It doesn’t seem that long ago that Dawson Mercer skated onto the ice for his NHL and New Jersey Devils debut.
It was a Thursday in October 2021 and a perfect 66-degree autumn night outside the confines of Prudential Center.
From that night when Mercer jumped over the boards for his first NHL shift, he never looked back.
The 23-year-old has now appeared in 267 consecutive NHL games, and on Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, passed Aaron Broten (266 GP) for seventh all-time in franchise history.
The all-time list for most consecutive games played is now: Mercer (267 GP), Jay Pandolfo (307 GP), Kirk Muller (321 GP), Sergei Brylin (328 GP), Andy Greene (350 GP), Ken Daneyko (388 GP), and Travis Zajac (401 GP).
The versatile forward has accumulated 142 points, including 69 goals. He has finished each of his first three NHL seasons with at least 30 points.
His head coach, Sheldon Keefe, has praised him for his defensive play this season. Along with Nico Hischier, Mercer has been utilized as one of the team’s top penalty killers among forwards.
“(Mercer) has done a tremendous job on the penalty kill,” Keefe said. “A really, really good job on the penalty kill. It has been very impressive.”
Offensively, Mercer has contributed 11 points (five goals, six assists) through the first 21 games of 2024-25.
In addition to franchise history, Mercer’s 267 consecutive games are the eighth-longest active streak in the league.
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