Went to the development camp today and have a couple of brief things to share:
Roope Hintz and Denis Guryanov look like men among boys (which hey, they're pretty much all boys at the end of the day).
Hintz has the most impressive all around game, albeit limited sample size, obviously.
Guryanov's shot is straight up nasty; fast and powerful. Pro shot.
Both skate very well, which leads into this observation:
About halfway through the practice session; which lasted from 10am til around 1pm, they ran through some back to basics power skating drills before a zamboni break. This is where the Euros really shined. It started out with basic inside edge end-to-end. Then outside edge, backwards skating drills, etc. A lot of the guys really struggled with these, which I honestly found surprising. I would say that if nothing else it speaks to European training programs (on into the pro level) having a greater emphasis on edgework. Either way was pretty eye opening to see.
Roope Hintz and Denis Guryanov look like men among boys (which hey, they're pretty much all boys at the end of the day).
Hintz has the most impressive all around game, albeit limited sample size, obviously.
Guryanov's shot is straight up nasty; fast and powerful. Pro shot.
Both skate very well, which leads into this observation:
About halfway through the practice session; which lasted from 10am til around 1pm, they ran through some back to basics power skating drills before a zamboni break. This is where the Euros really shined. It started out with basic inside edge end-to-end. Then outside edge, backwards skating drills, etc. A lot of the guys really struggled with these, which I honestly found surprising. I would say that if nothing else it speaks to European training programs (on into the pro level) having a greater emphasis on edgework. Either way was pretty eye opening to see.