The New Jersey Devils’ offseason has a familiar marker now, and it doesn’t come on skates. It comes with clubs in hand, old teammates back together, current players mixing in, and a day that says as much about the franchise as any practice session could.
That’s the idea behind the MB30 Golf Invitational, now in its seventh year and built by Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur. What started as a way to bring alumni back into the fold has turned into a yearly gathering that pulls in sponsors, donors, current Devils players, and the people who helped build the organization long before today’s roster arrived.
Brodeur said the concept grew out of wanting to create something meaningful for former teammates.
“There was nothing really that involved the sponsors and the alumni, like an event or something,” Brodeur said, explaining where the idea was born from. “Just because the experience I had in St. Louis with their alumni was pretty amazing, and so I just kind of wanted to do something to get the chance for these guys to come back.”
That part has clearly worked. Brodeur said the alumni are the ones calling him now, eager to know when the event is happening.
“They all call me,” Brodeur said. “They’re waiting for it.
‘When is it this year?’ I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s always Monday after Labor Day.
Always.’”
The golf is part of the draw, but so are the stories. Get a group of former teammates together, and the memories start flying fast. Brodeur said there’s just one problem: keeping track of which stories have already been told.
“You forget,” he said. “There’s so many of them.
You kind of forget, you know? And after that, you just kind of get to a point that you didn’t remember you told the story, so you say it again.”
The event has also grown beyond alumni. In recent years, current Devils players have been added to the mix, giving newer arrivals a chance to meet some of the people tied to the franchise’s history before the season starts.
Brodeur sees real value in that.
“A lot of these guys are new Devils, not the older guys that have been here,” he said. “So it’s kind of nice for them before the season, kind of get to know some of the alumni, get to know some of the sponsors, the people that work at the Devils that they will deal with.”
The event also has a purpose that reaches well past the course. Proceeds go to the Devils Youth Foundation’s Alumni Scholarship Fund, which helps students making the jump from high school to college.
That part clearly means a lot to Brodeur.
“It feels good,” he said. “That day when we go to Prudential Center and they come in with their family, you could see the big smile.”
The day itself isn’t set up like a standard round. MB30 uses a shotgun start in a shamble format, with every player teeing off before the group picks the best drive and then continues with each player playing their own ball. The setup keeps things moving, and Brodeur estimated the whole day runs six to eight hours before it wraps with a cocktail and food reception.
Still, the golf is almost beside the point.
The real product is connection: alumni catching up with old teammates, current players getting introduced to the organization’s past, sponsors and donors spending time around the people they support, and scholarship recipients getting a hand as they move toward the next step in life.
Seven years in, MB30 has become its own tradition, one that brings the Devils family together right as a new season is about to begin.
And if you’re wondering who can actually play?
Brodeur wasn’t ready to hand out a full report.
“I just know that they love golf,” he said.
He did have one firm judgment, though.
“Jim McKenzie sucked, though,” Brodeur added with a laugh. “You could write that one in.”
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