Rod Pelley

Rod Pelley (born September 1, 1984) is a Canadian ice hockey centre. He currently plays for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). After his collegiate career, Pelley signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils, and was with the organization from 2006–2011. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on December 12, 2011. He signed a one-year contract to return to the Devils on July 9, 2013.

Playing career

Pelley was born in Kitimat, BC, Canada, where he attended St. Anthony's Elementary School and Mount Elizabeth Secondary School. At the age of 16, Pelley moved on to play hockey in the BCHL, first with the Prince George Spruce Kings, finishing his BCHL career with the Vernon Vipers. He then went on to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey on an athletic scholarship for the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University. Pelley graduated with a degree in Sports Management in 2006.

After his collegiate career, Pelley signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils. He scored his first NHL goal on November 8, 2007 against Martin Biron of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Albany Devils

The Albany Devils are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The top AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils, the team has as its home the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. This is the second time the New Jersey Devils have been affiliated with an Albany-based AHL team; from 1993 to 2006, the Devils used the Albany River Rats as their top minor league team. Unlike the River Rats, the Devils own their Albany affiliate outright.

The current Albany franchise was originally located in Lowell, Massachusetts from its founding in 1998. It took on the Devils name when the franchise purchased the then-Lowell Lock Monsters in 2006 and retained it when the parent club moved them to Albany in 2010.

History

On February 10, 2010, Albany River Rats owner Walter Robb sold his team to Michael Kahn. It was then announced that the River Rats would begin playing the 2010–11 season as the Charlotte Checkers. Robb, however, as well as members of the River Rats and Times Union Center's front office, had already begun looking for an American Hockey League team to replace the River Rats.

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, that competes in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team is a member of the league's Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kansas City Scouts in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1974. The Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado in 1976 and became the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1982 and took their current name. For their first 25 seasons in New Jersey, the Devils were based at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford and played their home games at Brendan Byrne Arena (later renamed to Continental Airlines Arena). Beginning with the 2007–08 season, the Devils relocated to Newark and now play their home games at the Prudential Center.

The franchise was poor to mediocre in the eight years before moving to New Jersey, a pattern that continued during the first five years in New Jersey as they failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs and never finished higher than fifth in their division. Their fortunes began to turn around following the hiring of president and general manager Lou Lamoriello in 1987. Under Lamoriello's stewardship, the Devils made the playoffs all but three times between 1988 and 2012, including 13 berths in a row from 1997 to 2010, and finished with a winning record every season from 1992–93 to 2009–10. They have won the Atlantic Division regular season title nine times, most recently in 2009–10, before transferring to the newly created Metropolitan Division as part of the NHL's realignment in 2013. The Devils have reached the Stanley Cup Finals five times, winning in 1994–95, 1999–00 and 2002–03. The Devils were known for their defense-first approach throughout their years of Cup contention, but have since moved towards a more offensive style.

Jersey Devils

The Jersey Devils was the name of a professional ice hockey team from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The Devils were formed when the Philadelphia Ramblers, a member of the Eastern Hockey League, relocated to Cherry Hill at the end of the 1963-64 season. The Devils played in the Cherry Hill Arena until 1973, when the team folded along with the Eastern Hockey League (EHL).

The Devils had several notable players (below) and also won the highest scoring game in EHL history, a 16–15 over the Syracuse Blazers on February 24, 1968 at the Cherry Hill Arena before 4,583 fans.

The EHL split into two fairly short-lived leagues. The Northern teams became the North American Hockey League while the Southern teams became the Southern Hockey League, however the Devils (who had been the southernmost franchise in the Northern Division of the EHL) did not join either.

Notable players and coaches

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state, but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia and is the second-wealthiest U.S. state by median household income as of 2014.

New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, with historical tribes such as the Lenape along the coast. In the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. The English later seized control of the region, naming it the Province of New Jersey after the largest of the Channel Islands, Jersey, and granting it as a colony to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. New Jersey was the site of several decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century.