Skraut
Registered User
I was at the Prospect clinic held today as part of the Draft celebration. Mostly it was a chance for youth hockey players in the Columbus area to skate on the ice both with Columbus Blue Jacket players as well as NHL top prospects. This event was all about the kids, but it gave us in Columbus a tiny glimpse of the CHL prospects we never get to see.
Blue Jackets players: Rick Nash, Manny Malhotra, Dan Fritsche, and Pascal LeClaire (not in goalie gear, rather as a skater, but we were all glad to see him on the ice after his injuries this season)
Prospects: Patrick Kane, Kyle Turris, James VanReimsdyk, Karl Alzner, Sam Gagner, Keaton Ellerby.
Kane, Gagner, and JVR were pretty much inseperable thoughout the event. They participated in the drills, but spent most of the time rocketing passes to each other, showing off their skills in puck control, and firing high powered shots. It was cool to see the Kane and Gagner chemistry, and you can see just at what level their skills are.
Alzner and Turris were absolutely awesome with the kids. All the prospects and the Jackets wore dark jerseys, and the kids wore wite. All the prospects that is except Turris who was in a white jersey and just blended in with the kids. He stuck out among the prospects because he was ALWAYS with the kids, doing the drills with them passing to them, encouraging them, poke-checking the puck away from them, and then letting them do it back, racing them around the rink and letting them win. He was having a ball with the kids, but I never saw him without a smile. Like I said it was odd that Turris was always with the kids, and never with the other prospects or Jackets players.
Alzner was also very into it with the kids. But you got to see his "Class Clown" side too. He'd take a "hard" pass from a 10 year old, and then shake his hands like they stung from the impact of the pass. There was a drill where the kids did a spin-o-rama against the prospects who were "defenders", and Alzner made it look like he was faked out of his jock. He was also racing with the kids, and would make it look like he was giving it everything he had, only to lose. He also had fun "harassing" Kane, Gagner, and JVR swiping the puck from them, hooking them, or otherwise jovially impeding their "show"
Ellerby well, he didn't impress me. Mostly he just skated around center ice soaking up everything. Some times he seemed to just be happy to be out on the ice with the other prospects and the NHL'ers, other times he seemed completely disinterested, and often seemed to get in the way of what the kids were trying to accomplish.
All in all it was a great experience for the kids. I remember seeing a kid absolutely beaming when Kane gave him a high-5 after he made a nice shot from the point. Rick Nash got a big laugh from the kids by yelling "Pick Me! Pick Me!" when they were dividing the kids up in groups, and at the end the players and prospects lined up and all signed the kids jerseys.
BZArcher put up some pictures from the event on Flickr here
and the league put up some videos on YouTube here
Blue Jackets players: Rick Nash, Manny Malhotra, Dan Fritsche, and Pascal LeClaire (not in goalie gear, rather as a skater, but we were all glad to see him on the ice after his injuries this season)
Prospects: Patrick Kane, Kyle Turris, James VanReimsdyk, Karl Alzner, Sam Gagner, Keaton Ellerby.
Kane, Gagner, and JVR were pretty much inseperable thoughout the event. They participated in the drills, but spent most of the time rocketing passes to each other, showing off their skills in puck control, and firing high powered shots. It was cool to see the Kane and Gagner chemistry, and you can see just at what level their skills are.
Alzner and Turris were absolutely awesome with the kids. All the prospects and the Jackets wore dark jerseys, and the kids wore wite. All the prospects that is except Turris who was in a white jersey and just blended in with the kids. He stuck out among the prospects because he was ALWAYS with the kids, doing the drills with them passing to them, encouraging them, poke-checking the puck away from them, and then letting them do it back, racing them around the rink and letting them win. He was having a ball with the kids, but I never saw him without a smile. Like I said it was odd that Turris was always with the kids, and never with the other prospects or Jackets players.
Alzner was also very into it with the kids. But you got to see his "Class Clown" side too. He'd take a "hard" pass from a 10 year old, and then shake his hands like they stung from the impact of the pass. There was a drill where the kids did a spin-o-rama against the prospects who were "defenders", and Alzner made it look like he was faked out of his jock. He was also racing with the kids, and would make it look like he was giving it everything he had, only to lose. He also had fun "harassing" Kane, Gagner, and JVR swiping the puck from them, hooking them, or otherwise jovially impeding their "show"
Ellerby well, he didn't impress me. Mostly he just skated around center ice soaking up everything. Some times he seemed to just be happy to be out on the ice with the other prospects and the NHL'ers, other times he seemed completely disinterested, and often seemed to get in the way of what the kids were trying to accomplish.
All in all it was a great experience for the kids. I remember seeing a kid absolutely beaming when Kane gave him a high-5 after he made a nice shot from the point. Rick Nash got a big laugh from the kids by yelling "Pick Me! Pick Me!" when they were dividing the kids up in groups, and at the end the players and prospects lined up and all signed the kids jerseys.
BZArcher put up some pictures from the event on Flickr here
and the league put up some videos on YouTube here
