Devils Sending 8 Players to 2024 World Championships

At current count, 107 players competing at this year’s Worlds are members of an NHL organization. For the New Jersey Devils, they’ll have eight players taking part. Just to give some insight on how seriously this is taken: Tomas Nosek (Czechia) and Alexander Holtz (Sweden) got cut from their respective rosters in training camp.

Who Made the Cut?

Here’s all the Devils who will be participating:

Luke Hughes (United States)

Luke Hughes was forced into a tough role with the Devils following Dougie Hamilton’s injury. While there were some typical rookie growing pains, his season was an overall success. He was tied with Brock Faber in points by a rookie defenseman (47) and broke the Devils’ franchise record in that category as well. The US hasn’t won the tournament since 1933. When The Hockey Writers talked to Hughes about it, he said, “I’m going to Worlds to win. The US hasn’t won in 90 years, or whatever it was…You want to wear the (USA) jersey and try to win that tournament for the first time in a long time. It’s a special thing.” It’ll be his second Worlds; he had four points in 10 games in the 2022 tournament.

Nico Hischier (Switzerland)

While the Devils’ season was derailed for many different reasons, underperformance from the captain was not one of them. Despite some injury woes, Nico Hischier was able to rattle off 27 goals and 67 points in 71 games, while maintaining his presence as one of the most well-rounded players in the league. Switzerland is still searching for their first-ever gold medal, and Hischier was named team captain to help lead that charge. It’ll be a little tougher without Timo Meier (injury), who Hischier notoriously has great chemistry with at this tournament (and in New Jersey). This will be his fifth Worlds of his career – he’s amassed 26 points in 29 games there.

Jonas Siegenthaler (Switzerland)

Siegenthaler had one of the toughest seasons of his career, as he battled constant injuries and couldn’t find his footing. When The Hockey Writers spoke to him about his season, he said, “It’s not an excuse, but (the injuries) definitely made it more difficult.” Despite his nine points in 57 games and minus-7 rating, he’ll be back for his fourth Worlds, where he usually thrives. He has eight points and a plus-12 rating over 20 career games. There’s a good chance he’ll be paired up with Nashville Predators’ star defenseman Roman Josi, where the two could become one of the best pairings in the tournament.

Akira Schmid (Switzerland)

With just six NHLers on Team Switzerland, it’s pretty remarkable that half of them are Devils. After playing the hero in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Akira Schmid struggled mightily with a .895 save percentage (SV%) in 19 games for the Devils. He ended up getting sent down and struggling in Utica as well, going 9-8-5 with a .894 SV% there. This will be his first Worlds, and like Siegenthaler, it’s a great chance to redeem an otherwise suboptimal season.

Simon Nemec (Slovakia)

There was a possibility that Simon Nemec wouldn’t play in the NHL at all this season, but that changed quickly. He had 19 points in 60 games while showing some defensive ability that extended way beyond his years. He just turned 20 years old and will already be participating in his fourth Worlds, where he accumulated seven points in 18 games in his teenage years. He also boasted a plus-1 rating, while playing against men for a typically-lackluster Slovak squad. The Slovaks haven’t medaled since 2012. They’ll be captained by former Devil, Tomas Tatar.

Dawson Mercer (Canada)

Dawson Mercer wasn’t the only Devil to take a step backwards this season, as his 33 points were a whole 23 less than the previous go-around (56), in the same amount of games (82). Regardless, he still potted 20 goals and has been a valuable player for the Devils, despite his struggles. It’ll be his second Worlds, as he had five assists in ten games for Canada in the 2022 tournament. He’ll likely be in a valuable bottom-six/penalty-killing role for the Canadians, who have built a pretty complete roster and pose a solid threat for gold.

Ondrej Palat (Czechia)

Ondrej Palat continued his role as a solid, professional all-around player and will be one of the strongest links for this year’s Czech squad. He had 31 points in 71 games, while being one of the best on the team in terms of driving play. He’s a great complementary piece and a respected veteran – but it may be tough considering there’s not much talent around him for Czechia. His last and only participation was in 2019, where he had a goal and assist in 10 games. He would have participated more often if he wasn’t busy making deep playoff runs every year with the Tampa Bay Lightning. There are some unconfirmed reports that he may be named captain, but regardless, Palat is excited to play in front of his friends and family, as Czechia is the host country this year.

Nico Daws (Canada)

The young Nico Daws showed some signs of promise in New Jersey but couldn’t put it all together. He went 9-11-0 with a .894 SV%, including a dominant win in front of 70,328 fans at the Stadium Series over the Philadelphia Flyers. He ended the season in Utica, where like Schmid, his numbers were actually worse. Now he’ll get a pretty cool chance to get a Worlds experience, even though he’ll be the third string to the St. Louis Blues duo of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Daws stopped 13 of 14 (.929 SV%) in the Canadian squad’s 5-1 pre-tournament win over Austria, and there’s a good chance he’ll be utilized against some lesser-ranked countries like Great Britain, Austria and Norway to give the main netminders a night off.

Exciting to Watch

The full tournament schedule can be viewed here. The games will be broadcast on TSN in Canada – and NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States. No current Devil has ever won a World Championship, and there’s sure to be some healthy competition amongst Devils teammates. Hischier said in a translated interview, “When it gets (to Worlds), they’re my enemies, to put it bluntly. But we’re good friends off the ice, of course.”