Development Camp- Day 3

Today I was back at Development Camp but only for the skating drills in the morning.  Peerless has done a great job recapping both the scrimmage and the morning sessions but here, for what it's worth, are my 2 cents.

Group A started off by warming up with some puck work (Group B did not) and even in this relaxed setting,  Perreault showed that he can put the puck where ever he wants to.  He must have banged 7-10 pucks right off the posts in the upper left and right hand corners.  The kid has got some skills.

First off, it is remarkable to me how much better some skaters are than others, even at this level.  This was never more apparent than with Group A, where Breuss, Broda Perreault and Sean Backman stood out from the rest, with Breuss drawing the most attention.  Breuss skates like he plays- with alot of aggression and explosiveness.  He has a compact style, powerful legs and has great edge work, which allowed him to shine in all 4 drills.

The first drill had the nets placed almost against the endboards, with just enough space for the players to slip through.  The players started at the far blue line with the boards on their right, skated toward the adjusted net, came out the other side and then were timed between the blue lines.  The drill rewarded those who could carry the most speed through the corner and Breuss appeared to be the best (as Peerless points out, the times are not revealed so all I have are my observations), followed by Broda, Perreault and Backman.  Broda is also powerful with Perreault and Backman getting good results with their graceful stride.  Finley did better than I expected but was the only one to lose an edge in this drill.

The second drill had the skaters skate from blue line to blue line from a dead stop.  Again,  Breuss, Broda Perreault and Backman all excelled, with Breuss getting up to speed the quickest.

The third drill had the players skating around cones placed in an S formation.  The first cone was to the players left, requiring a turn to the right with a left footed crossover and the second cone required a left  turn with a right footed crossover.  I mention the crossovers because I was surprised to see that not all the players were able to crossover with both feet.

The last drill was a mini suicide with the players starting at the blue line, going to the red, back to the blue, and then to the far blue line.

Again, Breuss, Broda Perreault and Backman all excelled, with Breuss getting up to speed the quickest.

In addition to these 4, Flemming and Mitchell stood out.  They were not quite as fast as as the other 4 but they were fast.  Flemming again stood out to me because the kid never stops trying even when he is clearly exhausted.  Same with Breuss.  Flemming and Breuss have the best combination of talent and work ethic in Group A and I have yet to see either one of them half-ass a drill or even part of a drill.  What comes through is neither of these guys look they will ever take a shift off. 

Finley did OK but was not particularly good or bad.  The rest just kind of blended in.

While the talent level in Group A is fairly well defined, such is not the case in Group B.  Except for some of the invitees, the Group B players are much closer in talent.  Having said that, Eakin is the best skater, followed in no particular order by Carlson, Kugreyshev, SDR, Orlov and Bouchard.

Eakin is just so graceful and has such quick feet that he excelled at the drills.  It's hard to say what his compete level is because he makes it look easy. 

Carlson showed that he is the overall better skater than Orlov in these drills but not by much. 

As someone else wrote about Bouchard, his effort shows that he really wants to stick.  He went flat out in every drill and worked very hard, as did SDR.  Kugreyshev is just fast. 

I wrote in an earlier Post that Mestery is like Sarge.  I'd like to amend that to say that Mestery is a better skater.  He is more fluid and more coordinated and controlled.  (full disclosure- I am huge Sarge fan). 

Baby Gus was again average.  He did well but not great- probably in the top 3rd.  Of more concern to me is his attitude and ice presence.  Maybe it is just me but he just doesn't seem to be competing and I usually feel like he could have done better if he had just given it a better effort.

Patrick Wey needs some work.  He has a very upright skating style and doesn't look all that comfortable in his stride. 

Godfrey is also a study in contrasts.  He seemed to be very fast in a straight line but not so great at corners.  In Group B he stood out for how he skated through the 1st and 3rd  drills.  He was one of the skaters who couldn't/didn't crossover and, as a result, he lost a lot of speed because he just couldn't carry it through the corners. 

Finally, my boy Testwuide did well.  He is a big guy and is no Eakin but he hung right in there. 

At this point I feel safe in saying that Breuss and Flemming would kill someone-anyone- to make the team.  They never stop trying even when it no longer matters.  Bouchard, Backman and SDR are of the same ilk.  I wish I could say the same about Baby Gus.

I'll be there all day tomorrow for the drills and the scrimmage if anyone else is going.