NEWARK -- Damon Severson doesn't feel he's had to endure anything resembling a sophomore jinx so far this season, but it hasn't gone completely as expected for the Devils' young defenseman.



The points haven't come quite as easily for Severson, a defenseman with definite offensive skills. He was a healthy scratch for one game early this season. And after being half of the Devils' top pairing with Andy Greene last season, he never regained that spot under coach John Hynes.



"I don't feel like it's been a setback. It's obviously different," Severson told NJ Advance Media. "At the start of last season I was playing with Greener up until my injury. We were seeing the other teams' top lines. There's a different aspect to your game (in that role). You're playing against the other team's top line. But, at the same time, those top lines look for so much offense that, when they don't get their offense, you're able to get offense out of their missed opportunities.



"When they'd get off the rush and wouldn't score, I was able to jump in the play and create more offense. I think this year second and third lines aren't as much risk-takers. Those first lines have a little more leeway. If they do make a mistake they know they're going to get right back out there and make plays. Those second and third lines are a little more careful, so you get a little better back check. I'm not saying that the top guys don't back check. They're just more risk takers. You see those middle guys playing really solid defensively."



In 48 games this season, Severson has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists). In 51 games last season (he missed 31 games with a fractured left ankle), he had 17 points (five goals, 12 assists).



"The offense hasn't come as much as last year. But there still is lots of season left here and I'd definitely like to get those numbers up a little bit and produce a little more," Severson said. "Because that's when I know I'm on my game and at my best, when I'm being that offensive guy."



Severson's confidence is one of his biggest assets. Although he was a healthy scratch from one game early this season, he was never warned by the coaching staff that he was too cocky and not to get too full of himself.



"I never heard that. To anybody who knows me or gets to know me quickly, like they had to do, I'm a confident guy but I don't want to get so full of myself that I think I'm the best player on the ice," Severson said. "I think they were careful. I think they wanted my defensive game to get sharpened up a little more at the start of the year and I feel I did that.



"I had a good talk with Geoff Ward a while back before a pregame skate and he said, 'You're the best when you're making those plays offensively. I'm not saying go ahead and take a bunch of risks, but when there is a chance in the offensive zone for a risk to be taken and we can score off it, that's your game. We know you can make those plays.' They want too see the defense first but when I'm in the O-zone I have the ability and instinct to make things happen. As long as I do that, the points are going to come and the team is going to keep on winning."

Can Severson be a top two NHL defenseman again at some point?

"For sure. You saw last year. It was my first year in the league and I was a top pairing guy," he said. "My first of junior hockey in the WHL in Kelowna I was a second pairing guy, just like I am this year. We had Tyson Barrie in our top pairing, a right-handed defenseman, and he was 19 so I wasn't going to get ahead of him that year.

"Ever since that I was a top pairing guy, even last year, so obviously I see myself as that. But I have no problem playing a top four role and seeing those middle lines. I'm comfortable playing against anybody. Skilled players, grinders. It doesn't matter. I just like to get on the ice. The more minutes I play the more effective I am."

Rich Chere may be reached at rchere@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ledger_NJDevils. Find NJ.com on Facebook