Team President Jake Reynolds always has embraced the fact that the New Jersey Devils are the only major professional sports team in the state to use ‘New Jersey’ in its name.
And the team has always proudly taken a Jersey-first approach to marketing the brand.
But when Reynolds joined the team for an opening-season two-game trip to Prague in the Czech Republic, one thing quickly became obvious: The Devils are a global brand.
Support for the team from nations all over Europe led to fan support for the games that Reynolds said was a 90-10 split for the Devils over the Sabres,
Reynolds was stunned.
“We have been so hyper focused on New Jersey and how we continue to grow and expand our brand within New Jersey, but what was an incredible eye-opening experience for me was to see that the New Jersey Devils are a global brand,” he said. “That was on full display while we were over there.
“It was incredible to see how many international fans we had – how many different languages were being spoken while wearing Devils gear. I have a photo with a group from Scotland that was wearing kilts and Jack Hughes jerseys.
“It was just an incredible experience.”
Reynolds feels the growing fandom is a result of the opportunities the team has had before huge audiences. He rattles off all that is occurring.
“Last year, we got to participate in the Stadium Series; this year we got to participate in the Global Series,” he said. “We’re maxing out the maximum number of national TV games that we can be on this year – and two of our players (Jack and Luke Hughes) were on the cover of NHL 25.
“You start to see all this momentum. The excitement in and around this team is so palpable. It was so fun to be able to see that on the world stage.”
Reynolds wants to see more of it.
The excitement from the trip didn’t end when Reynolds and the team returned home – with two wins.
Ever the marketing genius, Reynolds and his team are now brainstorming ways the team can take advantage of its extended reach.
“My brain has been churning with ideas non-stop from the second we landed,” he said. “Our content team does an incredible job, and the growth of that has been so phenomenal to watch — we finished No. 2 in the league in social and digital rankings last year.
“This opens the door to so many other opportunities in terms of how we can reach and deliver to the fans that we have across the globe.”
Reynolds, who also serves as president of the Prudential Center, said the possibilities clearly are there.
“Our organization has been lasered focus on, ‘How do we continue to enhance the fan experience at the Prudential Center?’” he said. “For me, this was an eye-opening opportunity in terms of, ‘How do we enhance the fan experience outside of the Prudential Center?
“What type of content and behind-the-scenes access are we able to provide to fans who may not be able to come and see a game at the Prudential Center, but still have the same love and the same passion for the Devils.
“How do we meet them where they are?”
And, perhaps, in their language.
“Most of our content is nationally focused, but coming out of the trip, we are having conversations around, ‘What does the future of this look like? And how are we ensuring that we are reaching as many fans as possible, wherever they may be?’”
