The New Jersey Devils have recalled forward Brian Halonen from the Utica Comets of the AHL. The timing of Halonen’s recall could be an indication that Devils forwards Kurtis MacDermid or Curtis Lazar may not be available tonight when the Devils face the Toronto Maple Leafs, however, both players were on the ice with the team for their morning skate today and Lazar is likely to play. Devils’ reporter Amanda Stein also tweeted that Halonen’s callup could be insurance at forward in case a forward can’t go tonight.
Halonen has seen NHL action already this season as the Delano, Minnesota native made his NHL debut on February 25th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 25-year-old registered a single shot in just under 10 minutes of ice time and was able to force a takeaway. He didn’t look out of place on the NHL ice; however, the Devils sheltered his minutes and gave him the bulk of his zone starts in the offensive zone.
Halonen was an undrafted free agent signing out of Michigan Tech and has developed into a reliable scorer at the AHL level in his third season of professional hockey. He’s dressed in 30 games this season for Utica and posted a career-high 16 goals and eight assists.