nmburkholder
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- Jul 23, 2020
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It was announced earlier today that a new general manager took over the New Jersey Devils, and his name is Neil Burkholder. Today our Amanda Stein sat down and talked to the new general manager and here is the transcript.
Amanda Stein (AS): So Neil, how does it feel to become a general manager of the New Jersey Devils?
Neil Burkholder (NB): Honestly, I am glad to be given a role like this with the Devils. It really is something I am proud to be part of. The ownership group is committed to building a championship winning team on and off the ice and being part of something like that is special, everybody in my role says that, but its true. We have the best fans in the league, who are loyal and vocal, and our players and staff are top notch, and being part of something like this is hard to really come by.
AS: What can you tell us about yourself? What is your background?
NB: Well I’m born and raised Michigan kid, and being part of a hockey town like Detroit, I became a huge hockey fan as a kid, and since then I was able to become a scout for the Saginaw Spirit, and kept going up the ranks to where I got hired today to get the Devils where they need to be. With that being said I have to say we’re built to win right now, but we’re going to continue to build this the right way which is through the draft. I’m a big believer in drafting well and paying attention at all rounds not just round 1, round 7 is just as important. While we’re competing and we could very well be one of the favorites to win it all this upcoming year, I’m not going to sell the future, for a year or two.
AS: Have you talked to Jon (Cooper) about how you want your team to play?
NB: I have talked to Jon, but I also know my role, we’ll talk about key decisions about trades, free agency and trying to continue to build a roster based on what he wants to coach an for us to be successful. Jon has completed say on how to do lines, etc. My job is to bring in the talent and that’s what I plan on doing,
AS: Any type of moves you are planning on making?
NB: I’m going to take some time and get myself familiar with the team and have a more of a one on one with Jon (Cooper), and see where he believes our weaknesses are and we’ll go from there. Right now I do think we’re pretty close, are team is very skilled, and we do have some big names, along with some really good future pieces to build with, a lot of teams are envious of our current situation, and my promise to the fans is we’re going to be working tirelessly on getting the team to being hoisting the cup in June.
AS: Since you come from a scouting background, who are some the exciting players on the prospect list you’ve really taken to?
NB: There is quite a few guys on our list that we like a lot, I’m familiar with Bode (Wilde), he has a ton of potential and can see him becoming a really good offensive defenseman in the HFNHL. Arthur (Kaliyev) is really a great talent his shot is very scary, his knock was his skating, but I think its HFNHL level where he can still come a deadly player for us down the road. We also have that Russian phenom in Kirill Kaprizov which fans have really caught onto, he’s not really a secret anymore, and will probably be coming over during the season we feel and he could be that next superstar type player think of Artemi Panarin type game changer. We have quite a few other big-time players to Matt Boldy, Zac Jones, Ryan Johnson, and Ruslan Ishakov. Our future is really bright, and that’s why we don’t really want to limit our window of going out and trading some of these high end assets for a one or two year window.
AS: Lets change gears and lets look at your roster right now, how do you feel about your goalie tandem in Ben Bishop and Mikhail Berdin
NB: Ben (Bishop) is arguably a top five goalie in the league, he’s a workhorse so starter wise we feel really good, you can’t get much better than Ben. He has some ability to steal some games, and with this being a contract year for him he’ll be even better and his motivation will be high. As for Mikhail he is very competitive and aminated which is great, and gives the fans something to cheer for, but he’s very young still being 22, and with goalies developing later traditionally speaking, we feel like he might be better starting in Binghamton and develop and get more of a veteran goalie in, we’ll have our development camp coming up here in a few weeks and we’ll figure out where we stand a little bit more when it comes to Mikhail, he could very well be competing for that roster spot.
AS: Defensively you have a solid top four right now with PK Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield, but the bottom two is going to be some competition, are you going to be looking to go out of the system or staying inside the organization you think?
NB: I’m not sure all of those who you mentioned are going to be our top four, they’re more likely to have their roster spots, but we’ll see what happens there. It’s really good to have competition there and honestly, we haven’t decided what we plan on doing, we have some good young players like Caleb Jones, Dennis Gilbert, and Sean Durzi who could be fighting for some spots. I think Durzi would be better suited in Binghamton and more development, but we do believe Gilbert and Jones is ready to compete for the spot, and we have some veteran players who could be making a good case to make it like Justin Holl, Mark Fayne, Casey Nelson, and Markus Nutivaara. So, with all we will probably let them fight it out and see who makes it once it all shakes out after training camp. We do feel good about our defense.
AS: So right now on the Wings you’re really deep, any initial thoughts on it?
NB: We’re very top heavy with skill on the wings. Everybody knows Vlad (Tarasenko) he is a point per game player, but our future here is going to be really scary with guys like Teravainen, Konency, and Meier to be really solid building blocks for us, and imagine in a few years with those guys I talked about in Kaprizov, Boldy, and Kaliyev it can just be down right scary. Rest of our wingers this upcoming year does have a nice mix of veteran leadership which is worth their weight in gold once you get deep in the playoffs with Pominville, and Carpenter, and we might need to add some more competition for our third or fourth lines, but we’ll see what happens once we get into training camp, and rest of free agency.
AS: Center wise is your deepest position with Blake Wheeler, Brock Nelson, Phillip Danault, and Luke Johnson, any thoughts on that?
NB: I’m a big believer in building down the middle and you cant go wrong with those four, it’s a good way to build Blake (Wheeler) is a true number one center in the league and you pair up with our wings he’ll be hard to stop and shutdown our scoring, Nelson has always been an under the radar type guy who really started breaking out and being able to have him under contract for four years is a real nice signing for us. Danault was always really known to be that bottom six type center who had some two way play, but he is starting to break out as well and we feel really good about him, and he is probably the best third line center in the game, and as for Luke he is really good on the dot, but just needs to be a little more consistent which we believe he can get there for us.
AS: With you wantinh to compete for the cup, where do you envision this team for this upcoming year?
NB: I’m expecting us to be one of the better teams in the league, we’re going to be tough to stop offensively, and defensively we can be able to move the puck and shut you down, and with Bishop in net it just seems like it’s the right mix to compete, and with Jon (Cooper) getting the most out of our guys it just seems logical for us to be one of the favorites for the cup. We’re going to be an exciting team for our fans, and we want it to be fun experience for them and want them to come out to every home game and enjoy a winning product that we’re going to deliver.
AS: Our time is almost up, anything else you want to say?
NB: I’m ready to go to work and continue to improve this roster and become better at every step, I know our scouting staff is ready to get out there and start scouting some really good young players, I know Jon (Cooper) and the staff is ready to get the guys going again, and I know the players are ready to get back on the ice, and give our fans something to cheer for, and be proud to be a fan of the New Jersey Devils.
Amanda Stein (AS): So Neil, how does it feel to become a general manager of the New Jersey Devils?
Neil Burkholder (NB): Honestly, I am glad to be given a role like this with the Devils. It really is something I am proud to be part of. The ownership group is committed to building a championship winning team on and off the ice and being part of something like that is special, everybody in my role says that, but its true. We have the best fans in the league, who are loyal and vocal, and our players and staff are top notch, and being part of something like this is hard to really come by.
AS: What can you tell us about yourself? What is your background?
NB: Well I’m born and raised Michigan kid, and being part of a hockey town like Detroit, I became a huge hockey fan as a kid, and since then I was able to become a scout for the Saginaw Spirit, and kept going up the ranks to where I got hired today to get the Devils where they need to be. With that being said I have to say we’re built to win right now, but we’re going to continue to build this the right way which is through the draft. I’m a big believer in drafting well and paying attention at all rounds not just round 1, round 7 is just as important. While we’re competing and we could very well be one of the favorites to win it all this upcoming year, I’m not going to sell the future, for a year or two.
AS: Have you talked to Jon (Cooper) about how you want your team to play?
NB: I have talked to Jon, but I also know my role, we’ll talk about key decisions about trades, free agency and trying to continue to build a roster based on what he wants to coach an for us to be successful. Jon has completed say on how to do lines, etc. My job is to bring in the talent and that’s what I plan on doing,
AS: Any type of moves you are planning on making?
NB: I’m going to take some time and get myself familiar with the team and have a more of a one on one with Jon (Cooper), and see where he believes our weaknesses are and we’ll go from there. Right now I do think we’re pretty close, are team is very skilled, and we do have some big names, along with some really good future pieces to build with, a lot of teams are envious of our current situation, and my promise to the fans is we’re going to be working tirelessly on getting the team to being hoisting the cup in June.
AS: Since you come from a scouting background, who are some the exciting players on the prospect list you’ve really taken to?
NB: There is quite a few guys on our list that we like a lot, I’m familiar with Bode (Wilde), he has a ton of potential and can see him becoming a really good offensive defenseman in the HFNHL. Arthur (Kaliyev) is really a great talent his shot is very scary, his knock was his skating, but I think its HFNHL level where he can still come a deadly player for us down the road. We also have that Russian phenom in Kirill Kaprizov which fans have really caught onto, he’s not really a secret anymore, and will probably be coming over during the season we feel and he could be that next superstar type player think of Artemi Panarin type game changer. We have quite a few other big-time players to Matt Boldy, Zac Jones, Ryan Johnson, and Ruslan Ishakov. Our future is really bright, and that’s why we don’t really want to limit our window of going out and trading some of these high end assets for a one or two year window.
AS: Lets change gears and lets look at your roster right now, how do you feel about your goalie tandem in Ben Bishop and Mikhail Berdin
NB: Ben (Bishop) is arguably a top five goalie in the league, he’s a workhorse so starter wise we feel really good, you can’t get much better than Ben. He has some ability to steal some games, and with this being a contract year for him he’ll be even better and his motivation will be high. As for Mikhail he is very competitive and aminated which is great, and gives the fans something to cheer for, but he’s very young still being 22, and with goalies developing later traditionally speaking, we feel like he might be better starting in Binghamton and develop and get more of a veteran goalie in, we’ll have our development camp coming up here in a few weeks and we’ll figure out where we stand a little bit more when it comes to Mikhail, he could very well be competing for that roster spot.
AS: Defensively you have a solid top four right now with PK Subban, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield, but the bottom two is going to be some competition, are you going to be looking to go out of the system or staying inside the organization you think?
NB: I’m not sure all of those who you mentioned are going to be our top four, they’re more likely to have their roster spots, but we’ll see what happens there. It’s really good to have competition there and honestly, we haven’t decided what we plan on doing, we have some good young players like Caleb Jones, Dennis Gilbert, and Sean Durzi who could be fighting for some spots. I think Durzi would be better suited in Binghamton and more development, but we do believe Gilbert and Jones is ready to compete for the spot, and we have some veteran players who could be making a good case to make it like Justin Holl, Mark Fayne, Casey Nelson, and Markus Nutivaara. So, with all we will probably let them fight it out and see who makes it once it all shakes out after training camp. We do feel good about our defense.
AS: So right now on the Wings you’re really deep, any initial thoughts on it?
NB: We’re very top heavy with skill on the wings. Everybody knows Vlad (Tarasenko) he is a point per game player, but our future here is going to be really scary with guys like Teravainen, Konency, and Meier to be really solid building blocks for us, and imagine in a few years with those guys I talked about in Kaprizov, Boldy, and Kaliyev it can just be down right scary. Rest of our wingers this upcoming year does have a nice mix of veteran leadership which is worth their weight in gold once you get deep in the playoffs with Pominville, and Carpenter, and we might need to add some more competition for our third or fourth lines, but we’ll see what happens once we get into training camp, and rest of free agency.
AS: Center wise is your deepest position with Blake Wheeler, Brock Nelson, Phillip Danault, and Luke Johnson, any thoughts on that?
NB: I’m a big believer in building down the middle and you cant go wrong with those four, it’s a good way to build Blake (Wheeler) is a true number one center in the league and you pair up with our wings he’ll be hard to stop and shutdown our scoring, Nelson has always been an under the radar type guy who really started breaking out and being able to have him under contract for four years is a real nice signing for us. Danault was always really known to be that bottom six type center who had some two way play, but he is starting to break out as well and we feel really good about him, and he is probably the best third line center in the game, and as for Luke he is really good on the dot, but just needs to be a little more consistent which we believe he can get there for us.
AS: With you wantinh to compete for the cup, where do you envision this team for this upcoming year?
NB: I’m expecting us to be one of the better teams in the league, we’re going to be tough to stop offensively, and defensively we can be able to move the puck and shut you down, and with Bishop in net it just seems like it’s the right mix to compete, and with Jon (Cooper) getting the most out of our guys it just seems logical for us to be one of the favorites for the cup. We’re going to be an exciting team for our fans, and we want it to be fun experience for them and want them to come out to every home game and enjoy a winning product that we’re going to deliver.
AS: Our time is almost up, anything else you want to say?
NB: I’m ready to go to work and continue to improve this roster and become better at every step, I know our scouting staff is ready to get out there and start scouting some really good young players, I know Jon (Cooper) and the staff is ready to get the guys going again, and I know the players are ready to get back on the ice, and give our fans something to cheer for, and be proud to be a fan of the New Jersey Devils.
