9/13/09 - Training Camp Notes: On-ice Sessions

Observations:

Team Silver:

Jerred Smithson continues to be listed as a center but he is practicing as a right wing...and it's working for him so far.

Nolan Yonkman is ENORMOUS...seriously, like 7'4".

Like the Ward-Smithson pairing. It worked well last season and I would love to see them kept together.

Ben Eaves had a solid day on ice. He is the newbie that has impressed the most thus far.

Dan Hamhuis was bringing it today. Glad to see a strong performance from him this morning.

New speed drills=Arnott kind of phoning them in toward the end there. I was a little disappointed to see that.

Team Blue:

Shea Weber as this season's permanent alternate captain? Ummmm, yes please! And THANK YOU!

Speaking of Shea, I really think he packed on some more muscle this summer.

OMG, you guys! Martin Erat looks good out there so far. He's got some speed under him right now.

Jordin Tootoo was out of breath A LOT, I noticed that yesterday and today. I'm going to blame his summer diet [TOTAL speculation. Please don't ream me out for this.] Too much seal and other sordid raw meats, perhaps?

Yes, yes, Y-E-S! Dan Ellis is working it today, and I do mean WORKING. IT.

Overall, the Blue group seemed really clumsy to me and far less together than Team Silver.

Though he might have been a bit out of breath, it appeared Tootoo did some stick work this summer. He was doing some pretty fancy tricks with the puck out there. My other theory is that he hooked up with Fiddler before he left for Phoenix and asked to learn his backhand pass because Toots pulled that one out of his bag of tricks too.

David Legwand disappointed me. I'd like to think he disappointed himself as well.

Coach Trotz seemed to keep the lines together more on Team Blue. I'm not sure why he did this but I thought it was worth noting.

Andreas Thuresson has a hard shot but it's rarely accurate.

I just want to pinch Cal O'Reilly and Mike Santorelli's cheeks. They look so wide-eyed and innocent out there.

Rookies:

Feeling a wee bit sorry for Chet Pickard having to pull double duty in regular and rookie sessions.

Colin Wilson is looking sharp....and I'm not surprised.

Ryan Ellis has improved from Development Camp; had a great goal in behind Pickard during one of the drills.


I can't believe it's already Training Camp time again. I'm looking forward to getting the party started on the right foot this season. This year is going to be the year of the young ones for us. I can't wait to see how it all shakes out.

Day Two of the on-ice sessions starts at 10:00am tomorrow with Team Blue first, followed by Team Silver at 11:30am. Looks like I'll have plans for lunch every day this week.