After more than a 10 month layoff, the Binghamton Devils returned to the ice today.

The Devs began training camp at their home for the 2021 season at the New Jersey Devils Newark practice facility. After an extended break following their 2019-2020 season being cut short, Binghamton Devils 3rd year head coach Mark Dennehy says there is a little more excitement with this first day of camp. 

"I don’t have a lot of traditions or superstitions but I do like the quote of the day, and every year when we start it’s the same quote," says Dennehy. "Every thousand mile journey starts with a single step, and that’s what today was. Although it feels like over the last 10 months we’ve all been on a very long journey. I would say that’s probably the end of one journey and we started another one today.” 

The Devils 23 man roster for training camp features a number of new faces including right winger Tyler Irvine. Irvine got to play a couple years under Dennehy while he was still the coach at Merrimack College. Along with it being his first year as a pro, Irvine says adjusting to the COVID-19 protocols has been a challenge which includes daily testing. 

 

"There’s so many protocols but I think the biggest change is the masks,” says Irvine. “You always have to have them on, the only time you can have them off is the ice, so there are a lot of protocols there. Other than that, hockey is hockey, just got to play hard on the ice.” 

The B-Devs will kick off their season Friday February 5th in Newark against the Hershey Bears.