The Devils haven’t had much to write home about, but young goalie MacKenzie Blackwood has been one of the team’s few bright spots.
The 23-year-old Blackwood has compiled a .915 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against-average, even with the team’s defensemen not being all that much to write home about, putting more pressure on him.
But he’s come up big when called upon, and Martin Brodeur has taken notice.
Brodeur is one of the best players the franchise has ever seen, and he certainly knows the position well, so when he speaks, everyone listens.
“The future is bright for him,” Brodeur began, via The Hockey News. “He’s a big body. He plays really well. If there’s one thing he’s gonna need to learn, it’s to play the puck a little bit better, just be a little more assertive with it. He’s got the skills to do it. It was just never his game, really.
“And at the NHL level, you need to be able to at least help your players and not be a problem back there as far as having the puck and controlling your rebounds and all that.”
That’s great news for the Devils organization, and for their fans. Building successful hockey teams starts and ends with the netminder, and Blackwood has an extremely promising future.
