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Top 5 New Jersey Devils YouTube Rabbit Hole Players Of All Time
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- Top 5 New Jersey Devils YouTube Rabbit Hole Players Of All Time
Every hockey fan goes down a YouTube rabbit hole once in a while, especially on long summer days out of boredom or in search of entertainment. The prime example is Pavel Datsyuk, who isn't the greatest player of all time but is the ideal YouTube rabbit-hole highlight-reel machine.
A plus for the New Jersey Devils being great in the 1990s and onward is that all of their best moments are on YouTube (the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers aren't as fortunate). So, who are the best players to watch? What highlights have fans hooked? Below is a ranking of some of the best, although, like any ranking, there are certainly plenty of great highlight players who will be left off the list (so comment below on who or what was overlooked).
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Honorable Mention - Martin Brodeur Empty Net Goals
This is a very niche category. Martin Brodeur is one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and holds just about every record a goalie can hold. Sure, his greatest saves are worth rewatching, as are his greatest moments. However, those don't stand out.
What stands out is his goalie goals record. Brodeur has three empty-net goals in his career, and while two came by default, the other is a reminder of how great a puck-handler he was (and why the NHL changed the rules). Watch all three below!
5) Patrik Elias
The Devils' all-time leader in goals and points will have his fair share of highlights. Patrik Elias had all the skills to beat a great threat offensively, and on a dynasty known for defense and goaltending, he was the constant scoring threat.
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It's hard to pick out one or two goals from his career, making him the type of rabbit-hole player worth watching full highlight videos of (often with heavy metal music attached to them for some odd reason). That said, his most significant goal was his game-winner in Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Flyers . While not a fancy goal by any measure, it sent the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final on their way to their second title in five years.
Interestingly, another career highlight came in that same playoff run. When the Devils faced the Dallas Stars in the Final, Game 6 went to double overtime. Elias collected the puck along the boards, and a backhanded centering pass to Jason Arnott set up the game- and Cup-winning goal.
Along with the highlight goals and assists are the shootout dandies. Elias has plenty of them, as does the next person on this list.
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4) Ilya Kovalchuk Shootout Goals
There was an era when the Devils were the best shootout team in the NHL, or at least top three in the league. Ilya Kovalchuk was one of the reasons why. The fun thing about Kovalchuk's shootout style is that he'd fly up the ice and skate so fast that the goaltender wouldn't have enough time to react.
Like this goal against the Washington Capitals, where he was skating fast enough to freeze goaltender Michal Neuvirth and fire the puck right past him to the top shelf.
Or this goal against San Jose Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi. He just flew right past him and backhanded the puck into the net (huge shoutout to DevilsHQ for providing many of these highlights).
Of course, Kovalchuk wasn't just a shootout specialist in his four years with the Devils. He was also one of their most skilled players and a key part of the 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Final. However, his goals stand out and can make a hockey fan who hates the shootout appreciate it.
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3) Zach Parise
Like Kovalchuk, Zach Parise has plenty of shootout moments, albeit his goals came from his stickhandling, not his skating. It's a part of the Parise rabbit hole, which features highlight goals and plenty of iconic moments from the 2000s era.
Parise is also one of those players who has an iconic non-Devils moment. In his case, it's scoring the game-tying goal in the 2010 Gold Medal game against Canada, which was one of the best USA hockey moments until the past Olympic Games. While Parise's game-tying goal didn't give the USA a Gold, the next player on this list did.
2) Jack Hughes
At 25, Jack Hughes still has plenty of hockey left in him. That said, he's already established himself as a highlight-reel player, not just on the Devils but around the NHL.
Hughes creates plenty of fun goals to rewatch. Most of them come on odd-man rushes where his speed and skill take over the play, but he'll also do something special when the game slows down in the offensive zone and the Devils need a big-time play.
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He's already put together a career's worth of highlight moments with the Devils. That said, his most iconic moment came at the Olympics. It's the Golden Goal against Canada, where he got the open look in overtime and fired it past Jordan Binnington to give the USA their first Gold in 46 years. It's not just the biggest moment of his career but arguably one of the best hockey moments of this century (certainly, a top-five moment).
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1) Scott Stevens Hits
Scott Stevens inspired this list in the first place, specifically his bone-crushing hits. As one of the greatest Devils and greatest defensemen in league history, he had his fair share of big hits, some of which make any hockey fan wonder whether he'd be allowed to play in the NHL these days (without receiving too many multi-game suspensions).
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The biggest is his hit on Paul Kariya during the 2003 Stanley Cup Final. To put it bluntly, Stevens knocked him out cold. Of course, this hit was followed by the "off the floor on the board" goal scored by Kariya.
There's also the big one on Flyers forward Eric Lindros in the 2000 Eastern Conference Final. Lindros was big and hard for anyone to take down. But he skated into the offensive zone and didn't catch Stevens, who not only leveled him but also changed the complexion of the series.
The other memorable hit was in Game 2 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. Slava Kozlov didn't see Stevens coming and paid the price . Like the hit against Lindros, this one fueled a Devils series victory, as they swept the Red Wings on their way to their first Cup title.
There are plenty more Stevens hits to dive into. The bottom line is that back in the day, when someone cut to the middle through the neutral zone, they kept their head on a swivel.
Like any list or ranking, there are sure to be a handful of players who were overlooked. So, which ones were missed? Comment below!
