First Camp Practice Takeaways I FEATURE

The Devils held their first practice sessions of training camp on Friday at Prudential Center. Here are a few key takeaways from the day.
LINES SETUPS
The Devils workflows gave an early insight into how the coaches will deploy their team during the three upcoming scrimmages (Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday).
The most notable change is that Pavel Zacha, who played wing last season with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, was moved to center. Second, the duo of Yegor Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen, a tandem all last season while working with Travis Zajac and then Jack Hughes, were split up. Sharangovich remained with Hughes, while Kuokkanen slid alongside Zacha. Here is a glimpse at the makeup of the team's potential top four lines.

Johnsson-Hischier-Bratt
Tatar-Hughes-Sharangovich
Wood-Zacha-Kuokkanen
Vesey-McLeod-Thompson
The reconfiguring of Zacha and Kuokkanen seems to give the Devils a lot more balance up front, particularly in the top three groupings. And with three capable lines, it could be easy to spread out the ice time so as not to overly tax one or two lines. Had the team retained the Zacha-Hischier-Bratt and Kuokkanen-Hughes-Sharangovich lines, then they would have been pretty top heavy.
"I thought that threesome, watching in the drills, looked really good," Ruff said. "Lot of speed. Made some plays. There's an opportunity at camp to put a guy like 'Pav' back at center ice. ... It's an opportunity for Johnsson get a really good look, too. I'd like to see him rebound after a year where we expected more from him."
Obviously, it's only the first practice of training camp. A lot will change between now and the team's Oct. 15 home opener. But it's clear the coaches want to see how these combinations work over the next few days. The upcoming scrimmages will show whether these lines have some potential or need to be adjusted.
As far as the defense goes, the top pairings appear to be:
Graves-Hamilton
Smith-Severson
Siegenthaler-Subban
That top pairing of Graves (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) and Hamilton (6-6, 230) has to be one of the bigger pairs in the NHL. With Graves being a stay-at-home defenseman and Hamilton's proclivity to join the rush and force offense, the duo may find a towering balance together.
"We're just building chemistry. That's the biggest thing," Hamilton said. "We've talked about that before. If we can have chemistry and get used to where each other are, and we don't have to think about that stuff. When it just happens on the ice that's when you're playing your best."
CENTERED
Zacha noted on Wednesday at the team's Media Day that he didn't care if he played center or wing. Head coach Lindy Ruff made it clear that he would begin training camp at center, though he will get a look at both positions over the next few weeks.
Zacha worked with Miles Wood and Kuokkanen on Friday and sees some potential in the trio.
"I know (Wood's) strength. He's really fast, goes to the net. A good goal scorer, too, he showed last year," said Zacha, who tied with Wood as the team's leading goal scorer last year with each potting 17. "Kuokkanen I saw last year, he was really developing through the year. Really great puck handler and can battle on pucks, too. I think we can compliment each other and play through this training camp. I'm excited to play on a line like that."
Zacha has played with Wood at various times throughout their time together in New Jersey, including stretches last year. Both will be working with Kuokkanen for the first time.
"It was good," Zacha said of the first day. "We focused a lot on D zone stuff. It was a hard practice. But it was focused on the good areas. It was fun just to be on the ice and have a practice together with guys. It was an exciting time to be on the ice again with the Devils."
TRAV
Center Travis Zajac may have retired after 15 years in the NHL, but that doesn't mean he didn't show up for his 16th Devils training camp. Zajac was on the ice with the Devils in a track suit helping out during practice. He will be transitioning this season into a developmental role with the team.
"It was a little weird, I'm not going to lie," Hischier said of seeing Zajac in his new outfit. "I like him out there. For us, it's going to be huge having him out there. He's a player. He knows what it takes. He can teach us so much. He taught me so much already."
Zajac's presence on the ice will help with the young players, especially centers, either through instruction or observation.
"He's always been a really good faceoff guy," Hischier said. "Watching him play in the D zone, the stick work he does, where he goes, just watching him I learned so much for him."
SHUTDOWN ROLE
While Zajac may technically be back for practices, his presence on the ice for games will still be missed, particularly his role as the team's former shutdown defender. However, other players are eyeing that role with the team, including center Michael McLeod.
"That's a role I'm going for," McLeod said. "Last year I was in a ton of those situations, whether it was PK or winning a faceoff in our end at the end of a game. That's something I take a lot of pride in. Whenever you get put on the ice at the end of the game it's huge for your confidence. You have to bring it when you get out there."
McLeod's line last season, which featured Miles Wood and the now departed Nathan Bastian, drew some of those responsibilities late in the year after Zajac was traded to the New York Islanders. He found himself taking key defensive zone draws late in games and trying to protect leads. He found himself opposite the Sidney Crosbys and Claude Giriouxs and Brad Marchands of the world.
"Whenever you're on the ice and get thrown out against their top line, it's done on purpose," McLeod said. "You have to be doing something right, winning a faceoff or getting the puck out of the zone. Playing against those top guys last year for a bit was huge. I definitely learnt a lot."