career in Slovenia in 2016-17.

Advertisement

Evan Cormier

The Short: He’s still trying to live the dream.

The Long: Drafted by the Devils in the 4th round in 2005 (105th overall), it is hard to believe that Evan Cormier is still only 26-years-old. Cormier did receive a call-up by the Devils straight from the ECHL in 2019 to backup Mackenzie Blackwood after Louis Dominque went down with an injury, a move that confused the Bergen Record enough to write this article explaining it. Cormier would not see any game action with the Devils that game or any game. Cormier would move on from the Devils franchise to the Manitoba Moose in 2021-22

Cormier backed up Sergei Bobrovsky in a 5-3 loss in March of this year when Anthony Stolartz was out with an undisclosed illness but did not play. The struggle for game action continues on for Evan Cormier.

Gilles Senn

The Short: Played 2 NHL games, even got a start.

The Long: Selected by the Devils in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft (129th overall), Senn grew up in Switzerland playing for HC Davos. In 2019, Senn detoured to Binghampton, where he would play one full season and another part season during the COVID shutdown. Senn earned his NHL debut on December 20, 2019, relieving Mackenzie Blackwood, and promptly giving up one goal on two shots for the 5-2 loss to Washington. Senn started the next game, his only in the NHL, allowing three goals on 38 shots in a loss to Columbus.

Advertisement

After the COVID-shortened season, Senn returned to HC Davos in his native Switzerland, where he still suits up today.

Your Take

Now it is time to tell us what you think — or remember. Who were your favorite goalie prospects that never quite made an impact or got buried in the Brodeur era? Post your comments below.



Source link

New Jersey

Yellowcard Brings Ocean Avenue to New Jersey’s Own Ocean Avenue

Published

on

Yellowcard Brings Ocean Avenue to New Jersey’s Own Ocean Avenue


Yellowcard played the Stone Pony Summer Stage on Friday June 12th. It was an astounding set. The band performed nineteen tracks from every era and iteration of the band. It was a special night for anyone who is a fan. 

Openers Plain White T’s and New Found Glory also deserve special credit for fitting the bill flawlessly. It was the perfect way to set the stage for the show to come. Both bands have a strong stage presence and were able to captures the crowd’s full attention.

Yellowcard opened with a video of the Paramount stars. They continued their set by playing interlude snippets of other major movies such as “Back To The Future,” “Top Gun,” “The Goonies,” and the “Ghostbusters.” It really felt like we were watching a cinematic experience as well as a concert. The production was second to none. There was even pyro during certain moments of the show.

The band played six tracks off their new album Better Days. This was a huge highlight of the show. Better Days is not only the best Yellowcard album since Ocean Avenue, it’s one of the best pop-punk releases of the decade. The band worked tightly with Travis Barker, Avril Lavigne, and Alkaline Trio to enhance all aspects of the genre. The new tracks warranted even more of a reception than older tracks. We were truly watching a band in their prime. 

Advertisement

Overall, Yellowcard are showing us the new heights bands can reach within the pop-punk genre. Their breakup and triumphant return displays to us that anything is possible. Please enjoy our gallery below from photographer Anthony Vito Cosentino.

Plain White T’s

New Found Glory

Yellowcard

All Photos by Anthony Vito Cosentino

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

New Jersey

Historical marker recognizing Lawnside, New Jersey, to be unveiled Friday

Published

on

Historical marker recognizing Lawnside, New Jersey, to be unveiled Friday


From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

The borough of Lawnside in Camden County will be honored with a historical marker from the New Jersey Historical Commission as part of the state’s Black Heritage Trail.

A ceremony unveiling the marker will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at Lawnside Borough Hall on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Road.

Marsharee Wright, aide to Lawnside Mayor Mary Ann Wardlow and long-time resident, said everyone is thrilled about the marker unveiling.

Advertisement

“We’ve invited the entire community and neighboring towns to come share the celebration with us,” Wright said.

Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, said it’s “an extreme honor” for the borough to be included in the state’s program, especially as Lawnside is amid a year-long celebration of its centennial.

“It really lifts our profile and hopefully more people will understand and know what Lawnside is about and what it means in the nation,” Shockley said.

Lawnside was one of six sites selected in Camden County in 2024, including “The Point,” a historic Black neighborhood in Haddonfield. Its marker was unveiled last June.

During the ceremony, the borough’s history will be showcased, along with the original documents signed by Gov. A. Harry Moore in 1926, which made way for the borough’s creation.

Advertisement

Though there are many Black enclaves in South Jersey, the borough is the state’s only incorporated antebellum Black community. First known as Free Haven, and later Snow Hill, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Peter Mott built a three-floor dwelling in 1844 that was once part of sprawling farmland where he helped slaves escape.

Mott’s house, now owned by the Lawnside Historical Society, serves as an Underground Railroad museum.



Source link

Continue Reading

New Jersey

Is ICE giving up on Roxbury detention center? NJ leaders laud report

Published

on

Is ICE giving up on Roxbury detention center? NJ leaders laud report


play

  • State leaders were celebrating a New York Times report that federal officials are considering ending plans for ICE dentention center in Morris County.

Federal officials are considering abandoning plans for a controversial immigration detention facility in Roxbury, New Jersey, according to a June 18 report by The New York Times, prompting local leaders and state officials to declare a victory after months of legal and political opposition.

The proposed facility, a warehouse property purchased to serve as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, faced intense criticism from local residents, environmental advocates and elected officials who argued the site was unsuitable for housing detainees.

Advertisement

In a joint statement issued Thursday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the Department of Homeland Security appeared to be backing away from the project following legal challenges that halted development.

“Today the New York Times is reporting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is backing down on its mass detention center in Roxbury,” the statement said. “That is a big win for public safety, for the township of Roxbury, and for New Jersey.”

According to the Times report, the Roxbury facility is one of seven ICE is planning to dispense with by transferring ownership to other federal agencies or selling them. 

Opponents argued the warehouse was designed as a logistics facility and lacked the infrastructure necessary to support a large detention center. They also raised concerns about the potential strain on local water and sewage systems and the impact on environmentally sensitive land surrounding the site.

Advertisement

State officials said they joined Roxbury Township in court to challenge the project, contending that federal plans violated local regulations and posed risks to the community.

“DHS’s plans were always illegal,” the statement said. “The Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people.”

Rep. Rob Menendez said in a statement on Thursday: “We are working to confirm reporting that ICE is abandoning its Roxbury warehouse plans, but if true, this would be big news. From day one, we have fought to stop this facility, bringing together thousands of New Jerseyans in opposition. Now we are on the cusp of an important win for our state.” 

The detention center was expected to become part of the federal government’s broader immigration enforcement and detention network. However, the project became a flashpoint in New Jersey, drawing opposition from both local officials and residents concerned about public safety, environmental impacts and the facility’s compatibility with surrounding land uses.

Advertisement

Federal officials have not publicly confirmed whether the property will be sold or formally removed from consideration. The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the reported change in plans.

Opponents vowed to continue monitoring the situation until the project is officially terminated.

“This isn’t a partisan issue,” the statement said. “We’re grateful for our partnership with the Roxbury community as we keep DHS’s feet to the fire to ensure this facility is never opened.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending