Keefe praises Seamus Casey: 'Very impressive for a young guy'
New Jersey Devils defenseman Seamus Casey has already racked up three goals in five games this season, and the rookie's hot start hasn't gone unnoticed by head coach Sheldon Keefe.
"It looks like he's having a lot of fun," Keefe told reporters Monday after the Devils' 3-0 win over Utah. "The puck's kind of fallen to him in good spots and he's making good on it, showing his ability to score. ... As much as the goals and everything are great, if his game defensively is a mess and it's a fire drill when he's on the ice, he's not going to be able to stay here. But his defensive game, he plays with great intelligence."
"He doesn't complicate things for himself or his teammates," he added. "I've seen a lot of undersized defensemen try to make their way in the NHL, and not many of them have the intelligence and awareness to not complicate the game. ... It's been fun to watch that, it's been very impressive for a young guy."
Casey, who's listed at 5-foot-9, made the Devils' opening-night roster largely due to injuries to fellow blue-liners Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce.
He's slotted in on the third pair to the left of Simon Nemec, which has forced the right-handed Casey to play on his off side. Keefe said he was comfortable with the configuration back in September, noting that Casey had experience doing so with the Michigan Wolverines in college.
"He's able to get himself out of tricky situations because of his intelligence and his skill," he explained at the time, per team beat reporter Amanda Stein. "So that's part of it, you think that he can do it, but the other piece is you're just trying not to mess with the other guys so much."
Casey has been up to the challenge so far, adding his first career assist and game-winning goal against Utah to his NHL account.
The 20-year-old spent two campaigns in the NCAA and amassed 72 points in 76 career outings, but only 15 goals.
"I mean, I haven't always been a goal-scorer in my life," he said. "So to start with three goals is maybe not super expected, but I'm just trying to play simple and take chances when I get them."
New Jersey selected Casey in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft and signed him to his entry-level deal in May.