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Frazee aims for backup spot

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Updated Jul 17, 2009 10:30 PM ET
     
 
Jeff Frazee spent all of last summer training in New Jersey. He got away from home in Minnesota, where the stain of the worst Hockey season of his career remained. It worked so well that Frazee, the Devils' top goalie prospect, won't change the plan. He is participating in this week's rookie camp at the Prudential Center. When it's over, he isn't going home, save a maybe a weekend for rest. "I did everything I needed to prepare myself last summer," Frazee said. And after an all-star season in the AHL at Lowell, this summer is another crucial one for the 22-year-old goalie. The Devils will enter the season without a clear backup to Martin Brodeur after not re-signing Kevin Weekes or Scott Clemmensen. Weekes remains a free agent and could still return. Yann Danis, who spent last season with the Islanders and went 10-17, signed a contract with the Devils and will also be in the mix. But Frazee said he believes he will have a chance to win the backup job come training camp in September. He's been following the Devils offseason moves. "I try not to read too much into it," Frazee said. "My job is to get better every day and that's my goal." He certainly improved upon a demoralizing senior season at Minnesota in 2007-08. A year after losing his starting job with the Gophers to a freshman, he posted a 28-22-6 record at Lowell with a 2.62 goals-against average. One of the differences, he says, was the time he spent last summer working with the Devils coaching staff. He worked closely with strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Vasalani off the ice. On it, he sought out goaltending coaches Chris Terreri and Jacques Caron. It all resulted in a positive first professional season. "It felt good," Frazee said. "I always knew I had the abilities. It's just me putting all the pieces to the puzzle." Frazee said this summer he'll focus on refining the small hitches that remain in his game. Terreri has made it a point to remind Frazee everyday of the small inconsistencies that linger. In these practices, it's important to be conscious of those mistakes before the heated competition in training camp begins. And with a new coach, Jacques Lemaire, first impressions will be key. "Jacques has been around for a long time and growing up in Minnesota, I've been watching his teams play," Frazee said. "It'll be exciting. It'll be something I've never experienced before." Notes: With the dearth of forwards under contract with the Devils , tough guy Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond has a shot at earning a roster spot, presumably to fill the role of Michael Rupp, who signed with Pittsburgh. "I'd like to see it as an opportunity," Letourneau-Leblond said. He played eight games for the Devils last season and 60 in Lowell, where he amassed 10 points and 216 penalty minutes. Since the beginning of last season, Letourneau-Leblond has put an emphasis on his skating, specifically his speed and ability to start and stop. "Compared to what it was, it's great," he said. "But I still have some work to do." ... The rookies did not scrimmage yesterday and just completed drills instead. Camp concludes today with a morning scrimmage.
Tagged: Jeff Frazee, Kevin Weekes, Devils

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