NASHVILLE, TN - The Devils kick off a game filled holiday weekend in Nashville against the Predators Friday night. New Jersey has a "new" member of the franchise ready to make his Devils season debut: Nathan Bastian. After the Devils claimed him off waivers Thursday, the forward hopped on a flight, eager to going his team.
"It feels really good. Weirdly enough It kind of feels like I never left already," Bastian said following his first media availability since rejoining the Devils organization. "Going through the waiver process, the Devils were in the back of my head. Everything happens for a reason. I'm so excited to be back here."
Bastian was drafted by New Jersey in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He played with the Devils throughout two seasons before the Kraken selected him in the expansion draft over the summer.
During the 2020-21 season, Bastian played 41 of the Devils 56 games, and contributed 10 points (3G, 7A). He was a part of the BMW line with Michael McLeod and Miles Wood. Bastian brought size and physicality to the fourth line, and was a key member of the Devils penalty kill.
"He was a fit for us, he played well, played well in the role that he played. He helped us with the physicality, penalty killing was one of his strengths. And he's a great team guy.
"He's a piece we felt we should bring back in."
Throughout the 2020-21 season, Bastian averaged 1:15 time on ice when his team was shorthanded and finished the season with 51 minutes on the penalty kill.
"Being a part of the penalty kill is maybe not the most forgiving job but it can keep you in the league. If you get good at it, it's so valuable," Bastian said. "Being a part of it is huge for my confidence. It's a new year and I've watched the guys do well this year. It's not something that I expect to jump back into right away but I'll sit in on the meetings, and learn and I would love to be a part of it."
When asked about how Ruff could bring Bastian back into the fold, he said the forward would start slowly picking up minutes until he's set in the ways the kill has changed.
"It's something that we've changed a lot of how we kill. So we've already spent time with, I know that we're going to spend a little bit more time before the game. He'll be in the meeting. We probably won't throw a heavy load at him right off the bat … we'll spot him in, get him a couple practices, get him up to speed on exactly what we're trying to do different, and how we're trying to eliminate certain plays from the opposition."
Injury Updates:
On Thursday, New Jersey put forward Jesper Boqvist on the injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 18. The Devils now have a total of five players on the IR: Jesper Boqvist (upper body), Christian Jaros (hand), Jack Hughes (shoulder), Miles Wood (hip), and Tyce Thompson (upper body).
Hughes and Jaros have skated with the team this week which bodes well for a return sooner rather than later.
