How The ECHL 'Leveled Out' New Jersey Devils Goaltender Scott Wedgewood
How The ECHL 'Leveled Out' New Jersey Devils Goaltender Scott Wedgewood
FloHockey caught up with New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood to talk about how the ECHL prepared him for the world's biggest hockey stage.
It would have been easy for Scott Wedgewood to put his season in the ECHL in the rear-view mirror for good.
The current New Jersey Devils goaltender ā heās the de facto starter now with fellow league alum Mackenzie Blackwood sidelined on the National Hockey Leagueās COVID-19 protocol list ā spent the majority of his first professional season with the Trenton Titans back in 2012-13, which was their final year of existence.
He came to the capital city with much fanfare both as a former standout for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships and as a third-round pick of the Devils, but endured an up-and-down season in which he posted a .900 save percentage and 3.22 goals-against average for a perpetually-doomed franchise that iced a whopping 57 different players for at least one game.
It was a year most would like to forget ā both on and off the ice given the constant speculation about the future of the Titans at the time.
But now a ninth-year pro, the 28-year-old instead credits that time as having helped him learn the ropes of the pro ranks on the fly as he eventually climbed the ladder to the NHL.
āHonestly, I think it just leveled me out,ā Wedgewood said in a recent interview.
āI was talking with my agent about the situations that were going on; just coming from the OHL and going to pro hockey the first year, I didnāt know what was right or what was wrong, and I just wanted to keep my head down, do my job and theyāll find a way to get you where you need to go. Iāve never been one to voice my opinion and complain, and really kind of step up and say, āThis is annoying, Iām leaving,ā or just be a complainer. And that first year, it was (realizing) that weāre playing pro hockey, these are the circumstances and this is what weāre going to go through. Thereās nowhere to go but up, I guess when you look back on it.ā
Up he went. Wedgewood only returned to the ECHL for a one-game rehab stint with the Adirondack Thunder during the 2015-16 season, which was the same year he made his NHL debut with New Jersey. Now a veteran of 254 pro games, including his season debut for the Devils in his return to their organization in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday night, he hasnāt forgotten where it all started.
āI got a lot of different experiences in one year, from age gaps, to the way guys lived their lives, to what guys did with money, to what the team situation was and how limited resources were,ā Wedgewood said of his time in Trenton.
āYou just kind of look back on it, and now just being in the NHL and having been through different arenas and organizations and seeing how things operate on different scales, you kind of almost look back and wonder how it would all fly now with how Twitter is and how the world is run. It wouldnāt last very long. But, at the same time, I got to play a lot of hockey and faced a lot of shots and met some good friends.ā
Despite a fourth straight season of the Trenton franchise missing the postseason to end their run in the league, the core group was a relatively close-knit one. Wedgewood rattled off Alex Carrier, Connor Goggin, Stephen Schultz, and Tyler Hostetter as those from that team heās remained close with, and says those friendships are part of why heās grateful for his time in New Jerseyās capital city.
As the saying goes there, āTrenton makes, the World takes,ā and thatās true of Wedgewood. Since his time with the Titans, and in addition to his two NHL stints with the Devils organization, heās appeared in 20 games for the Arizona Coyotes at the gameās highest level, and was the Tampa Bay Lightningās third goaltender in last yearās ābubbleā setup, playing a key role in practices and in doing the extra work that ultimately helped them win the Stanley Cup.
Always a well-respected teammate wherever heās been, Wedgewood was welcomed to hoist the gameās ultimate prize over his head with the rest of the team when it was all said and done, creating an experience heāll never forget.
āThe nicest thing about it, but I think what I felt when I picked it up was just a feeling of, āI did it,āā he said.
āAs small as those words seem, when youāre 10 years old or 15 years old and youāre playing in different leagues or on different teams, and youāre just kind of watching hockey and thinking about it, you play that picture in your mind so many times. If youāre playing road hockey or video games, every time youāre winning, youāve got that fake little trophy you made at home . . . or even just sitting in your bed at night, youāve played it through your mind so many times that it almost took away all of the stress or tension of this being what I wanted to do. To do it was unbelievable. I havenāt had a chance to have a day with it or anything like that, but Iāll eventually get that. To be able to stand there with my parents and pick it up ā itās their dream, itās my brotherās dream, itās everybodyās dream in the family ā itās something thatās given us so many good memories, and a lifetime of stories. Just all of those things that hockey has given us, to be able to stand there with the family, pick it up and take a picture, itāll be so worth it for everybody. You canāt help but smile and feel like it was all worth it.ā
Mike Ashmore has 17 years of experience covering professional and college sports. You can follow him on all social media channels at @mashmore98.