Cory Schneider talks about bouncing back, Jack Hughes
It's been a rough couple of seasons for New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider. After struggling early with the Devils and clearing waivers, he had to report to the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. However, he did well in Binghamton, and appeared to be hitting his stride just as the coronavirus put the season on hold. On Saturday, TSN released an interview by Mark Masters, where Schneider talked about his own performance, Jack Hughes and Mackenzie Blackwood's fine season.
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On his own performance in the final four games, where he went 3-0-1 and posted a .951 save percentage, Schneider said:
"I was feeling real good. It was only four games, but it was exciting for me to come back and play well. I wish it happened sooner in the season and I was able to get on a roll and make the season a better one overall for myself, but it's nice to come in and prove you can still play.” He continued. “Towards the end I felt more like myself and hopefully that's what I can carry on whenever we start up again."
The 34-year-old netminder spent some time this year living with the first overall pick Jack Hughes, and was impressed with the teenager's maturity:
“We had him here at the house for a few months at the start of the season just to get him acclimated and used to the lifestyle and we spent some good time together. He's definitely mature in certain ways like the way he carries himself and the way he acts in the locker room. He gets it and between his family – brothers, father and mother – they've obviously done a great job teaching him what this takes and how to be, because it's a unique situation.” Schneider went on to also praise the compete level of Hughes:
"He's got all the talent in the world. He's incredibly skilled, smart and works hard. He wants to be the best.”
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One of the Devils' happiest surprises this year was the young netminder Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood finished the season before the break with a .915 save percentage in 47 games, and the former second round pick showed glimpses of brilliance, especially towards the end of the season.
"He's got all the tools. It's just incredible. You see him as a person and you're just like, 'This guy is big, he's strong, he's fast, one of the most explosive guys I've ever seen'.” Schneider said, and continued to praise Blackwood's potential.
“He struggled early just like we all did and then to see him hit his stride and take over, he played incredibly well. Sometimes it's trial by fire for young goalies and some guys succeed and some guys don't and he seems to be on his way to being a good goalie for a long time. I think the sky's the limit for him."
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With the Devils out of playoff contention, unless something dramatically changes in the next few days, it's likely we won't get to see Schneider or his teammates play for quite some time. When next season starts though, if both goalies pick up where they left off, it's possible that New Jersey's most questionable position for the last few seasons suddenly could be filled by two of the league's best.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 16, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jack Quinn | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zach Metsa | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Arber Xhekaj | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Bowen Byram | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||