Arseni Gritsyuk is adjusting to life in New Jersey, but he doesn’t have to do it alone.
This offseason, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald signed two new additions to the team: Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov. Both veteran forwards are expected to play key roles on the roster, but for Dadonov, his impact could be especially important heading into the 2025-26 season.
Dadonov has been part of the NHL since 2009. At that time, Gritsyuk was just nine years old.
After 11 seasons in the league, the Devils brought Dadonov in for the upcoming campaign. Born in Russia in 1989, Dadonov was drafted 71st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers.
He spent six seasons with Florida before stints with the Ottawa Senators (2020–21), Vegas Golden Knights (2021–22), Montreal Canadiens (2022–23), and Dallas Stars, where he played the past three years.
While the right winger has put up solid numbers, 361 points in 617 games, he was brought to New Jersey for more than just scoring.
Mentorship.
The Devils selected Arseni Gritsyuk in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, he has developed in the Kontinental Hockey League before officially making the jump to North America this summer. Now, he’s preparing for his first NHL training camp with New Jersey.
Excitement has surrounded his arrival, but the adjustment is significant. Moving from Russia, where he was born and raised, to North America, where his career will continue, is no small transition.
Luckily, he has support.
After a 13-and-a-half-hour trip to New Jersey, Gritsyuk told NHL.com that he met up with Dadonov soon after arriving.
He’s also leaning on assistant coach Sergei Brylin, another Russian-born Devil. Drafted in 1992, Brylin played his entire career in New Jersey and now serves behind the bench. He’s already helped Gritsyuk settle in, giving him a tour of team facilities and providing a familiar presence in his native language.
Although Gritsyuk learned English in preparation for his NHL move, he acknowledged how helpful it is to have Russian speakers around as he adapts on and off the ice.
“It’s important,” Gritsyuk told NHL.com. “If I didn’t have them, it would be a little bit harder for me.”
One of his biggest challenges so far? Learning his teammates’ names.
“In Russia, you go in a room and everyone’s name is Sergei, Maxim, Anton,” he joked. “Here it’s Jake, Bobby, Scott, Markstrom, Marky. It’s a little bit different.”
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