NHL:New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators

Devils goalie Cory Schneider says the hardest part of goaltending is mental. (Marc DesRosiers / USA Today)

(Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports)

Cory Schneider will start in goal for the Devils Thursday night and plans to play the entire preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.

Schneider is beginning his first season as a clear-cut No. 1 goalie. Here are 5 things you should know about the Massachusetts native:

1. He wears a New England Patriots cap and several Boston Red Sox caps around the Devils dressing room. Although he doesn’t get much criticism from teammates, who aren’t from the area, Schneider says he gets some flak from New Jerseyans when he’s out in public in Jets, Giants and Yankees territory. “I have a couple Sox hats and I’ve got a Pats hat. There are a couple in the rotation. I probably get more flak for the Red Sox hat, but I’m kind of that Red Sox fan who doesn’t care.”

2. As a kid he had a Martin Brodeur photo on his bedroom wall. “I had a bunch of guys on the wall in my room, Marty being one of them. Patrick Roy was one. But for some reason Mike Richter was my guy I watched growing up. I got a No. 35 jersey when I was young and what he did with USA Hockey was pretty cool to me. I followed him up to high school until I lost having a favorite goalie.”

3. Schneider thinks the hardest part of being a goalie is between the ears. “Probably the mental aspect. It’s kind of like golf. You’re kind of there by yourself. When you overthink your swing, you shank it. Sometimes in net when you overthink everything you’re doing, you miss the puck. It takes a long time to get comfortable mentally with where you’re at and what your skill set is and blend that all together night in and night out.”

4. He wouldn’t want to be captain even if goalies were allowed. “I think they should be allowed. At the same time, if your goalie is the captain it’s very difficult to do the captain’s job from the net in terms of talking to the officials, being on the bench and hearing everything that’s going on. From that standpoint I’m sort of against it. I think goalies have enough to worry about on their own. But if everyone looks towards your goalie and he’s your leader, he’s your leader. Maybe you don't need a C for that.”

5. Despite signing a 7-year, $42 million contract extension this summer, he doesn’t drive a Porsche or a Bentley. “Just two cars. I have an Audi A7 that I’ve really enjoyed.” His other vehicle is a Toyota 4Runner.

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