The New Jersey Devils wasted no time making their first training camp look interesting.
Day 1 is already here, and the first set of lines gave fans exactly the kind of early jolt they were hoping for. Some of it was predictable.
Anthony Mantha lined up with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, which makes sense even with Luke Evangelista now in the mix. Mantha still looks like the cleaner fit on that top unit.
The real eyebrow-raiser came lower in the lineup.
A first look at #NJDevils lines from Group 1:
Of note: Mantha with Jack and Bratt and Siegenthaler and Dougie remaining together for a first run of show. pic.twitter.com/stRNN7pWY9
- Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) September 17, 2026
The third line picture is crowded, and that’s part of what makes this so intriguing. Dawson Mercer, Connor Brown, Arseny Gritsyuk, Jesper Boqvist, Evan Rodrigues, Stefan Noesen, and Mantha are all in the mix for top-nine roles. There are plenty of bodies fighting for those spots.
But the first crack at the third line went to a name that stood out immediately: Amadeus Lombardi.
Lombardi was the player slotted next to Cody Glass in that early look, and that matters. The Devils are giving him a real chance to begin camp in a meaningful spot, even though the Detroit Red Wings - and all their nonsense, as the source put it - viewed him as worth only a fourth-round pick this offseason.
Detroit didn’t see him as part of the future. Sunny Mehta did.
Mehta clearly sees Lombardi as more than a throw-in. The new Devils GM has already talked about his belief that Lombardi can take another step, and this first look backs that up.
There are plenty of players who could end up getting a shot on that third line, but Lombardi is the one getting the first opportunity. It’s a “swim in the deep end” moment for the young forward.
It also says something about the alignment between Mehta and Sheldon Keefe.
Keefe was kept on as head coach this season, even as his staff underwent a major overhaul. That decision carried real risk from Mehta’s side, and the article notes it was a bigger gamble than going with Nico Daws, Jake Allen, and David Rittich in goal. So when Keefe opens camp by putting Lombardi in that spot, it suggests the two are working from the same script.
That said, it’s still only the first practice. These lines are going to move around before October 1st, especially with a shortened preseason and a shorter training camp than usual. Even so, the early setup is notable because it shows a player who spent all of last season in the AHL getting a legitimate look right away.
The Devils’ third line race is still wide open. Lombardi just got the first swing.
In Other News...
Devils Lose Veteran Center At Worst Possible Time
The Devils got an unwelcome reminder of how quickly a preseason can change when Nick Bjugstads recovery became the headline before camp even opened. New Jersey said the veteran forward underwent successful surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team trying to sort out its early-season plans and build some stability down the middle.
Bjugstad will miss training camp and is facing a four-to-six month recovery timeline, which puts a significant chunk of the 2026-27 season in jeopardy as well. The injury adds another layer of caution to camp, where defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic is also expected to be limited while working back from a minor offseason knee procedure. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Front Office Shakeup Sends Familiar Name Back Into The NHL
The Devils have moved into a new phase upstairs, with Sunny Mehta now running hockey operations after the organization parted ways with Tom Fitzgerald. Mehta wasted little time putting his own stamp on the front office, including a change at assistant general manager that brought Braden Birch into the role and shifted Dan MacKinnon out of it.
One familiar name from the previous regime also found a new landing spot elsewhere in the league. Chuck Fletcher, who had served as a senior advisor with New Jersey, was not retained and has since been hired in the same advisory role by the Seattle Kraken, a reminder that front office turnover rarely stays contained to one zip code for long. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Camp Suddenly Has A Roster Crunch Fans Need To Watch
The Devils are heading into on-ice training camp with a forward group that looks far more crowded than it did a year ago, and that is by design. General manager Sunny Mehta spent the offseason adding to the mix, giving New Jersey a deeper set of options up front while also bringing back a defensive group that still has plenty of familiar faces in place.
What makes camp worth watching now is the squeeze at the bottom of the roster, where a few spots are going to be fought over rather than handed out. Dawson Mercers status remains part of the conversation, and new defenseman Declan Chisholm adds another layer to the competition as the Devils sort through how their projected lines and defense pairings ultimately fit together. [Read more 🡒]