Devils Have a Secret Weapon in Daniel Sprong

Just before the trade deadline, the Devils acquired Daniel Sprong from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a 2026 7th round pick. He was playing for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) at the time, for one specific reason only: he was largely considered a defensive liability. 

Over the past few seasons, when he’s been in the NHL, he’s played almost exclusively against other team’s fourth lines due to these defensive woes. But there’s a scoring talent that’s undeniable: from 2022-23 through 2023-24, his even strength points-per-60 (5v5 P/60) is 2.69 – 11th out of 582 forwards with over 1,000 minutes of ice time. It’s a hundredth of a point behind Sidney Crosby and Matthew Tkachuk, and more than guys like Artemi Panarin, Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, Leon Draisaitl and Tage Thompson. (via Natural Stat Trick)

In his previous two seasons, he scored 46 and 43 points, despite limited ice time. That type of production would put him in the top-five among Devils forwards this season. In his 19 game AHL stint, he had 11 goals and 25 points – clearly head and shoulders above the rest on most nights. 

General manager Tom Fitzgerald told The Hockey Writers, “We’ve seen his play in the past, (scoring) goals and using his speed, especially when Washington versus us, and thought, ‘You know what? This is a low risk move, with high return.’”

Since coming to the Devils, Keefe made it clear that Sprong would have to work harder on the defensive end to garner opportunities. And so far, he has. His 2.05 goals against per 60 (GA/60) is over 15% better than his previous mark, and it’s not a fluke from a small sample size: his “expected” goals against is even lower than that, at 1.88.

As the Devils have adjusted to figuring out how to deploy Sprong, he’s seemingly earned more and more trust. Since he wasn’t getting much ice time at first, the counting stats don’t look great: just two points in 11 games. But his ice time has slowly increased from ~9-12 minutes per game to ~15…and he notched both of his points in the last four games as a result. There’s been a clear uptick in intensity and commitment to the defensive side of the puck. Thus, THW asked Keefe if he thought the paper results weren’t as indicative of how Sprong was playing.

Keefe responded, “That’s a really good observation and question. I think he’s been good…I thought he’s been really strong with the puck. The puck finds him, it seems to get on his stick quite a bit, and you like that. The skill set and the history that he has of scoring in the league tells you that he will score. I think right now, this is a guy that’s coming back up to the NHL from the AHL, and he’s trying to give himself every opportunity to show he belongs. I think defensively, he’s been tremendous. I’ve been encouraging him to let loose a little bit more offensively. That’s part of why I’ve got him in (the lineup), is I need him to be a difference maker offensively. But I like that he hasn’t hurt us defensively. He’s done a really nice job.”

Sprong had 12 points in 20 career games against the Devils. He’s typically someone who scores in bunches, and it’s clear that along with his ice time, his confidence has grown game by game. Nothing is a guarantee, but based on his skillset and improved confidence, he has the opportunity to break out at the right time. Prior to leaving for Carolina, Keefe had Sprong practicing on the third line with Paul Cotter and Cody Glass, as well getting PP2 reps.