ESPN.com - Prepping for a Cup repeat

ESPN.com: NHL

Wednesday, September 6, 2000
Updated: September 7, 1:52 PM ET
Prepping for a Cup repeat

By Charles Avellino
Special to ESPN.com

	CAMP AT A GLANCE

	Martin Brodeur has won two Stanley Cups with the Devils.
	Coach: Larry Robinson '99-00 record: 45-29-8 Camp location: South Mountain Arena (West Orange, N.J.) Report date: Sept. 9 Preseason schedule: Sept. 16: Pittsburgh (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Sept. 17: at Detroit Sept. 19: Boston (Albany, N.Y.) Sept. 20: at N.Y. Islanders Sept. 23: Philadelphia Sept. 25: at N.Y. Rangers Sept. 27: at Philadelphia Sept. 28: N.Y. Rangers Oct. 2: NY Islanders

General manager Lou Lamoriello didn't have to make many changes to, once again, position the Devils to attempt a Cup repeat. Claude Lemieux and Vladimir Malakhov are gone -- hardly a surprise -- and several other less vital players departed. Jim McKenzie and Turner Stevenson aren't exactly huge impact players, but throw them into the competitive mix for jobs at training camp.

Here's a look at the rest of New Jersey's training camp.

Biggest question: Defense ... maybe
When you are the defending Cup champs, it's difficult to find a gaping hole on the roster. Such is the case with the Devils. But if you had to find a spot where the club could add more talent, it would be on defense. The Devils have four solid defensemen in Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski and Colin White. Of course, that's assuming Niedermayer signs on time. However, Stevens, at 36-years-old, is getting up in age as is Ken Daneyko, 36. Ken Sutton is 30-years-old and appeared in a grand total of six games last season. So, the club is hoping maybe Willie Mitchell, 23, or Andre Lakos, 21, can surprise and make a push for a job in training camp.

Biggest position battle: Right wing
As mentioned above, there will be a battle for the sixth and seventh spots on defense. But the most interesting position could be right wing. The Devils enter camp with three players who could all perform on a top line. Petr Sykora will probably get the nod at right wing on the first line, however, Alexander Mogilny and Randy McKay will duke it out for second-line rights. Turner Stevenson could conceivably play on the third line as the right wing, so in effect, there is a three-way battle. Throw Christian Berglund and Ed Ward into the mix, and it's a logjam at right wing.

Future watch
Here, ESPN.com looks at one or two young players who could make an impact, either now or in the future.

Christian Berglund (Right wing):
New Jersey loves to draft small, European forwards. Christian Berglund is no exception. The 5-foot-11, 183-pound right wing was taken in the second round (37th overall) of the 1998 draft. But unlike previous New Jersey draft picks, Berglund has yet to show any promise on offense ... yet. The 20-year-old native of Sweden is an excellent skater with better-than-average passing skills.

Ari Ahonen (Goalie):
Ahonen has posted an excellent GAA in each of his last three seasons playing in Finland, but he won't go anywhere for now in New Jersey, with Martin Brodeur the starter and veteran Chris Terreri the backup. By next season, Ahonen likely will replace Terreri. The '99 first-round pick (27th overall) has good range for his size (6-foot-2, 170 pounds) and can handle the puck very well.

Training camp roster
Goaltenders: Ari Ahonen, Martin Brodeur, J.F. Damphousse, Frederic Henry, Chris Terreri.

Defensemen: Daryl Andrews, Josef Boumedienne, Phil Cole, Mike Commodore, Ken Daneyko, Deryk Engelland, Sascha Goc, Alex Johnstone, Mikko Jokela, Andre Lakos, Josh MacNevin, Willie Mitchell, Lucas Nehrling, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, Henrik Rehnberg, Scott Stevens, Ken Sutton, Colin White.

Forwards: Jason Arnott, Jiri Bicek, Max Birbraer, Sergei Brylin, Scott Cameron, Brett Clouthier, Sylvain Cloutier, Pierre Dagenais, Bryan Duce, Patrik Elias, Chris Ferraro, Scott Gomez, Stanislav Gron, Bobby Holik, Mike Jefferson, Steve Kelly, Jason Lehoux, Carlyle Lewis, John Madden, Warren McCutcheon, Randy McKay, Jim McKenzie, Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Nemchinov, Jay Pandolfo, Richard Rochefort, Michael Rupp, Rob Skrlac, Turner Stevenson, Doug Stienstra, Petr Sykora, Chris Thompson, Ed Ward.

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher at ESPN.