It’s been over a week since the start of training camp and there have been some major moves and reassignments within the original training camp roster, as can be expected during this crucial time when coaches decide who's ready and who still needs more time to develop.
The first to go were our junior goalies, Chet Pickard and Jeremy Smith. This should have come as no surprise seeing as how we are well-stocked in the goalie department. Pickard and Smith were in town back in June for Baby Preds, ummm, I mean Rookie camp and had a chance to sharpen their skills under the watchful eye of Predators goaltending coach, Mitch Korn. While Mitch was pleased with their performance, after initial nerves subsided, it was clear these young guys were still in need of experience that would only come from playing hockey with their respective Junior teams. I’m looking forward to seeing Chet Pickard again though. I was happy that we picked him up at the Draft this year.
After the first two non-rookie pre-season games, the Predators dropped six more players and reduced the roster to 41. Forwards Geoff Peters, Mark Santorelli, Nick Spaling and Kelsey Wilson as well as defenseman Teemu Laasko (our very own Apolo Anton Ohno look-a-like) were reassigned to Milwaukee. Our 2007 first round draft pick, defenseman Jonathan Blum, was sent back to his junior team in Vancouver.
Following Saturday night’s game, forwards Mike Santorelli (single tear) and Andreas Thuresson and defenseman Cody Franson were also reassigned to Milwaukee.
After Sunday morning’s off-ice yoga session, David Poile announced the reassignment of forwards Ryan Maki, Ian McKenzie (single tear #2), defenseman Robert Dietrich (an Erat look-a-like) and goaltender Mark Dekanich back to Milwaukee. Forwards Stephen Werner, Scott Ford and defenseman Mark Matheson were all released from their professional tryout obligations and will also relocate to Milwaukee under contracts with the Admirals.
Admirals training camp is set to open Wednesday, October 1st.
The Predators roster now contains just 31 players, with 20 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies. Jed Ortmeyer and Steve Sullivan are factored into those numbers so there are still plenty of spots to fill on the active roster while both remain out with injuries. Ortmeyer is expected to be ready for play in November while the jury is still out on whether or not Steve Sullivan will ever again set foot on the ice for a game.
My breakdown of the remaining forwards will probably be up tomorrow, now that the roster has been drastically trimmed of the AHL players and other invitees.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Boys Are Back In Town
It is finally hockey season again in Nashville. As evidenced from my lack of off-season posting, I’ve been so distracted this summer with the craziness of normal life, I’d almost completely neglected my civic duties to stay on top of all things hockey. I mean, I kept tabs on all the latest news but I didn’t really pine away for the month of September with as much enthusiasm as I am wont to do normally.
However, the Radulov news that dropped in June had me every shade of red with anger and bitterness towards all things Russian. I’m still furious about the situation but I’ve decided I have to let it go and move on because it seems the team (and the Predators organization) is doing the same. In a recent press conference, Predators general manager David Poile finally commented on the Radulov situation after remaining stoic during most of the summer. And the comments weren’t as gentlemanly as one might expect from the ever-polite NHL. Basically, the general consensus was, “We’ll move on without him. Out of sight, out of mind. If he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him to play.” Oookkkaay...enough said. End of story. For now. The matter will be settled through arbitration, though the when, where and who are yet to be decided. Whatever the outcome, I can’t say that Radulov would be welcomed back with open arms. Our fans are notorious for holding grudges so I’m expecting more of a “boo-ing” than a “woo-hooing” should the Russian youngster (and I say youngster because I am five years older than he) be expected to return to the Music City and make good on the remainder of his contract.
The jury’s still out on what kind of welcome back I would give him.
Whew...now that I got that out of the way...let’s take a closer look at this year’s current roster going into the first on-ice training camp session starting tomorrow at the Centennial Sportsplex. While every other team in our division made some roster changes/upgrades this off-season, the Predators stayed true to their word and locked up the guys that have already proven themselves for our team in seasons past. The only two significant off-season moves were the Chris Mason trade on Draft Day and the Marek Zidlicky trade a couple days later. For the record, neither trade caused me to shed any tears.
I’ll focus on the defense first because there’s not really a question of depth in that department. Last season, we found ourselves overstocked on D. We’ve slimmed down by one player, and arguably the one with the most experience; thus leaving the young talent left to up their game. So who will skate to the blue line (so to speak) and solidify their place as the defensive corp leader?
Here’s the breakdown with the players in order by jersey number: (because I'm obsessive that way)
#2 – Dan Hamhuis
Dan is the strong and silent type but shows real potential to be a leader for this group. Not to mention his hipcheck is SICK. I hope he has been able to work on keeping better control of the puck over the summer. That was the one thing I was consistently yelling at him about last season.
#4 - Ville Koistenen
At 26, Ville is one of the oldest defensive players. He wasn’t given nearly as many shots on the ice last season as he should have been so he still has a lot to prove to the organization. He won himself a year contract through the arbitration process this summer so this season is definitely make it or break it. When he did play, I think he was best on the power play and LORD KNOWS we need help in that department. Ville’s a good offensive defense player and he will become a threat in that department if Trotz can find the right pairing for him.
#5 - Greg Zanon
This will mark Greg Zanon’s third season in the NHL and sadly, he’s starting to show signs of fading. He stood out during his rookie season as a supreme shot-blocker, leading me to call him our backup goalie when Chris Mason couldn’t quite hack it. Last season, he wasn’t quite as brilliant with his shot-blocking abilities and I’d like to think that it was partly because he got a little too comfortable in his role as our stay-at-home defenseman. Rumor has it that he’ll be fighting for his spot in the lineup this year and because I’m a sucker for the underdog, I hope he pulls it out.
#6 - Shea Weber
Last season was supposed to be Shea’s breakout season...and then he went and got injured in the season opener. It took him six weeks to get back in the game and then another month or so to really hit his stride and bounce back. Towards the end of the season, Mr. Weber brought it like it’s never been brought before. I loved every minute of his hard-hitting style of play and I can’t wait to see what he has up his jersey sleeve this season. As long as he stays injury-free, I’m expecting big things from him.
#7 - Greg deVries
You know what? I don’t have much to say about Greg because I can’t think of one time where I really remember him standing out at all. He might be the natural choice for the defensive leader since he’s got like seven years on some of these guys. I think his game needs to match his “leadership abilities” though and until I see that, I’m reserving my judgement for a later date.
#8 - Kevin Klein
Last season, the zambonis saw more ice time than Kevin Klein. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. At one point towards the end of the season, I remember looking out at the ice during warm-ups going, “Who’s number 8?!” only to realize it was poor, poor Kevin. Rumor had it that he was none-too-happy with his lack of ice time last season and I didn’t expect him to resign with us this summer. Since he did, I’m hoping that he has some kind of magic on the ice that we didn’t get a chance to see last year. He could be this superstar-in-waiting but none of us would know that since he spent the majority of his season in the locker room.
#20 - Ryan Suter
Il Divo...ahem...I mean, Ryan also has potential to be a leader of this group. He’ll need to learn to check his attitude at the locker room door though. There was not another player last season that caused me such emotional turmoil. My love for his style of play runs hot and cold. When he’s on it, he’s really on it. When he’s in a slump, he sucks; he really, REALLY SUCKS. My standards for him might be a little too high but I think he can do it if someone holds his feet to the flame. But like I said, he'll need to get that ego/attitude in check first.
Oh my word...I always forget how much of an undertaking a full team breakdown turns out to be. I’m going to have to break this business up! Consider this the first installment of many. I’ll work on the forwards next, maybe throw in some observations about the other training camp invitees and round it out with the goalies.
Peace out, children. I’ll be at the Sportsplex bright and early tomorrow with Starbucks in hand and Uggs on my feet (thank you, Jesus, for the fall weather!) to capture all the excitement.
However, the Radulov news that dropped in June had me every shade of red with anger and bitterness towards all things Russian. I’m still furious about the situation but I’ve decided I have to let it go and move on because it seems the team (and the Predators organization) is doing the same. In a recent press conference, Predators general manager David Poile finally commented on the Radulov situation after remaining stoic during most of the summer. And the comments weren’t as gentlemanly as one might expect from the ever-polite NHL. Basically, the general consensus was, “We’ll move on without him. Out of sight, out of mind. If he doesn’t want to be here, we don’t want him to play.” Oookkkaay...enough said. End of story. For now. The matter will be settled through arbitration, though the when, where and who are yet to be decided. Whatever the outcome, I can’t say that Radulov would be welcomed back with open arms. Our fans are notorious for holding grudges so I’m expecting more of a “boo-ing” than a “woo-hooing” should the Russian youngster (and I say youngster because I am five years older than he) be expected to return to the Music City and make good on the remainder of his contract.
The jury’s still out on what kind of welcome back I would give him.
Whew...now that I got that out of the way...let’s take a closer look at this year’s current roster going into the first on-ice training camp session starting tomorrow at the Centennial Sportsplex. While every other team in our division made some roster changes/upgrades this off-season, the Predators stayed true to their word and locked up the guys that have already proven themselves for our team in seasons past. The only two significant off-season moves were the Chris Mason trade on Draft Day and the Marek Zidlicky trade a couple days later. For the record, neither trade caused me to shed any tears.
I’ll focus on the defense first because there’s not really a question of depth in that department. Last season, we found ourselves overstocked on D. We’ve slimmed down by one player, and arguably the one with the most experience; thus leaving the young talent left to up their game. So who will skate to the blue line (so to speak) and solidify their place as the defensive corp leader?
Here’s the breakdown with the players in order by jersey number: (because I'm obsessive that way)
#2 – Dan Hamhuis
Dan is the strong and silent type but shows real potential to be a leader for this group. Not to mention his hipcheck is SICK. I hope he has been able to work on keeping better control of the puck over the summer. That was the one thing I was consistently yelling at him about last season.
#4 - Ville Koistenen
At 26, Ville is one of the oldest defensive players. He wasn’t given nearly as many shots on the ice last season as he should have been so he still has a lot to prove to the organization. He won himself a year contract through the arbitration process this summer so this season is definitely make it or break it. When he did play, I think he was best on the power play and LORD KNOWS we need help in that department. Ville’s a good offensive defense player and he will become a threat in that department if Trotz can find the right pairing for him.
#5 - Greg Zanon
This will mark Greg Zanon’s third season in the NHL and sadly, he’s starting to show signs of fading. He stood out during his rookie season as a supreme shot-blocker, leading me to call him our backup goalie when Chris Mason couldn’t quite hack it. Last season, he wasn’t quite as brilliant with his shot-blocking abilities and I’d like to think that it was partly because he got a little too comfortable in his role as our stay-at-home defenseman. Rumor has it that he’ll be fighting for his spot in the lineup this year and because I’m a sucker for the underdog, I hope he pulls it out.
#6 - Shea Weber
Last season was supposed to be Shea’s breakout season...and then he went and got injured in the season opener. It took him six weeks to get back in the game and then another month or so to really hit his stride and bounce back. Towards the end of the season, Mr. Weber brought it like it’s never been brought before. I loved every minute of his hard-hitting style of play and I can’t wait to see what he has up his jersey sleeve this season. As long as he stays injury-free, I’m expecting big things from him.
#7 - Greg deVries
You know what? I don’t have much to say about Greg because I can’t think of one time where I really remember him standing out at all. He might be the natural choice for the defensive leader since he’s got like seven years on some of these guys. I think his game needs to match his “leadership abilities” though and until I see that, I’m reserving my judgement for a later date.
#8 - Kevin Klein
Last season, the zambonis saw more ice time than Kevin Klein. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. At one point towards the end of the season, I remember looking out at the ice during warm-ups going, “Who’s number 8?!” only to realize it was poor, poor Kevin. Rumor had it that he was none-too-happy with his lack of ice time last season and I didn’t expect him to resign with us this summer. Since he did, I’m hoping that he has some kind of magic on the ice that we didn’t get a chance to see last year. He could be this superstar-in-waiting but none of us would know that since he spent the majority of his season in the locker room.
#20 - Ryan Suter
Il Divo...ahem...I mean, Ryan also has potential to be a leader of this group. He’ll need to learn to check his attitude at the locker room door though. There was not another player last season that caused me such emotional turmoil. My love for his style of play runs hot and cold. When he’s on it, he’s really on it. When he’s in a slump, he sucks; he really, REALLY SUCKS. My standards for him might be a little too high but I think he can do it if someone holds his feet to the flame. But like I said, he'll need to get that ego/attitude in check first.
Oh my word...I always forget how much of an undertaking a full team breakdown turns out to be. I’m going to have to break this business up! Consider this the first installment of many. I’ll work on the forwards next, maybe throw in some observations about the other training camp invitees and round it out with the goalies.
Peace out, children. I’ll be at the Sportsplex bright and early tomorrow with Starbucks in hand and Uggs on my feet (thank you, Jesus, for the fall weather!) to capture all the excitement.
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