For the second consecutive week, the Adirondack Thunder added a new face to the roster, signing forward Nick DeVito for the upcoming season. He’s the sixth free agent acquisition to join the team in Glens Falls heading into next season.
In his weekly Facebook Live, Thunder bench boss Alex Loh mentioned how much the hometown effect has on a player. “When you think about that kind of thing, it goes a long way,” he said. “Whenever you have that kind of opportunity to play for your hometown team, it adds a bit of motivation to your game.”
Former Railer Joins The Thunder
The Averill Hill native makes his way to Adirondack having spent 2019-20 with the Worcester Railers. He signed his first professional contract after spending four seasons skating at Morrisville State College. During his four collegiate seasons, the American hit the ice in 100 games, scoring 36 goals, while adding 57 assists.
Making the jump to central Massachusetts, he played three games with the Railers, where he tallied an assist. The signing of DeVito continues the trend of Adirondack acquiring local faces from Glens Falls and surrounding regions. As of the time of writing, the Thunder now own the rights to eight forwards. With that being said, I expect DeVito to be a third-line forward to start the year, but someone who could find their way to second line if he performs well.
DeVito doesn’t bring much in size to the hockey club, as he only stands at five-foot-nine. The right-handed shooter did have back-to-back 12 goal seasons as a freshman and sophomore, so I expect him to put up at least 20 goals if he’s able to solidify himself into the Thunder formation.