I went to the camp both today and yesterday, and I'm not getting the love everyone has for Lagesson. His skating looked suspect, particularly his balance, which was most apparent in the 3-person skating drills session before the 1st group yesterday. His passing also wasn't very impressive, nor was his puck control, and while he engaged physically, he wasn't strong enough to make a difference. I was expecting him to be one of my favorites, and I was disappointed.
Betker was the exact opposite. I expected to hate him and came away loving him. Has that Nurse-like quality of being a great skater in a big body, and he seemed to have pretty good passing skills to boot. I like him a lot as a potential shutdown D, which surprised me.
McDavid was better yesterday than today. Seemed a little frustrated by that at times. Other than that, what more needs to be said? Most sublime skating I've ever seen, and no one could make their opponent look sillier on a drill than McDavid, not even Nurse.
Speaking of Nurse, hewas fantastic both days. Absolutely fantastic. I may have a new favorite Oiler. Fast, aggressive, positionally precise (even on skating drills), and one of the more skilled guys too. Had a sick deke for a goal today. He was also by far the hardest worker. Every single drill he was attacking with pace, and the coaches noticed. He was almost always the guy to model the drills for the coaches, and he was almost always the first guy to do them. He also stayed late today, the only guy to do so, to work on his edges. Really impressive work ethic.
Draisaitl looked a little disengaged at times. Faster than I remembered, which was nice. Still has that fantastic passing ability, and his defensive game looked really solid. Could see him becoming more of a Staal two-way type in the future. Really excited for him. He also took the time to pass a few pucks over the glass to kids during warm up, which was great to see.
I could go on, but I'll leave it there. If anyone has any more specific questions, I'd love to lend my thoughts.
Betker was the exact opposite. I expected to hate him and came away loving him. Has that Nurse-like quality of being a great skater in a big body, and he seemed to have pretty good passing skills to boot. I like him a lot as a potential shutdown D, which surprised me.
McDavid was better yesterday than today. Seemed a little frustrated by that at times. Other than that, what more needs to be said? Most sublime skating I've ever seen, and no one could make their opponent look sillier on a drill than McDavid, not even Nurse.
Speaking of Nurse, hewas fantastic both days. Absolutely fantastic. I may have a new favorite Oiler. Fast, aggressive, positionally precise (even on skating drills), and one of the more skilled guys too. Had a sick deke for a goal today. He was also by far the hardest worker. Every single drill he was attacking with pace, and the coaches noticed. He was almost always the guy to model the drills for the coaches, and he was almost always the first guy to do them. He also stayed late today, the only guy to do so, to work on his edges. Really impressive work ethic.
Draisaitl looked a little disengaged at times. Faster than I remembered, which was nice. Still has that fantastic passing ability, and his defensive game looked really solid. Could see him becoming more of a Staal two-way type in the future. Really excited for him. He also took the time to pass a few pucks over the glass to kids during warm up, which was great to see.
I could go on, but I'll leave it there. If anyone has any more specific questions, I'd love to lend my thoughts.
