Devils prospect Michael Vukojevic turning heads in first pro season | Sports

NEWARK — It was towards the tail end of a recent conversation with Binghamton Devils defenseman Michael Vukojevic where he said something that perhaps indicated just how far the 19-year-old first-year pro has come in a short time this season.

“Once you change your mindset, you can do anything.”

Fresh off of signing his entry-level contract with the parent New Jersey Devils, who selected the six-foot, 212-pounder in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Vukojevic has found that simplifying his game can pay big dividends at the pro level.

“In juniors, you can kind of get away with things when you’re one of the older, stronger players,” he said in a recent Zoom session with media members.

“But, coming here, you’ve really got to keep it simple and make your life as easy you can. Just make the simple plays, and things will work out for you. I think that’s really where my game has improved, just simplifying it and just trying to do my job, do it well and get on to the next shift.”

It can, says B-Devils head coach Mark Dennehy, be a difficult part of the transition for a player coming out of juniors — Vukojevic has honed his craft for the last three years with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers — but his prized D prospect has handled the process relatively smoothly.

“So, going from someone who wants the NHL to watch them and look them and to stand out to someone who’s trying to make it in the NHL, you’re almost asked to two different things,” Dennehy said.

“In order to get drafted or scouted or recruited, you need to stand out. Often times, the best game a defenseman plays, you don’t even notice them. So, you go from playing in juniors and trying to get recognized, and a lot of that comes to rushing the puck or scoring goals or getting points to the NHL, where you’re just trying to do your job and play situations, break pucks out. Because of that, often times younger players really have to simplify their games.

“I think a bigger part is teaching them how to deal with adversity or failure, so to speak. It is an adjustment going from junior hockey to the American Hockey League, and so they’re going to struggle at times. And that’s OK, as long as they’re working hard and learning from those mistakes. So, that’s really been the message here from (GM Tom Fitzgerald) from day one, is draft and develop. A big part in development is learning from your mistakes. A lot of times, these guys, all they get is positive feedback all the way up in their careers, and all of a sudden they’re struggling a little bit. How do you deal with that? We’ve got the resources here — whether it’s Aimie Kimball, our sports psychologist, to our positional coaches or our development coaches — to help these guys grow from their struggles.”

Vukojevic is part of an extremely young D core in Binghamton — four of its six blueliners in Friday night’s 3-2 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were first-year pros that were 21 or under — but he seems to have made the transition better than most. He says that getting used to the speed of the game is the biggest part of it all, not to mention playing against veterans that older, faster and stronger, but he’s relied on the veterans the team does have to help get him through it all.

“It’s a big jump,” Vukojevic said. “In juniors, the last couple of years, you’re one of the older guys. Coming here, I’m a younger guy with a lot of older players; some guys with families, so they’re a lot older and stronger and there’s a lot of experience. So, it’s really just trying to keep it simple. I’m leaning on the vets in our locker room for advice and trying to really learn the waters as they take me under their wing. It’s really been a smooth transition with their help.”

Vukojevic came into Saturday night’s rematch in Lehigh Valley with one goal, five assists, ten penalty minutes and a minus-3 plus/minus rating in his first ten games, and is just as excited to see where his own development takes him as the Devils fanbase is to see what he ends up becoming.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “Playing pro hockey at 19 years old, there’s not many complaints.”