Leddy Brings ‘Sandpaper’ to the Ice | DEV CAMP

Charlie Leddy was riding in his car when his phone, plugged into the stereo, buzzed with a text message. He glanced down and saw the message: “Congrats bro.”

While Leddy was driving down the highway in Connecticut, most of the hockey world was in Montreal for Day 2 of the NHL Draft. Leddy had followed the draft all morning hoping to see his name pop up on the screen. But the time had come to drive home. That’s when he received the text followed by a few phone calls from friends and family.

The Devils selected him in the fourth round with the 126th-overall pick.

“It was an awesome and amazing experience. When I got home my parents and some friends were there waiting,” Leddy said. “It was an amazing moment. I couldn’t even speak in the moment.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-handed defenseman is in Newark all this week to take part in the Devils prospect development camp, the first in three years due to COVID-19. Being surrounded by his future teammates and future work facility at Prudential Center made his draft selection more real.

“At first, I was kind of shocked. It didn’t hit me,” the Fairfield native said. “Coming here and being around all these guys and being around everyone it has hit me more. This is the real deal. It’s going to be an amazing time.

“There’s a lot of people here. I’m getting to know everyone. Building relationships with them. These are my people for life. So, building a healthy relationship with them is something I’m looking forward to doing.”

Leddy, who came up through the United States National Team Development Program, will attend Boston College next season. There he will continue to work on his game.

“I feel like I’m more of a defensive defenseman with some offensive ability,” he said. “I feel like I’m very poised and good at breaking pucks out and moving pucks. I play an overall solid defensive game, and will do anything for the team to win, blocking shots, taking the body, going into the corners, getting pucks to the forwards and doing whatever it takes.”

Doing whatever it takes was something that the Devils chief scout Mark Dennehy mentioned after the team selected him.

“Charlie has a little bit of sandpaper in his game,” he said. “He was asked to play a little bit different role with the National Program this year. Him going to college gives us a little bit of a runway. Really nice kid, plays hard, plays the right way.”