Jacob Josefson hoping to shine for Devils this season, Larsson eager for start of camp

The term sophomore slump is a very common thing in the National Hockey League, everyone goes through it, but it only applies to those who have had very successful rookie seasons and not so good 2nd seasons. Steven Stamkos had a terrible rookie year, but a great sophomore season. Jacob Josefson did not have the rookie campaign he envisioned of having. He started out the 2010-2011 season in the minors in Albany and was called up a week later to make his NHL debut against Colorado. His debut did not go all too well as the team fell 3-2 to the Avalanche. But, Josefson in a game against the San Jose Sharks suffered a broken hand and would miss 6-8 weeks only to return to practice and be sent to Albany once more.

Josefson was called up eventually, but played 4th line duty for the most part until some key injuries moved him up. He finished the year with 3 goals and 7 assists in 28 games, but his body language looked disappointing a majority of the time. With the injury to Travis Zajac that will likely keep him out until Thanksgiving, Josefson will play a huge roll for the Devils and is likely to be paired up with Zach Parise or Ilya Kovalchuk one of the top two lines. This will be a huge chance for him to prove his worth to the Devils and why he was a steal in Round 1 of the 2009 Draft.

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As, it turns out 4th overall pick Adam Larsson was skating at the Devils practice facility attached to the Prudential Center for most of August and now September. Larsson wanted to get used to the ice surface and rink size and is eager to start his first training camp with New Jersey. He went back to Sweden after the draft and returned to Jersey for the Devils prospects camp from July 11-July 15. After the camp, he flew back to Sweden for a few weeks and returned back to New Jersey to get ready for training camp. The Devils rookies took their physicals this morning and will take it to the ice tomorrow morning while Devils veterans take their physicals. Devils veterans will take to the ice on Saturday when Larsson will get a chance to mix it up with them. He had no contact with new coach Peter DeBoer while preparing for training camp.