Devils Become Digital Host for New Jersey Youth Hockey

NEWARK — If you want up-to-date statistics for the players on the New Jersey Devils, the team’s official Web site is a wise place to click. If you want to find out how the Hackensack Comets, Edison Eagles, Livingston Lancers, Don Bosco Prep Ironman and all the other New Jersey high school ice hockey teams are faring, you can also go to Devils.nhl.com.

The Devils have become the first N.H.L. club to host the statistics, game scores and standings of the majority of high school and youth leagues in its state. Team officials say that more than 6,000 children play for more than 300 teams whose on-ice action will be reported on the site.

“We’re proud to be doing this,” Devils’ chairman Jeff Vanderbeek said in an interview. “Connecting all of these New Jersey teams to our Web site is a big step for us. We’ve worked hard to truly become New Jersey’s team. When it comes to social media and the digital space, we want to be the most cutting edge team in all of sports.”

Many of the local teams’ jerseys are displayed on the Prudential Center concourse and the Devils host the state high school championships. Vanderbeek said research has shown that hockey is the fastest-growing sport among children in New Jersey. The initiatives are civic gestures and practical business moves and Vanderbeek does not pretend otherwise. “Today’s youth hockey players are tomorrow’s season ticket holders,” he said, “and we want them to be Devils fans right from the start.”

The new section of the Web site, with the information from the state’s Youth Hockey League and Interscholastic Athletic Association, has been branded as New Jersey Youth Hockey Central. The Devils have provided the youth hockey leagues with LeagueStat, an online tracking system, so representatives from the teams can enter data in real time or after the game.

In addition, the Devils’ Mission Control – a group of 25 Devils-loving volunteers that monitors all team news on Twitter, Facebook and Web sites from the team’s office in Prudential Center – will provide coverage of the local leagues.

“This is a great opportunity for our student athletes to be featured on the Web site of an N.H.L. team,” said Jack DuBois, the assistant director of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association. “Our long-term relationship with the Devils has taken high school sports to a new level.”