Prospect Info: Predators Development Camp 2014

[alexmanu]

Lol was talking about Kirkland with my buddy and typed Kirkland when I meant Williams... Kid was impressive again in the goalie breakout. Him and Maz looked like the pros if you didn't know better. Williams is so smooth and quick. If he was a couple more inches in height...he is just dang impressive.

Yeah I like Williams, I would like him in our system but there isn't a ton of space.

 

[Nashville Transplant]

Y'know... reading all this "Hellberg is slow..." "Hellberg is wincing..." ... DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE PREDS TRAINING STAFF, and COACHING STAFF, would allow him on the ice if he wasn't healthy? He has to pass strength tests, etc.

You may just not like the way the guy plays in net, but this idea that he's injured, and playing through it in a prospect camp is bizarre.

 

[alexmanu]

Y'know... reading all this "Hellberg is slow..." "Hellberg is wincing..." ... DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE PREDS TRAINING STAFF, and COACHING STAFF, would allow him on the ice if he wasn't healthy? He has to pass strength tests, etc.

You may just not like the way the guy plays in net, but this idea that he's injured, and playing through it in a prospect camp is bizarre.

Mazanec and Saros are well ahead of him in my estimations anyway. If we are to make a trade with several pieces I wouldn't mind lumping him in.

 

[PerdFan]

2nd breakout:

Nichol started the session sniping a shot over Maz's shoulder with a nice round of yells and stick taps. Scottie's still got it lol.

Forsberg, Leipsic and Kamenev hung together as a line with a nice little chemistry. Thoughts of that as a future Pred line...yes please.

Stand outs:

Diaby...just his sheer size is mesmerizing. Obviously considering how big he is, he wins every puck battle. And for as big as he is he can skate. Got a good first pass...needs time to get his hands quicker but overall gonna be Good in 2-3 years.

Felix Girard is FAST...Matt Duchene fast. He lookes like a water-bug skimming across the ice. Beat every other skater by 1 1/2- 2 strides to the puck.

Leipsic..you have to watch him. He's like a midget on skates, but he knows how to use his size to his advantage.
Also he has a lot of Scottie Nichol feistiness in him. He and Diaby were matched one on one several times. Every time Diaby was able to get the best of Leipsic, even taking him down to the ice one time. Next time out, Leipsic tried to dangle around Diaby and they battled for a minute or 2 and then Leipsic showed his frustration and took a point blank slapper right at Diaby and got him right in the ear. He's a Burrows type player ...agitator you love on your team, hate on any other team.

 

[PerdFan]

Y'know... reading all this "Hellberg is slow..." "Hellberg is wincing..." ... DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE PREDS TRAINING STAFF, and COACHING STAFF, would allow him on the ice if he wasn't healthy? He has to pass strength tests, etc.

You may just not like the way the guy plays in net, but this idea that he's injured, and playing through it in a prospect camp is bizarre.

Just giving mine and everyone else around me's impression. Take it or leave it. I don't really care man.

 

[Nothing Is New]

2nd breakout:

Nichol started the session sniping a shot over Maz's shoulder with a nice round of yells and stick taps. Scottie's still got it lol.

Forsberg, Leipsic and Kamenev hung together as a line with a nice little chemistry. Thoughts of that as a future Pred line...yes please.

Stand outs:

Diaby...just his sheer size is mesmerizing. Obviously considering how big he is, he wins every puck battle. And for as big as he is he can skate. Got a good first pass...needs time to get his hands quicker but overall gonna be Good in 2-3 years.

Felix Girard is FAST...Matt Duchene fast. He lookes like a water-bug skimming across the ice. Beat every other skater by 1 1/2- 2 strides to the puck.

Leipsic..you have to watch him. He's like a midget on skates, but he knows how to use his size to his advantage.
Also he has a lot of Scottie Nichol feistiness in him. He and Diaby were matched one on one several times. Every time Diaby was able to get the best of Leipsic, even taking him down to the ice one time. Next time out, Leipsic tried to dangle around Diaby and they battled for a minute or 2 and then Leipsic showed his frustration and took a point blank slapper right at Diaby and got him right in the ear. He's a Burrows type player ...agitator you love on your team, hate on any other team.

Thanks Perdfan. Good stuff. Like the Diaby/Leipsic interplay. Truth is that Leipsic has got to work his butt off to make the team at some point - and it sounds like he has the mindset to do that. Liked hearing about Girard -as it reinforces my prejudice that he will make the team as a third-liner deluxe in a couple of years.

 

[PerdFan]

Thanks Perdfan. Good stuff. Like the Diaby/Leipsic interplay. Truth is that Leipsic has got to work his butt off to make the team at some point - and it sounds like he has the mindset to do that. Liked hearing about Girard -as it reinforces my prejudice that he will make the team as a third-liner deluxe in a couple of years.

I made a point of watching Laviolette when he showed up during the 2 nd session. He seemed to be tracking Girard around the ice. The kid's speed just draws your eyes to him. Bet Lavy is salivating thinking of that speed on a break out. I will be shocked if he's not invited to camp.

 

[edmontonfan59]

How did the rest of the D look? Heard lots on Diaby but not much on the others.

 

[PerdFan]

I didn't see Alm on the ice at all today...did he make it to camp?
Vainonen is a Greg Zanon look-alike beard and all. Looks like a 40 y/o man. Nothing outstanding.

Noonan is a good skater, good defender with a good first pass and decent hands in tight. He'll be up in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.

Kivihalme is a very good defender...I don't know if anyone including Fiala got a puck around him. Reminds me of Kimmo in stature and game.

Rissling is a big kid...seems to be still growing into his size. Reminds me of Roussel, a little awkward on his skates. Needs to work on the accuracy of his first pass and also on receiving pucks. He's a project IMO.

You can tell Irving is young, he's got good speed and a decent first pass. Gonna be a few years to know what we've got in him.

Like I said Lyytinen, Diaby and Noonan stood out with Lyytinen being the best prospect at this time, IMO.

 

[NSH615]

I didn't see Alm on the ice at all today...did he make it to camp?
Vainonen is a Greg Zanon look-alike beard and all. Looks like a 40 y/o man. Nothing outstanding.

Noonan is a good skater, good defender with a good first pass and decent hands in tight. He'll be up in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.

Kivihalme is a very good defender...I don't know if anyone including Fiala got a puck around him. Reminds me of Kimmo in stature and game.

Rissling is a big kid...seems to be still growing into his size. Reminds me of Roussel, a little awkward on his skates. Needs to work on the accuracy of his first pass and also on receiving pucks. He's a project IMO.

You can tell Irving is young, he's got good speed and a decent first pass. Gonna be a few years to know what we've got in him.

Like I said Lyytinen, Diaby and Noonan stood out with Lyytinen being the best prospect at this time, IMO.

Yes, he's been here all week. Maz posted pics with him during the team's scavenger hunt and the team posted a picture of him a one of the charity events yesterday.

 

[PerdFan]

Yes, he's been here all week. Maz posted pics with him during the team's scavenger hunt and the team posted a picture of him a one of the charity events yesterday.

I don't know why but I didn't see Alm at all.

 

[NSH615]

I don't know why but I didn't see Alm at all.

#44 is what his jersey # was yesterday for the charity day.

 

[PerdFan]

#44 is what his jersey # was yesterday for the charity day.

We were 30 min late so unless he skated really early I never saw him.

 

[Persona5]

I was there this afternoon and my take on the players would be this.

Forsberg - Looked really good. better than last year for sure and I love the fact he was the one that seemed to mentor Kamanev around during drills helping him figure out what the coaches wanted. Shows how good of a leader he can be. Not to mention his sick skill in close to the net with the puck.

Fiala - Very impressed with his skill and quickness. On one of the team drills where they would break in two on one+ goalie he was very very good. His passing along with his shooting lead to 4 straight scores and should have been 5 but his partner didn't finish an easy shot. One of the more impressive forwards for sure and I think we will be very happy with him.

Leipsic - Love his fire and how hard he seems to work at all times. Very shifty and with his size he will need to be. Nothing special about his shot but his hands are very good.

Kamanev - Bigger than I thought and he skates really well. His shot is very quick and he was doing well in the one on one drill with good positioning and puck handling. Will be interesting to see what ends up happening with him. He could be a really good player down the road.

Aberg - The guy looks like he grew a ton for some reason. He looked very good in all the drills and it is hard to find anything bad about him. He is definitely a shoot first kind of player at least in this camp. I think he will be a good one for sure and if he grows anymore he will end up being a power forward.

Kirkland - For a guy drafted in the third round he stood out to me more than I thought he would. For his size he skates well and has very nice hands. He deked Hellberg out of his shoes and scored a really nice goal. I'll be more apt to keep an eye on this kid after seeing him at camp. Needs to put on some pounds but that will come in time.

Salomaki - Still hardnosed and works really hard out there. I still only see him being a 3rd or 4th liner but I do think he will be a really good one at that. Not sure he can make the team this season still but we will see. I would bet he is back with the Ads again though.

Sissons - We know how he played in the NHL last season but just watching him he looked good but honestly didn't standout at all. It will be interesting to see how he does moving forward.

Stepan - I thought he looked very strong. Really like his shot if nothing else. He also broke his stick attempting a slapper and tossed it over the glass to a few fans.

Vessey - Another guy who looked really good. His passing was what stood out to me the most as well as his solid skating. Not super-fast or anything but his change of pace was solid. I'm not sold on him making the NHL yet but there is still time.

Only going to talk about two guys on D because honestly none of them looked all that great except one.

Lyytinen - This guy could be a stud down the road. Really smooth skating and while I didn't see him rip many slappers off his wrist shot was really strong. He gets it off so fast with accuracy. His passing looked the best out of the d-men as well. The main thing for him will be adding some weight as while he looks tall out there he is really slim. Could be a gem in 3 year’s time.

Diaby - Not sure why people are talking him up so much. He needs a lot of work before he will ever be ready for the NHL from what I have seen. His skating and shot are average at best. His passing needs a lot of improvement and he just wasn't fast to make choices when looking for an outlet. I think I saw 3 guys diving across the ice trying to track down his passes on the cross over drill. Sure he is big and he can smother players at this age but I am not sure why people think there is a chance he could make the team this year. He needs at least 3 more years and I hope he improves in the areas I listed because if he does he could be good. That is a lot of improving though.

As for Goalies it was Williams and Hellberg in the first session and Mazanec and Juvonen in the second session. I think the comments made by Predsfan were more about Hellberg being really tired more than injured. After the coaches ran them through goalies drills Hellberg and Mazanec were both looking really tired. Especially Hellberg. Mezanec impressed me the most out of all of them and that won't surprise anyone I'm sure.



TLDR: If I were to pick out the best players I saw I would say Forsberg and Fiala. Both showed skill that the others simply couldn't match. I think Forsberg has a good chance to make the team this year and Fiala has an outside shot. You won't see me ever put either of these guys up for trade because they are our future.

 

[Persona5]

I don't know why but I didn't see Alm at all.

Never saw Alm either and I was there right at the start.

 

[Persona5]

Wanted to add something about how the practice went and the difference between Trotz and how PL seems to be running things. There is no question that some of the drills are more up tempo. I even heard the coaches instructing the players to use toe drags and dekes more in the one on one drills "like they talked about in the room" a coach said. Out of all the practices I have been too I never heard any of the Trotz regime say anything like that. Can't wait for the real deal camp to start. Going to have to make sure I make some of those for sure.

 

[Nothing Is New]

Wanted to add something about how the practice went and the difference between Trotz and how PL seems to be running things. There is no question that some of the drills are more up tempo. I even heard the coaches instructing the players to use toe drags and dekes more in the one on one drills "like they talked about in the room" a coach said. Out of all the practices I have been too I never heard any of the Trotz regime say anything like that. Can't wait for the real deal camp to start. Going to have to make sure I make some of those for sure.

Again, thanks for the report. Your take on Diaby is a little different than others. Also good to note even this early that things are going to be a little diffident under PL (and that's not necessarily saying all will be better).

 

[PerdFan]

I was there this afternoon and my take on the players would be this.

Forsberg - Looked really good. better than last year for sure and I love the fact he was the one that seemed to mentor Kamanev around during drills helping him figure out what the coaches wanted. Shows how good of a leader he can be. Not to mention his sick skill in close to the net with the puck.

Fiala - Very impressed with his skill and quickness. On one of the team drills where they would break in two on one+ goalie he was very very good. His passing along with his shooting lead to 4 straight scores and should have been 5 but his partner didn't finish an easy shot. One of the more impressive forwards for sure and I think we will be very happy with him.

Leipsic - Love his fire and how hard he seems to work at all times. Very shifty and with his size he will need to be. Nothing special about his shot but his hands are very good.

Kamanev - Bigger than I thought and he skates really well. His shot is very quick and he was doing well in the one on one drill with good positioning and puck handling. Will be interesting to see what ends up happening with him. He could be a really good player down the road.

Aberg - The guy looks like he grew a ton for some reason. He looked very good in all the drills and it is hard to find anything bad about him. He is definitely a shoot first kind of player at least in this camp. I think he will be a good one for sure and if he grows anymore he will end up being a power forward.

Kirkland - For a guy drafted in the third round he stood out to me more than I thought he would. For his size he skates well and has very nice hands. He deked Hellberg out of his shoes and scored a really nice goal. I'll be more apt to keep an eye on this kid after seeing him at camp. Needs to put on some pounds but that will come in time.

Salomaki - Still hardnosed and works really hard out there. I still only see him being a 3rd or 4th liner but I do think he will be a really good one at that. Not sure he can make the team this season still but we will see. I would bet he is back with the Ads again though.

Sissons - We know how he played in the NHL last season but just watching him he looked good but honestly didn't standout at all. It will be interesting to see how he does moving forward.

Stepan - I thought he looked very strong. Really like his shot if nothing else. He also broke his stick attempting a slapper and tossed it over the glass to a few fans.

Vessey - Another guy who looked really good. His passing was what stood out to me the most as well as his solid skating. Not super-fast or anything but his change of pace was solid. I'm not sold on him making the NHL yet but there is still time.

Only going to talk about two guys on D because honestly none of them looked all that great except one.

Lyytinen - This guy could be a stud down the road. Really smooth skating and while I didn't see him rip many slappers off his wrist shot was really strong. He gets it off so fast with accuracy. His passing looked the best out of the d-men as well. The main thing for him will be adding some weight as while he looks tall out there he is really slim. Could be a gem in 3 year’s time.

Diaby - Not sure why people are talking him up so much. He needs a lot of work before he will ever be ready for the NHL from what I have seen. His skating and shot are average at best. His passing needs a lot of improvement and he just wasn't fast to make choices when looking for an outlet. I think I saw 3 guys diving across the ice trying to track down his passes on the cross over drill. Sure he is big and he can smother players at this age but I am not sure why people think there is a chance he could make the team this year. He needs at least 3 more years and I hope he improves in the areas I listed because if he does he could be good. That is a lot of improving though.

As for Goalies it was Williams and Hellberg in the first session and Mazanec and Juvonen in the second session. I think the comments made by Predsfan were more about Hellberg being really tired more than injured. After the coaches ran them through goalies drills Hellberg and Mazanec were both looking really tired. Especially Hellberg. Mezanec impressed me the most out of all of them and that won't surprise anyone I'm sure.



TLDR: If I were to pick out the best players I saw I would say Forsberg and Fiala. Both showed skill that the others simply couldn't match. I think Forsberg has a good chance to make the team this year and Fiala has an outside shot. You won't see me ever put either of these guys up for trade because they are our future.

I think Diaby is like Arnott.. His strides are so long he looks like he barely moving, but Diaby was really smooth in drills for someone his size. He definitely needs work on his hands and shot. That's why I said at least 2-3 years

 

[Privy]

Any updates/impressions on Arvidsson, Görtz or Mäenalanen?

 

[pekkaslap]

Is Jarnkrok taking part in this development camp? Havent heard his name mentioned.

 

[PerdFan]

Any updates/impressions on Arvidsson, Görtz or Mäenalanen?

Gortz was probably the next fastest to Girard. Bigger than I remembered, decent hands. A lot like a Spaling, Salomaki type.

Maenalanen needs about 30 lbs too. Tall and thin...

Arvidsson didn't really catch my eye, good or bad.

 

[PerdFan]

You can tell a big difference on the players drafted this year compared to other years. Much more emphasis on skill and less on grit and grind. Salomaki and Sissons are examples of typical Pred 3rd line grinder drafting. Kamenev and Fiala are completely different from that Barry Trotz "Predator Hard" player. Glad to see it in person.

 

[Privy]

Gortz was probably the next fastest to Girard. Bigger than I remembered, decent hands. A lot like a Spaling, Salomaki type.

Maenalanen needs about 30 lbs too. Tall and thin...

Arvidsson didn't really catch my eye, good or bad.

Thanks. Was hoping Arvidsson would be making a better impression. Görtz sounds like he's improved, but I'm not expecting him to be more than a 3rd line guy though. I'm caustically optimistic about Mäenalanen but I'm thinking his WCJ performance was more of a product of playing with Teräväinen than anything else.

 

[Persona5]

I think Diaby is like Arnott.. His strides are so long he looks like he barely moving, but Diaby was really smooth in drills for someone his size. He definitely needs work on his hands and shot. That's why I said at least 2-3 years

I guess I am not really even talking about speed. I was looking more for his pivot points /hips/back skating than anything and there is much to be desired. I just want people to temper their thoughts of him maybe making the squad this year. That is not going to happen.

 

[Persona5]

Is Jarnkrok taking part in this development camp? Havent heard his name mentioned.

Not to many 22 year olds get invited to these. He is already solidly in the AHL/NHL so no need for him to be there.