Pelley Set To Fill John Madden's Role:

This is in the New Jersey Star Ledger Newspaper:

by Matt Gelb

Thursday July 16, 2009

Rod Pelley hoping to live up to comparisons to former NJ Devils center John Madden:

When the Devils let John Madden walk as a free agent, they had Rod Pelley in mind.

"We have to make room for Rod Pelley and a couple of others," general manager Lou Lamoriello said on July 1.

High praise for someone who has played all of 67 NHL games, considering Madden's celebrated 10-year career with the Devils. Whether or not Lamoriello intentionally wanted to send Pelley a message, it worked.

"To come out public like that, there's a lot of confidence," Pelley said. "You're basically telling the player, 'You better be ready. This is your opportunity. It's in your hands now.' That's basically how I interpret that. That's what I'll be ready in September for."

This week, the 24-year-old Pelley is the resident veteran at the Devils rookie camp at the Prudential Center practice facilities. He is expected to fill the role of defensive forward that Madden, who signed with the Blackhawks, excelled in for so long.

Pelley said he doesn't like comparing himself to Madden, simply because he hasn't accomplished what Madden has. But there are similarities in the way both forwards play defensively. Both are listed at 5-11, while Pelley is five pounds heavier at 195.

"Just even being mentioned, his name in the same sentence as mine, that's pretty humbling for myself," Pelley said.

Pelley is fully aware of the opportunity the Devils will award him in training camp. He would have preferred the chance come a year earlier, but the time he spent in the minors last season might have been for the better, he said.

In the first season of a two-year, $1.1 million contract, Pelley played in 75 games for Lowell, the Devils' AHL affiliate, and had 15 goals and 23 assists for a professional career-high 38 points. The assignment gave him a chance to polish the little things missing from his game.

"It helped me a lot," Pelley said. "I played a lot of hockey in all different situations."

While Pelley called Lamoriello's anointing "humbling," he has since moved past the surprise phase. Beginning with this week's rookie camp, it's time to start living up to it.

"It's definitely an opportunity," Pelley said. "It's up to myself to take advantage of it."

Rod Pelley played in the BCHL with the Prince George Spruce Kings during the 2000-01 season before being traded to the Vernon Vipers during the 2001-02 season. Pelley then went on to play the next four years at Ohio State University.