BUFFALO, N.Y. — Dawson Mercer hasn’t played a lot of games since the Devils made him the 18th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, but he has looked like a player who should have been selected sooner in most of them.
Mercer was at it again Friday night, for the first time in a New Jersey uniform. He was the Devils’ best player in a 3-0 loss to the Sabres at the 2021 Prospects Challenge.
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“It looks like he’s been well-coached along the way,” Utica coach Kevin Dineen said. “I think his stick is as good as I’ve seen in a long time. You can try to teach guys a lot of things on the defensive side, but he is a young player that just seems to break up a lot of plays. … Also thought his transition game was strong. I thought Dawson had a very good showing tonight.”
Mercer doesn’t have Nolan Foote’s size or Alexander Holtz’s shot, but he has a bevy of above-average attributes, and they were all on display at LECOM Harborcenter. The “wow” plays all involved his stick.
• He thwarted a chip-ahead play by knocking the puck out of the air, then collected it to set up an odd-man rush.
• He stole the puck on the forecheck deep in the Buffalo zone multiple times.
• He went down and put his stick along the ice to intercept a breakout attempt.
That play in particular was Mark Stone-esque. Mercer has a long way to go to get anywhere near Stone’s orbit as an all-around player, but there were shades of how Stone frustrates foes in this game.
“I dipped my toes in the water and had my first experience with the Devils,” Mercer said. “I thought we did really good out there. Our line really connected, and I thought we had some good chances. It was good to get this underway and play the style I want to play out there.”
There were a couple of rushes where shooting might have been the better option when Mercer looked to pass instead, but that’s a minor quibble. He had a couple of really good chances to score and did not, but he wasn’t alone with that issue.
Mercer played 32 games for Chicoutimi in the QMJHL last season and seven for Canada at the World Junior Championship. He dominated in the “Q” and earned praise for his smarts and work ethic in a supporting role at the WJC.
He did a little bit of everything Friday night. Mercer centered the first line, played on both special-teams units, created scoring chances for teammates and went to the front of the net hunting a tip or a centering pass on a few occasions.
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This particular prospect roster isn’t exactly flush with centers who have NHL potential, but it’s still notable to see him there. Aarne Talvitie can play center, but he moved to the wing on the second line, next to Nate Schnarr.
Mercer could play center in the NHL. He might be the Devils’ long-term answer as the No. 3 guy behind Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. But he also might fit best next to one of them as a top-six player. And he might have a slightly better chance of making the New Jersey roster in this coming training camp if he moves to the wing. The Devils care a lot more about the next five to 10 years of his career than whether they’re giving him the best chance to claim a third- or fourth-line wing spot as a teenager.
“Wherever I can help the organization,” Mercer said. “Playing center, that’s where I’ve played the last two years in junior. I find that’s really where I shine to the best of my abilities. I feel like I’m a supportive player. I like having the puck, making decisions and having that responsibility on my stick. If they want me on the wing, I’m going to the wing — if they give me the opportunity.”
He does look like a player who is going to help the Devils pretty soon, regardless of the position.
Other observations from the first of two contests in Buffalo for the Devils prospects:
• Holtz had a lot of opportunities to shoot the puck. His sights were off a bit early when he missed the net. He did have one great chance in the third period that Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a strong toe save on. He and Mercer seemed to connect more in transition as the game went on.
Holtz made one nifty play to set up Graeme Clarke for a scoring chance, and there will be ways for him to contribute that go beyond scoring goals. But he’s also going to need to find ways to get more of his shots on net. And into the net.
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Dineen mentioned he’s looking forward to helping some of these prospects refine their skills. If Holtz begins the year in Utica, it’s going to be all about figuring out ways to harness his shot and make it more of a weapon on the smaller ice and against top competition.
“(Holtz) wasn’t the only guy tonight who had some real quality opportunities, but there is still a little bit of a hitch,” Dineen said. “That summer hangover, where you’re looking and seeing and you’re analyzing and then you’re shooting the puck. Not only at the American (Hockey) League level but at the NHL level, boy, do things happen quickly.”
• Foote made a couple of creative short-area plays. It’s easy to see why he’s such an intriguing prospect: There aren’t a lot of players with that size who also have hands like his. He’ll have to show he can keep up with players like Mercer and Holtz consistently, but he didn’t look out of place on that line Friday.
• Clarke might have been New Jersey’s second-best forward. He didn’t get to play with the other top prospects much at even strength, but he dangled through and around defenders on a few occasions. The Devils struggled to create chances at the offensive end when Mercer and Holtz weren’t on the ice, but Clarke had some creative flashes in the neutral zone and at both blue lines.
• Nico Daws played 10 games last season as a backup goalie in Germany. He’s likely going to compete with Akira Schmid to be Utica’s No.1 goalie or a partner for Scott Wedgewood with the Comets.
He got the first game in Buffalo and looked pretty sharp. The Sabres had several great chances in the first period and early in the second before the Devils in front of Daws leveled the playing field. Daws made a couple of very nice leg/toe saves in traffic and a few glove saves on open slot shots and generally looked fluid and athletic.
“It felt good. I thought I played pretty decent,” he said. “You never know how you’re going to react when you have that much time off, but I thought I played pretty good.”
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It almost started with a huge gaffe. Early in the first period, Daws came out of the goalie crease to play the puck and whiffed. He was able to scramble back and avoid yielding an embarrassing goal. And he looked in control for most of the game after that, though he was upstaged by the guy at the other end of the ice.
“What was I thinking? ‘Get back to the net,'” Daws said of his near-gaffe. “Definitely the nerves kicking in there. I was glad to bounce back from that because that one had me shaken a little bit.”
• Buffalo’s first goal came on the power play. This was an all-timer for #TeamGoGetAStick. Kevin Bahl’s stick broke, and then he proceeded to go back and get into position in the Devils’ penalty-kill box twice. Both times he was forced to try to play the puck with his skate. It didn’t work.
Someone finally gave him a stick, but the five-on-three and a half continued. The Sabres set up a shot from the top of the zone and the rebound came right into Bahl’s area, but Buffalo’s Brett Murray pounced and scored. Could Bahl have made a better play if he’d had his own stick and not one that was (likely) several inches shorter? This also happened during the first period, when the bench is closer.
• The Sabres’ second goal was a three-on-one after a Reilly Walsh turnover. When Buffalo had time to set up in its defensive structure, New Jersey struggled to make its way into the offensive zone. Walsh held the puck an extra couple of seconds, looking for an open teammate or an opening in the defense, but his pass through the neutral zone was picked off.
Otherwise, Walsh had a pretty solid game at even strength. That’s a big error, the kind that will stick with people, but he definitely looked like the club’s best puck-mover and showed nice patience while trying to make the right decisions on a few other occasions.
• The power play really struggled. The first unit was Walsh at the top, Holtz, Clarke and Mercer with Foote at the net front. Holtz set up Clarke for the one chance, but there were long stretches when the Devils couldn’t get the puck into the offensive zone or set up once there. New Jersey has a Saturday afternoon practice, and that might be a focus.
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• There weren’t players who were noticeably consistently poor for the Devils. There were a few who didn’t do a whole lot to stand out. Among the higher-rated prospects, Tyce Thompson and Chase Stillman didn’t have much of an impact. But it’s tough to criticize them in such a tiny sample when they also didn’t have the chance to play with any of the “big guns” on the roster.
Stillman barely played in 2021 and is 18 years old. There’s a long way to go with him. Thompson will likely want a better showing Sunday to get his bid for a roster spot off to a good start, but it’s not exactly going to be a make-or-break situation.
• These prospect games can be pretty chippy. There are a lot of young players trying to make an impression. Both teams were doling out big hits early, and there were plenty of post-whistle shenanigans. Nikita Okhotiuk did take a penalty for a late/maybe questionable hit. And he was in the middle of a lot of the physical play. That’s what he does.
“I was told at a young age that sometimes it’s always nice to get on the scoresheet one way or another,” Dineen said. “(Okhotiuk) is a guy who comes off with an infectious enthusiasm about his game. It’s not just in the games. I think it filters into the locker room and out at practice. We see it on a daily basis. That was my first live viewing of him, and I think he had a good showing.”
The other parts of his game are going to decide whether he can be an NHL regular. He can skate well, and he had a couple of decent shots off the rush in this game. Offense isn’t going to be his calling card, but a little would certainly help. Okhotiuk and Bahl were the club’s top penalty-killing pairing when he wasn’t in the box. Nothing too flashy or fancy from Bahl in this game, but that’s not really his thing.
• One note on a non-roster invitee: Patrick Grasso is not big (listed at 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds), and he got leveled during a shift in the second period. But he also got up and had a great scoring chance in the slot that just missed. The other guys who aren’t considered New Jersey’s prospects were all pretty ho-hum, but that was one play that stood out.
(Photo of Dawson Mercer: Codie McLachlan / Getty Images)