New Jersey Devils: Adam Henrique Will Make Devils Forget About Losing Parise

The offseason brought ups and downs for Devils fans. While three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Martin Brodeur was re-signed for two years, the New Jersey team lost their captain and leader in forward Zach Parise when he decided to sign with the Minnesota Wild. The loss is huge, but when Henrique takes the ice this season, fans will be lining up to see what the 22-year-old is capable of.

Henrique had three game-winning goals for the New Jersey Devils this past postseason, the most for any NHL player in the playoffs. He also finished the season with 16 goals, 35 assists and 51 points in 74 games. Even though Parise did exponentially better in scoring during the 2011-12 season with 31 goals, he also played in eight more games than Henrique. 

Henrique is younger than Parise and has some serious potential going into this season. Last season, Henrique had four short-handed goals, while Parise only had two. This shows that Henrique is aggressive, quick and likes to shoot on net, even when his team is on the defense. 

With Patrik Elias getting older, Adam Henrique will have to play more at center in order to find his feel in the NHL. Henrique was picked 82nd overall in the 2008 NHL draft, but this past season was his standout year as the Devils center. He played one game for the Devils with no points in 2010-2011, but the Canadian native left shortly after to play for the Albany Devils. That season, Henrique finished with 25 goals, five of which were game-winners.

Henrique is the type of player that wants to do everything humanly possible when it comes to supporting his team. He's young, but still shows aspects of being a team leader. If Henrique steps it up during the 2012-13 season, fans will slowly but surely get over the fact that Parise is gone for good.