Development Camp Skating To A Close
Saturday, 07.02.2011 / 5:06 PM
By Jay Levin - Nashville Predators / Tom Callahan's Summer 2011 Blog
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Tom's out of town for the Fourth of July Holiday Weekend, so I figured I'd make a "guest post" in his absence with some updates on the action from Rookie Development Camp --- Tom's still blogging from the road, so you'll likely see more posts from him later in the weekend.
The physical play is stepping up day-by-day as the camp moves deeper into the week. There are a lot of big forwards at camp and most of them are throwing their weight around in the corners. Give a lot of credit to the defensemen for giving it right back to the forwards. Preds fourth round pick Garrett Noonan has been particularly physical on the back end. Should be some interesting battles during tomorrow's scrimmage games (2-4 pm at Centennial Sportsplex, if anyone is interested in heading over to watch)
Taylor Beck, Gabriel Bourque, and Michael Latta have been a line combination for many of the five-on-five drills this week, with some impressive results. Could be a preview for the top line in Milwaukee this season --- and a potential line in Nashville in the not-so-distant future. Beck and Latta were linemates in Guelph the past few years and Bourque was one of Milwaukee's most productive forwards through the AHL stretch run and playoffs.
Craig Smith looks good on the ice; he's consistently been one of the better forwards each day -- regardless of who he's skated with during the drills. The confidence he gained from the World Championships performances have paid dividends during camp. If he continues this level of play, he has a strong chance to become the second Preds prospect to take home the Hobey Baker Award (given to the top NCAA hockey player).
Swedish forward Patrick Cehlin has shown flashes of impressive skill. It’s hard to fully translate drills --- even half-ice five-on-five battles --- to in-game performance, but Cehlin is definitely a name to file away for the future. He has impressive creativity and has shown good vision during the drills. He’s expected to play in the Swedish Elite League this coming season, but don’t be surprised to see him in North America during the 2012-13 season.
German forward David Elsner is expected to come to North America this year to play in the OHL. The Soo Greyhounds selected Elsner in this year’s CHL Import Draft. Playing in the OHL will give the Preds a good chance to see how Elsner responds to playing on the smaller North American ice. It also means Elsner will likely be at Preds Training Camp in September (European leagues start before the NHL, so prospects playing in European pro leagues tied up with regular season games during NHL Training Camp).
Chet Pickard looks to be more fit this year. Pickard struggled at times during his second pro season, spending much of the year in the ECHL; there were whispers about his fitness level during the season, but he appears to be making a concerted effort to eliminate those whispers heading in to 2011-12. With Mark Dekanich having signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, there's an opening at the top of the Milwaukee depth chart in net --- Pickard, Jeremy Smith, and Atte Engren are all expected to compete for time in the Ads crease.
Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi are standouts --- as expected --- but Mattias Ekholm is looking every bit as skilled as the other two. He's big, comfortable with the puck on his stick, a smooth skater. Don't be surprised if Ekholm makes a very serious run at a spot on the Opening Night roster during September's Training Camp.
Kirk Muller and Martin Gelinas are coaching this camp with the same competitiveness that they displayed throughout their NHL careers. Muller's passing has been crisp during drills --- and he's stopped drills on occasions to implore the prospects to run the drills with that same level of execution and attention to detail. Gelinas has challenged the young prospects during skating drills, joining in several of the races. Their success as NHL players has not been lost on the prospects; in post-camp media sessions the prospects routinely have commented about how much respect they have for what Muller and Gelinas accomplished throughout their careers.
The physical play is stepping up day-by-day as the camp moves deeper into the week. There are a lot of big forwards at camp and most of them are throwing their weight around in the corners. Give a lot of credit to the defensemen for giving it right back to the forwards. Preds fourth round pick Garrett Noonan has been particularly physical on the back end. Should be some interesting battles during tomorrow's scrimmage games (2-4 pm at Centennial Sportsplex, if anyone is interested in heading over to watch)
Taylor Beck, Gabriel Bourque, and Michael Latta have been a line combination for many of the five-on-five drills this week, with some impressive results. Could be a preview for the top line in Milwaukee this season --- and a potential line in Nashville in the not-so-distant future. Beck and Latta were linemates in Guelph the past few years and Bourque was one of Milwaukee's most productive forwards through the AHL stretch run and playoffs.
Craig Smith looks good on the ice; he's consistently been one of the better forwards each day -- regardless of who he's skated with during the drills. The confidence he gained from the World Championships performances have paid dividends during camp. If he continues this level of play, he has a strong chance to become the second Preds prospect to take home the Hobey Baker Award (given to the top NCAA hockey player).
Swedish forward Patrick Cehlin has shown flashes of impressive skill. It’s hard to fully translate drills --- even half-ice five-on-five battles --- to in-game performance, but Cehlin is definitely a name to file away for the future. He has impressive creativity and has shown good vision during the drills. He’s expected to play in the Swedish Elite League this coming season, but don’t be surprised to see him in North America during the 2012-13 season.
German forward David Elsner is expected to come to North America this year to play in the OHL. The Soo Greyhounds selected Elsner in this year’s CHL Import Draft. Playing in the OHL will give the Preds a good chance to see how Elsner responds to playing on the smaller North American ice. It also means Elsner will likely be at Preds Training Camp in September (European leagues start before the NHL, so prospects playing in European pro leagues tied up with regular season games during NHL Training Camp).
Chet Pickard looks to be more fit this year. Pickard struggled at times during his second pro season, spending much of the year in the ECHL; there were whispers about his fitness level during the season, but he appears to be making a concerted effort to eliminate those whispers heading in to 2011-12. With Mark Dekanich having signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, there's an opening at the top of the Milwaukee depth chart in net --- Pickard, Jeremy Smith, and Atte Engren are all expected to compete for time in the Ads crease.
Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi are standouts --- as expected --- but Mattias Ekholm is looking every bit as skilled as the other two. He's big, comfortable with the puck on his stick, a smooth skater. Don't be surprised if Ekholm makes a very serious run at a spot on the Opening Night roster during September's Training Camp.
Kirk Muller and Martin Gelinas are coaching this camp with the same competitiveness that they displayed throughout their NHL careers. Muller's passing has been crisp during drills --- and he's stopped drills on occasions to implore the prospects to run the drills with that same level of execution and attention to detail. Gelinas has challenged the young prospects during skating drills, joining in several of the races. Their success as NHL players has not been lost on the prospects; in post-camp media sessions the prospects routinely have commented about how much respect they have for what Muller and Gelinas accomplished throughout their careers.
