Culture change turned tide for Jersey

New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero is the first to acknowledge that his group of youngsters surprised him last season.

But he also says a dramatic culture change was necessary following the disappointment of 2016-17.

“We set standards upon our management and coaching staff and we raised the expectations and projected an idea of what we wanted to be,” Shero said in a telephone interview Friday. “We started competing on the first day of training camp. Maybe there were some younger players who were at their first camp and nervous, but we told them the worst thing they could do was look at the depth chart. We also told the veterans that the worst thing they could do was look at the depth chart.”

Shero, a former Senators assistant general manager, was in Ottawa when that club made a rapid rise from their ugly expansion days to NHL contender, thanks to the development of top draft picks. Later, as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he witnessed first-hand how drafting the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-André Fleury turned around that franchise.

The Devils had caught a break when they won the 2017 draft lottery, allowing them to choose Nico Hischier first overall, but Hischier had plenty of company in turning heads last season. Like the Senators, the Devils are not a salary-cap team, meaning younger players tend to get longer looks than they might on veteran-loaded squads.

Shero jokes that some pre-season observers “picked us to finish 32nd” in the 31-team NHL.

“There’s something to be said about the enthusiasm of young players,” he said. “The unknown is scary, but it can be exciting, too.”