After a seven and a half hour flight from Newark, the New Jersey Devils touched down in Prague on Monday morning in the lead-up to the Global Series between the Devils and Buffalo Sabres kicking off the new NHL regular season.

Straight off the plane, the team headed right to the rink to try and shake off some of the impending jet lag.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe had two options on what he was going to ask of his team upon arriving in Prague, gageing the feel of his team before making the final determination.

“I had kind of two plans I was going to go with based on the mood and the vibe of the team and overall energy level,” Keefe said. “It felt like we could get some stuff done today, so that was positive.”

“I do sense excitement,” he added. “It was evident on the ice today at a time when you know no one would have been upset or questioned them if the energy was low and the pace was slow in practice, but they worked today. They skated. We felt the energy and the vibe before practice were enough to make it to a point where we could have a meeting and go through some things.

Check out the notebook for the latest info, updates, interviews, videos and more from the practice session!

The Homecoming

While Ondrej Palat isn’t exactly from Prague itself – he grew up three and a half hours away in Frýdek-Místek – Palat is the only Czech player amongst both rosters playing this coming weekend.

“he summer, I spend a little time here,” he said. “So I’m familiar with Prague. I love Prague. Today and tomorrow we’ll have some dinners together and have some fun.”

“I think it’s a great opportunity for European players to play in front of their families and friends and we’re very happy the event is happening here in Czech for us,” Tomas Tatar, who is from neighboring Slovakia added. “For people here in Czechia they love hockey, so this is a great event. I’m very happy to be a part of it.”

While Palat says he hopes his team has a lot of fun – and he’ll certainly be playing tour guide – this is, at it’s core, a work trip and an opportunity to get off to a great start to the season.

“We have some new faces on our team; it will be great to get to know each other a little bit better,” Palat said. “And we have that time and that opportunity now this week. We are going to have some fun, but also, it’s a business trip, and we need to start well this season.”

Welcome home, Pally. #NJDevils | #NHLGlobalSeries | @Prudential | @NHL pic.twitter.com/VgreBZn4ye

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) September 30, 2024

The Practice

Right from the plane to the arena went the team. No stop at the hotel in between.

It was all part of a plan that Sheldon Keefe had put together to get his team in the best possible position to adapt to the time change and new schedule. As a coach who puts so much thought into every decision he makes, it’s also something he’s been working on and thinking about since the summer.

“I polled some of the guys in the summer, especially our European guys who are used to doing this flight frequently to come home. It made sense to (practice),” he said. “But it is a long day, guys are tired, we haven’t even been to the hotel yet. We’ve come basically right from Newark to (the arena).”

One of those players may have been Tatar, who was more than happy – even though he was tired – to hit the ice right off the plane.

“Personally I felt awful after that flight,” he said. “I was so excited that we had a practice because I honestly feel so much better now. Otherwise you’d just be hanging around.”

And when the guys did hit the ice? Keefe was thrilled with what he saw from his group, who he knew were very tired from the overnight travel.

“Didn’t know what to expect in the practice, quite honestly. And I was being mindful of the fact that guys would be tired, but I was thrilled with what we got from them today. Guys skated, they worked, we had good energy. If anything, that shows the excitment the guys have, to be able to push through any sort of fatigue and just got out and have some fun and get some work in.”

No changes for #NJDevils for the first practice in Czechia.

Same as yesterday before leaving… just no Pesce on the trip. pic.twitter.com/4oKpR2CdoP

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) September 30, 2024