The Malik Report

The Red Wings opened their summer development camp today in Traverse City, MI, and they "broke in" new equipment, "broke in" new coaches in Grand Rapids Griffins coach Todd Nelson and assistant coach Ben Simon, and the players got to know each other while taking part in a combination of getting-acquainted systems play (though Nelson was loath to call it such) and skill development drills.

As noted earlier this afternoon, the Wings' prospects were quite talkative, but now it's time for me to explain what I witnessed on the ice and do some initial player evaluations.

Here are the teams that participated in today's activities...

Team Howe:

Forwards:

Tyler Bertuzzi 59

Andreas Athanasiou 72

Anthony Mantha 39

Zach Nastasiuk 62

Dominic Turgeon 78

Hampus Melen 83

Alex Kile 44*

Julius Vahatalo 67

Bryce Gervais 49*

Evan Polei 82*

Connor McGlynn 80*

Anthony Greco 37*



Michael Babccock 81*

Sheldon Dries 76*

Defensemen:

James De Haas 75

Vili Saarijarvi 71

Marc McNulty 74

Won-Jun Kim 51*

Nicholas Azar 87*

Kevin Lough 94*

Kevin Lidstrom 64*

Goaltenders:

Chase Perry 50

Tomas Kral 68*

*Indicates try-out

Team Lindsay

Forwards:

Axel Holmstrom 96

Dylan Larkin 25

Evgeny Svechnikov 22

Tyson Spink 73*

Alex Globke 45*

Jerome Verrier 70*

Mike McKee 58

Christoffer Ehn 92

Nick Betz 54*

Chase Pearson 17

Jin Hui Ahn 84*

Adam Marsh 63

Adam Lidstrom 85*

Defensemen:

Travis Walsh 89*

Joe Hicketts 53

David Nemecek 46*

Patrick Holway 79

Grant Gabriele 86*

Jalen Chatfield 97*

Jarrett Meyer 95

Goaltenders:

Jake Paterson 36

Joren Van Pottelberghe 31

And the teams were coached by Griffins coach Todd Nelson, Griffins assistant Ben Simon, Toledo Walleye coach Derek Lalonde, Toledo Walleye assistant coach Tom Watson, goalie coaches Jim Bedard and Jeff Salajko and director of player development Jiri Fischer.

Ken Holland, Kris Draper, Ryan Martin, Jeff Blashill and the entire Lidstrom family were in attendance today, and Lidstrom informally signed autographs for fans at the end of the day's activities.

This guy's here, too, skating on his own to rehab his healing ACL:

Skated today for the first time since Feb 13th. I need an oxygen mask.... — Mitch Callahan (@Mcally15) July 3, 2015

I didn't get to see everything because the teams practices are overlapping--Team Howe skated from 9-10:45 AM, and Team Lindsay skated from 10-11:45 AM, so I wasn't able to see Jiri Fischer's skill drills in David's Rink, but I got the vast majority of the teams' systems drills and what was an intriguing twist on skill development in a set of "circuit-training" style "stations."

And of course the camp isn't all about on-ice activities, so I should mention that Team Lindsay worked out with the Red Wings' strength and conditioning coaches for 45 minutes prior to their on-ice session (doing calisthenics and circuit training), Team Howe did the same after they skated, and the players were going to attend a social media and media relations lecture later in the day. They work with a nutritionist, take a yoga class and do other educational activities each day.

Team Lindsay began their day working with Jiri Fischer for half an hour; Team Howe ended its on-ice day by working with Fischer...

But Todd Nelson put both teams through their paces for an hour of the hour-and-45-minute alotted time (15 minutes was given to a break and a resurfacing of the West Rink), and his style is very different than Jeff Blashill's.

Instead of skating and warming up before engaging in drills, Nelson puts his players to work right away, with bursts of hard laps in between the first three or four drills--which consisted of "four corners" drills in which a single player would pass toward one of the repositories of players on each side of the blueline opposite the skater's starting position, that skater would loop back through passes one and two, and then they'd skate around a cone on the "loop back" side of center before skating in on a breakaway against the goalie on the side of the ice from which they began.

The iterations of the drill early on weren't particularly complicated: instead of taking passes from a set of stationary players, a d-to-d pass would set up the breakaway-against-own-goalie; the defense would rotate with one man "low" and one man "high" as they passed to each other and then up to the forward, and then a "two corners" drill allowed one skater to chug out to the far blueline, turn in on his goaltender, and then stay there to screen the goaltender as a second player would come in on another looping breakaway.

Soon the defensemen were chasing in "soft dump-ins" placed in the end boards and relaying those dump-ins--with either a single pass or a d-to-d pass--up to 2 forwards that would skate up through either side of center ice and skate in on a breakaway.

Then a familiar pattern emerged in a change-up from the "four corners" types of drills to a "two corners" drill where players were lined up at the northwest and southeast corners of the rink (which faces north-south) with a set of defensemen at center ice; the skaters would take a puck and charge up to the center of the far blueline, pass the puck to the "next person in line" at the other repository, that player would then pass the puck back to the person who passed to him, and the skater would turn back and face a defenseman who'd skated out from center ice in a 1-on-1 situation.

Things got complicated quickly from there, with diagonal passes to a coach standing on the opposite corner (i.e. southwest or northeast) of the "repository" to redistribute the puck; then the defensemen started drills in their normal positions instead of coming out from a center-ice repository, working on dump-and-retrieval drills that engaged a 3-on-2 at the "far end" with all 5 skaters coming back on the next pair of outlet-passing defensemen at the "near end."

Nelson wanted the players to stretch out their passes and drive through the middle of the ice instead of skating up the wing, and the players responded.

Then a very, very strange drill was employed in which the nets were moved onto the bluelines; two players "faced off" at center ice as a coach passed to one of those players, and FOUR players stood at what you could consider to be the "half boards" of the faceoff circle, in a Sheriff's badge/Star of David formation with the goalies. Those players would be passed the puck, and a minimum of 3 or 4 passes had to be made before a player could shoot on the net, with the "star" players being chosen as the north or south pair by the "center."

After all of that, the players took a 15-minute break for a dry scrape (during which the goalies worked on their edges with Bedard and Salajko), and then the "circuits" began.

Five stations were set up for 5 groups of 4 players to engage in:

Stations 1, 2 and 3 were set up between the bluelines:

The first involved a 3-man formation in a sort of /|\, where the player at the top of that "fork" would pass to and back from each of the three players at the "bottom" of the fork, and this was done VERY quickly;

The second involved pairs of players passing back and forth to each other over a hockey stick laid parallel to them;

And the third involved the players skating around 6 cones before dekeing through 6 pucks and then trying to flick the puck over a stick horizontally, then back through the 6 pucks, and back around the 6 cones to complete the drill.

At the south end of the rink, an iteration of the "peel-off' drills was taking place with a player lining up at the tippy-top of the faceoff dot against another player who came from the center of the dot down to the faceoff circle closest to the goal, and those players would attempt to win a 1-on-1 battle for the puck before shadowing each other as they skated back toward center ice, kept going around the faceoff circle and then shot on the goalie from the slot.

Those are your five "stations," and both teams went through them.

At the other rink, so I've been told, Fischer was putting the players through skating paces...

But I saw a whole lot of this instead:

2015 Development Camp is officially underway in Traverse City as Coach @Todd_Nelson44 runs practice #DRWDC #AttExtCov pic.twitter.com/6STdimRtO0 — Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 3, 2015

The drills will get more structured--with issues like gap control and being on the inside of puck battles mattering much more on Sunday and Monday...

But tomorrow the teams are going to practice from 10-10:45 AM and then scrimmage from 4-5:30 PM, so everyone will have the opportunity to watch the prospects in game action as well as skill drills.

Bearing that I watched the players in skill drills, here's what I thought about what I witnessed, with my emphasis tending to involve the players that the Red Wings have drafted as opposed to free agent try-outs:

Team Howe:

Forwards:

Tyler Bertuzzi 59: The players who were attending second or third development camps were just miles ahead of their try-out or first-year teammates, and that's just--as a former coach would say--"the facts." Bertuzzi looked like a player who'd come off a spring of playing professional hockey at the end of a strong CHL campaign. Bertuzzi is still a little light at about 6'1" and 180 pounds, but he's gained at least 15-20 pounds over what he was when the Wings drafted him, and his gangly frame could handle another 10 or 15 pounds of muscle, if not some fat given how skinny he is. In terms of his skill set, Bertuzzi is best grinding it out and pissing off opponents in competitive settings, but his upright skating style, strong skating speed and steady-on-his-feet status, his shot and especially his playmaking all add up to someone who could very well become a 2nd or more likely 3rd-line agitating but offensively talented winger in the NHL in 2 or 3 years. He's just grown up so much mentally from two years ago to this year that it's great to see Bertuzzi look like someone who's on the cusp of pro success.

Andreas Athanasiou 72: For reasons unknown to me, the dynamic Darren Helm With Hands didn't play today.

Anthony Mantha 39: I don't like to say that someone is still finding their way back from a rough year when it's Anthony Mantha, but that's the truth. Mantha seems to have added a hitch in his giddyup--as in his legs are finally moving and he is pushing his way up the ice instead of gliding on that 6'4," 210-ish pound frame, churning that big body up and down the ice instead of just waiting for something to happen. He's better at winning faceoffs, his shot is harder by 5 miles an hour, and he's far more consistent in his effort and determination, but there are still times that his stick looks 3 to 5 inches too long for him to handle the puck without making an extra "dangle," and there are still times that he simply looks to lack some confidence. That shows up on the defensive side of the game, which is what he has to work on to really allow his offensive skills (which are still elite) to come to the fore; if Mantha can become a steadier player in terms of stopping his opponents from getting past him by stick-checking harder and getting on the inside of puck battles to use that gigantic frame to his advantage, everything's going to flow from there.

Zach Nastasiuk 62: Like most of his teammates, Nastasiuk had some rust in his game, but even among some unlikely linemates and looking a little tired from a long OHL and then AHL season, Nastasiuk was a defensive beast whose body has become a man's body over the past two years. Nastasiuk's a natural leader who's rock-rock-rock solid defensively, doing whatever it takes, snarly stuff included, to win battles, to check the hell out of his opponents, win faceoffs and ensure that his opponents aren't going to get a sniff. He skates much better than he used to, too, and if he can add an extra even quarter step, he's going to be a defensive dynamo.

Dominic Turgeon 78: Turgeon's another, "What a difference a year makes" player. Still working on his foot speed and still working on allowing those Turgeon family playmaking skills and simple veteran headiness well past his 19 years come to the fore, Turgeon looks incredibly comfortable in his own skin and he looks like a man who's ready to have a junior season where he proves that he can be more than a rock-solid defensive center. He was strong on the puck and strong positionally without it today, and his innate poise is just lovely to watch.

Hampus Melen 83: This was the first day that I watched the 6'3," 172-pound forward in my dang life, and I could at least see why Hakan Andersson said he was the most talented Swede the Wings had--in glimpses and moments of a big man skating with poise and control and someone who could keep up with Turgeon and Nastasiuk. Regrettably he reminded me more of Rasmus Bodin than anything else--somebody who had a lot of skill but only showed it in those fleeing glimpses.

Alex Kile 44* Kile's a 6,' 194-pound forward who registered 13 goals and 13 assists in 36 games played for the University of Michigan this past season, and what little I saw of him indicated that he was going to keep up, but he looked like a lot of prospects who are Michigan native try-outs on their first day--a little overwhelmed and in a little over his head in terms of the pace of play.

Julius Vahatalo 67: Remains intriguing but puzzling. Julius is 6'3" but a very gangly 180-ish pounds, and he gobbled up faceoff wins, skated up and down the ice very well and looked like someone with some offensive abilities, but after a pretty solid season in the J20 Finnish league, I wasn't particularly impressed with his turn-and-burn moves. He looks more like a project who could fill out and become a strong defensive center than anything else right now.

Bryce Gervais 49* The 5'10," 190-pound Minnesota State winger had 16 goals and 10 assists for 26 points last season, but the Sakatchewan native looked like another smallish forward that could keep up, barely.

Evan Polei 82*: Polei's a 6'1," 219-pound winger who had 23 points in 53 games for Red Deer this past season, and he certainly fills out his jersey and glides up the ice well for a big man. There were some glimmers of offense here and there, but that's all that stood out.

Connor McGlynn 80*: The 6'2," 205-pound 22-goal scorer with the Kingston Frontenacs was like Polei--you could see his size and you could see that the man moved very well for someone of his size, but the 19-year-old didn't stand out.

Anthony Greco 37*: Greco did stand out and stood out positively. The 5'10," 171-pound forward is another smallish player that the Wings may have too many of on their roster and in their prospect pipeline, but the Ohio State junior going on senior possessed a maturity and savviness that his younger compatriots didn't. He skated like he belonged, showed some offensive flourish and panache and made good plays.

Michael Babccock 81*: Michael is Michael is Michael. Headed to his freshman season at Merrimack as a 20-year-old, Michael is still all of 5'9" and maybe 165 pounds, but he is a relentlessly hardworking grinder who, when he's at his best, plays like a smaller Nastasiuk. Someone is going to give him a pro chance and he's going to be an ECHL'er or AHL'er one day, but he's got a long road and a lot of filling out of a small frame to do. He is incredibly competitive and surprisingly friendly for the son of the mighty Mike Babcock, so I'm rooting for him.

Sheldon Dries 76* The 5'9," 179-pound junior looked like someone who put up 29 points in 37 games but is a Michigan native and was a little jittery on his first day playing with pro players and playing for the Red Wings.

Defensemen:

James De Haas 75: Big James is an incredibly intriguing prospect to me. At 6'4" and 210 pounds, you would not expect him to be as fleet of foot as he is, but the big man chugs up and down the ice like he's twenty pounds lighter, he makes good plays with a strong playmaking flair and a hard shot, he's not out of position defensively despite his offensive forays and he looks like someone who could become a really solid #4/5/6 defenseman of the slightly poorer man's Danny DeKeyser mold in a couple years. He's just got to produce offensively to earn a pro contract, and he has yet to do that in two seasons with Clarkson. He's a good kid, too.

Vili Saarijarvi 71: So the Wings signed Vili Saarijarvi at the development camp.

Should they have done so?

Well, first and foremost, it's to control his playing future, and second, despite the fact that he's 5'10," not 5'9," and about 175 pounds...

Yeah. Yeah they should have, and I'm glad they did. Even on first glance, he's fleet-of-foot, he's got great positioning, his PACE is at pro level, not USHL level, and he looked better than anybody not named Dylan Larkin out there today. Saarijarvi can pass on the fly and pass where he wants the puck to go, not just where the puck should be when he's making the pass, his shot is hard and he has no problems whatsoever dealing with bumps and grinding. He reminded me of Joe Hicketts last summer, except that Saarijarvi has far better offensive skills, and again, that PACE is something that only stands out if you're really damn good. I was that impressed with him.

Marc McNulty 74: I can't figure out what the Wings should do with McNulty. He's filled out to 6'6" and 205-ish pounds, he skates like the wind, he's good in his own end and can create offense, but he's just not a physical player and he's just not someone who, in my viewing, has been tremendously defensively responsible. It's very frustrating to watch someone with so much skill and so much natural size look like Jakub Kindl--you see enough that you know there is potential to be a racehorse there, but the application is lacking. He's a free agent now because the Wings didn't sign him to an entry-level deal, and he may remain a free agent invite to the fall prospect tournament.

Won-Jun Kim 51*: Kim looked good. He's 5'11" and liberally listed at 179 pounds--more like 165--and his conditioning certainly wasn't at anything more than an Asia League level (a few steps below the KHL, think the single-A level of European or Asian hockey), but he kept up, he took his checks, he got the puck out of trouble, and while he was no Saarijarvi, his pace was good and he was just solid. I don't think he's in the mix for any sort of contract, but I do think that he's going to hold his own and put in a good showing while soaking up the pro experience.

Nicholas Azar 87* 6'3," 210 pounds and a graduate of Detroit Honeybaked AAA hockey, headed to Harvard, and he was invisible today. Big boy, coming from a triple-A level hockey (i.e. a step removed from Major Junior) in his first pro camp. That's got to be overwhelming.

Kevin Lough 94*: For a 5'11," 180-something pound junior from Colgate who didn't produce many points this past season, Lough had a really good first day. He didn't look out of place at all, and like Kim, while he wasn't a dazzling pro, he looked like somebody who's going to have a very good camp.

Kevin Lidstrom 64*: Kevin is 6'1," about 180 pounds, he played for Enköpings SK of the Division I league (a step below the Allsvenskan, or Swedish AHL), and as a defenseman, the 21-year-old looks just like his father. His skating style is similar, his mannerisms are similar and some of the things he does with the puck are similar...

But that's where it ends. He's nowhere near as talented as his dad, and while the pace of play and keeping up were no issues for the son of a pro hockey player, he was sort of there. Every once in a while, you'd see a Lidstrom-like play and just get giddy, but those moments would pass, and you'd see a very steady #5/6 defenseman at the AHL level, maybe, calmly and patiently do his thing.

Goaltenders:

Chase Perry 50: I'm going to call the 6'3," 190-pound goalie a "spider goalie" and keep that his nickname until he gets his glove and blocker hands in order. Perry, who made a HUGE jump from minor hockey in Washington State to NCAA Division I hockey last year--but barely played for Colorado College--is nearly unbeatable when he slides his pads under his body or tucks pucks into his incredibly upright frame, and those arms are moving around, he's great. His stickhandling is superb, his technique is excellent in terms of his butterfly, his puck-tracking and his ability to not get turned around on rebounds, and then...He lets up a weak blocker goal, or he tucks his glove into his body instead of reaching out to stop a puck, and he gets shelfed. Very, very, very raw netminder who needs more playing time to become something more than a very big goalie with an impeccable technique that includes a mediocre glove and blocker.

Tomas Kral 68*: 5'11," 179 pounds, played in the Czech second division last year and has bounced all over the damn place despite being 22, but man, for one day anyway, this kid was near-perfect. When he got turned around, he could get into trouble, but otherwise, he was an incredibly solid butterfly goalie whose glove, blocker, pads, reflexes, positioning, puckhandling and anticipation of plays were fantastic. But it's having one fantastic day and still being a "small goalie" who's not really established himself as a pro here, not having a fantastic summer camp and coming back in the fall to dominate that we're talking about.

*Indicates try-out

Team Lindsay

Forwards:

Axel Holmstrom 96: Real good, still needs to work on skating, is definitely someone who broke the Sedins' playoff record for scoring by a rookie in the SHL, is not necessarily the next Tomas Holmstrom in any aspect save the fact that he needs to work on his skating. Like Saarijarvi, Holmstrom's pace is professional and he can anticipate things happening, so he chugs up the gut and skates into the slot or into the corners pretty damn fearlessly, comes up with the puck more often than not, and he can score goals and set up his teammates equally well. He just looks like what he is--someone who needs more time in Sweden to mature in the non-offensive parts of his game. He's got some bulk to him as well, so gaining muscle mass shouldn't be hard. There is a ton of potential in Axel Holmstrom to become a 2nd-line center with grit and jam.

Dylan Larkin 25: He must be living a charmed life. Larkin's a speedy, smart, savvy, veteran-level mature goal-scorer and playmaker of the possible first-line order who gets annoyed when he doesn't score in practice drills, is incredibly competitive without being a mean and nasty player, he skates strongly and stoutly on his skates, he's hard to knock off the puck, he can score top-shelf goals all damn day and he is still developing physically into an incredibly fit human being. His future is so bright that he ought to wear shades, and he's so even-keeled and even masterful in terms of patiently issuing hockey cliches when the questions get campy. Good kid, great future.

Evgeny Svechnikov 22: Good kid, terrible first day. The 6'2" winger deftly disappeared and then reappeared to score or attempt to score gorgeous goals or make elegant passing plays...And then he faded back into the woodwork. Or fell over. Repeatedly. As an 18-year-old with limited English and as someone who was 8 days removed from his draft day today, he gets a pass.

Tyson Spink 73*: Spink remains 5'10" and 170-something pounds, the left-handed member of the Spink twins (Tylor is apparently at another pro camp), and he's the, "What a difference a year makes" case for the try-outs. Tyson is not somebody who's going to get a pro contract with the Wings, but he looked comfortable in his own skin, skated very well, made his plays at a respectable level of urgency and speed, he didn't get bumped around too badly and on a day when everyone was falling over, he was solid. Solid is good when you're looking for a contract somewhere and the summer camp is your only chance to impress somebody.

Alex Globke 45*: The 6'3," 205-pound native of Waterford has impressed me for the past two years now. Globke followed up a 30-point season with 10 points in the a similar number of games (36) with Lake Superior State this past season, but he's just damn solid for his weight class and for his relative inexperience going into his junior season. He skates well, he passes solidly, he shoots OK and he really looks like he belongs among the try-out fish, as it were. He's no Joe Hicketts, but it would be interesting to see him get into a prospect tournament one of these years.

Jerome Verrier 70*: Verrier missed a good chunk of the QMJHL season, so the 21-year-old didn't play in many games for the Drummondville Voltigeurs or Quebec Remparts, but he had 15 points in 20 playoff games as Quebec won the Memorial Cup, and he just keeps sticking around and sticking around and sticking around. The Wings brought in the speedy, acerbic goal-scoring winger last summer and fall, and while he didn't impress enough to earn a contract, he impressed enough to be invited back, and he looks more poised and more consistent this time around. He doesn't wander into the Rasmus Bodin woods any more.

Mike McKee 58: McKee = proceed with caution, in more ways than one. In a skill development camp, the 6'5," 250-pound forward appears to have the feet of his pal De Haas, his hands are superb, his stickhandling and passing are great and he's big, mean and physical with a learned edge of restraint. The problem is that when he goes into games for Western Michigan, he doesn't score a lot of points, and he continues to play somewhat limited minutes under Andy Murray as a defenseman-turned-forward. The Wings have no one in their system as big or naturally nasty as McKee, but he's also something of an enigma. Three years ago, he came to the summer camp playing USHL hockey and falling over every day, and now he's this poised, polished guy in the skill drills but not a poised, polished guy in NCAA games. What can McKee really do? I'd sure like to know.

Christoffer Ehn 92: Ehn looked better than last year, but the gangly 6'2" center is something of a project. Ehn played for Frolunda in the SHL, played for the World Junior team, played for Frolunda's Junior-20 team, is being loaned to BIK Karlskoga of the Allsvenskan, the Swedish AHL, and he's going to the Swedish WJC summer camp alongside Axel Holmstrom...But when I see him here, he looks a little overwhelmed and overmatched physically. Is he a skilled, faceoff-savvy, playmaking center with lots of room to grow and very good skating speed for someone who looks bigger than he is? Definitely, but he doesn't look like he's anywhere near ready for North America like the recently-signed Holmstrom does, either.

Nick Betz 54* 6'4," 220-pound forward from Mt. Clemens, put up 54 points in 60 games for the Erie Otters and had 72 minutes in penalties, and I'm not sure if a summer development camp is where he's going to shine. He looked gigantic out there, but that's about all I saw of him--a giant.

Chase Pearson 17: Whoof. There were times that the gangly 6'2," 180-something pound graduate of Youngstown of the USHL looked like his father's son, a tough customer (Scott Pearson was an enforcer) with grit, jam and maybe some superb scoring abilities, and there were times when the Wings' 140th overall draft pick looked like he didn't give a rat's butt about what was happening on the ice. It was very puzzling to see Pearson so casually work his way easily through drills because he skates so very well and because he's got good hands, and then see him be so...casual. Those kinds of things lead you to worry sometimes.

Jin Hui Ahn 84*: Ahn, like Kim, is optimistically listed at 5'11" and 184 pounds, and he played in the Asia League as well. I thought he was a little less impressive in terms of his physical game--he got bumped around--but perhaps more impressive in terms of his overall skill level, with more speed and better playmaking skills. It's early yet, but he kept up very well. There's no skill gap here in terms of the regular try-outs and the Korean ones; hockey's hockey, and the world over, if you can keep up, you can play.

Adam Marsh 63: Another whoof. 200th overall pick, re-started his career with the Saint John Sea Dogs, where he's a sniper, and yes, he has sniper's hands...But sometimes he looked like Brendan Smith during his rookie camp in terms of his level of engagement, and Smith had the talent to get away with not giving a s*** about the details. Marsh doesn't quite have much more than a pair of good hands and enough intrigue that the Wings drafted him 200th overall, and I already wonder about his attitude having seen him play once.

Adam Lidstrom 85*: Only 19, the younger brother wants to do what Kevin has not while playing for Vasteras IK's junior team--Adam wants to play college hockey in the U.S., and the 6,' 170-something pound forward is going to have to play a little better to get a scholarship, but not much better. I was impressed with his skating (faster), puckhandling (better) and his overall skill level (pretty even), but he had to try a lot harder to get to the places his brother does effortlessly, and he got pushed around a lot, which is what happens when you're skinny. He kept up though, and that was good to see. As a Swedish junior, you can play very sheltered hockey until you're 20, so he's pretty much where he should be development-wise--in progress.

Defensemen:

Travis Walsh 89*: A 5'11," 181-pound native of Halsett, MI and a defensive scoring leader on a so-so MSU team, Walsh looked mobile and smart, but that's really all I can say. Mobile and smart.

Joe Hicketts 53: Those of you who are fast-tracking "Hicksy" to the NHL need to give this young man another year in the WHL and a couple in the AHL, as well as continued work on his strength, but that doesn't mean to say anything less than you've got to be patient. On a team full of defensive tryouts, Hicketts is the man who makes the machine work, using his superb skating, excellent playmaking and vision and hard, high shot to power through drills and opponents, and again, I want to use that "pace" word to compliment his urgency and poise. Hicketts looks like someone who is right on the cusp between needing to send that 5'9" frame back to Major Junior and someone who would be better off playing pro hockey, and that's a good thing. He's going to take a while to develop, but I believe he can be more than a 5/6 defenseman "playing sheltered minutes" if he truly pans out.

David Nemecek 46*: He's big, he's Czech, 6'4" and 210 pounds, a teammate of Julius Vahatalo's in TPS Turku's junior league...He was big, he was Czech, and he got beat a lot. First day, perhaps, but I didn't make much of him.

Patrick Holway 79: Project! The 6'5," 195-pound defenseman and high school lacrosse star heading to Boston College after another year with the Dubuque Fighting Saints has all the tools of a Mike McKee-type player. He's big, he's going to get a lot heavier, he's mobile, he's a right shot, and on Friday, he was present, accounted for and very raw. There were times that he kept up and looked like he belonged and there were times that he looked like somebody fresh out of high school who wasn't quite ready for the kind of skill level or intensity he was encountering. We'll see how he holds up over the duration of camp, because he's a Wings pick, going to Maine like Peterson.

Grant Gabriele 86*: The Wings didn't have the 6'1," 167-pound Brighton native and US NTDP graduate's jersey ready, but he looked ready for camp. There were some flashes and flourishes of a strong playmaking, right-shot defenseman there, and of the tryouts, Gabriele kept up best. He was solid.

Jalen Chatfield 97*: Chatfield was harder to figure out. Sometimes the Windsor Spitfires defenseman looked like a smart, steady stay-at-home guy; sometimes the 6'0," 187-pound native of Ypsilanti looked completely out of his element.

Jarrett Meyer 95: The dude is frickin' huge. Meyer, who played for the Owen Sound Attack and registered no points in 34 games, is 6'8" and 249 pounds, and there were times that he stood out for more than his size, but there weren't many, not yet, anyway.

Goaltenders:

Jake Paterson 36: If Paterson could skate out another half-foot from his crease, I think that would solve a lot of the soft goals he gives up, and that is Paterson's booger of a problem--he's a wonderful goalie in terms of his fundamentals, his poise, his attitude and his abilities, but the hybrid-style netminder with great puckhandling abilities gets beat high and gets beat low in ways that make you worry. I really like Paterson's style of play and I really like the way he employs his style to his advantage, but at 6'1," you're just not a big goalie in pro hockey these days, and he can't or won't get out to the top of the blue paint or more to negate his opponents' squeakers.

Joren Van Pottelberghe 31: Fun to watch, lots of fun to watch. Bigger than his 6'2," 201-listed height and weight, the Wings' 110th overall pick was simple, smooth, reserved and applied the "Swiss Butterfly" in a non-linear manner in that he stayed on his feet quite often to anticipate plays instead of pulling a Jonas Hiller and dropping to the ice at the first sight of the puck. He can butterfly just fine and dandy, but Van Pottelberghe has a sense of anticipation that belies his relative lack of pro experience. We'll see how he does in tomorrow's scrimmage.

That's where I'll leave you for now. I've got audio up from earlier today and there is the aforementioned scirmmage tomorrow, so there will be much more content in the days ahead. I'll try to get more pictures up, too.

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