New Jersey Devils Continue Holiday Tradition, Visit 10 RWJBarnabas Health Facilities

New Jersey Devils players, alumni and the team’s mascot, NJ Devil, visited 10 RWJBarnabas Health facilities throughout the state on Tuesday afternoon to bring smiles to patients’ faces at each location during a time of need. The annual tradition was started in 1982, the year the Devils arrived in New Jersey.

“It’s important for us to continue this tradition of spreading the holiday cheer at a location where these families need it the most,” said Jeff Scott, Vice President of Community Investment for the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center. “This is a time where individuals should be spending quality time with their families and they’re stuck in a hospital going through some difficult moments.”

This is one of the initiatives that Scott, who is in his first full year with the Devils organization is most proud of.

“We’re in the entertainment business and we want to see people happy, excited and smiling,” explained Scott. “To just see the players in their jerseys and know that they’re there to bring happiness to (the patients), they automatically become fans, even if they’re not interested in the sport,” added Scott, who explained that the Devils also gave the families tickets to a future game at the Prudential Center through their Newark 350 initiative. “They see our commitment to wanting to provide a nice experience for them.”

Devils players and alumni visited the following RWJBarnabas locations:

Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (Newark)

Travis Zajac, Ben Lovejoy, Adam Henrique, Devante Smith-Pelly, Taylor Hall, Vern Fiddler, Kyle Quincey, P.A. Parenteau

Saint Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston)

Andy Greene, Michael Cammalleri, Cory Schneider

Clara Maass Medical Center (Belleville)

Sergey Kalinin, Jon Merrill, Keith Kinkaid, Kyle Palmieri

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital / PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital (New Brunswick)

Miles Wood, Nick Lappin, Yohann Auvitu, Pavel Zacha, Damon Severson

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway (Rahway)

John Moore, Jacob Josefson, Beau Bennett

Community Medical Center (Toms River)

Ken Daneyko

The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch)

Grant Marshall

Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (Lakewood)

Grant Marshall

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (Somerville)

Bruce Driver

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (Hamilton)

NJ Devil (Team Mascot)

“This initiative will continue to be a priority for us for the next twenty-something years and beyond,” Scott suggested.