Sorry the post is so late. Had some major issues with SBN yesterday and it cost me 90% of the original post but because I'm human I did have to get some sleep.
Hockey season is definitely back.
A strikingly similar show put on day two was followed by some drills with the big boys that amplified the intensity quite a bit and several fresh faces hit the ice for the first time this season. I've been burning the candle at both ends pretty hard so I'm going to make this far less-winded than yesterday (I hope).
Post-jump is my look into what Brad Malone, Duncan Siemens, and Tyson Barrie brought to the table followed by a couple of random observations.
Brad Malone: The first thing that jumped off the ice about Malone yesterday and was only reinforced today was that he moves well for a guy his size. He's a smooth skater with a long, powerful stride who isn't blessed with great acceleration but has a top speed that won't cause him to be overwhelmed in the NHL. He was focused on firing a few more pucks past goalies today (same for Landy, who he's living with at a hotel near Park Meadows) and used his quick, compact release to pick some corners. Maybe most surprising on the day was some actual hitting showed up as he and Landeskog came together in front of Pickard for an amusing confrontation. Later during the scrimmages Malone received a pretty significant body check from O'Byrne and took it in stride. As they skated down the ice, Malone was definitely looking to let O'Byrne know he saw the number of that freight train and seemed anxious to get into O'Byrne. Sadly, everyone remembered it was day 2 of rookie camp and the two quickly skated away with smiles on their faces. Don't be surprised to see Malone happily lay into O'Byrne this weekend. From what I saw, Malone had himself a pretty solid day and I'm really liking his potential to make an impact on the bottom 6 this season. It may not be immediate but I wouldn't be surprised to see Malone donning an Avs jersey at some point in this campaign.Duncan Siemens: After not really watching him but for a couple glimpses yesterday, I spent a significant portion of my morning at the rink watching his every move. The kid is raw as raw gets. As noted yesterday, his frame has a ton of room to fill out. Right now he's "gangly" (courtesy of Cheryl about 6 seconds into practice) and kind of awkward looking on the ice. Dario mentioned Siemens had seemingly (hawhaw) no interest in smiling or even making it look like he enjoyed the game of hockey. True story, he told. My biggest complaint with Siemens was that he looked like he was going half speed the entire time. Not sure if he was just tired or what the deal was but he didn't look like he was focused at all on what was taking place on the ice. Passes would come his way and he'd seem surprised. He'd be in line to pass to someone else and it was like he forgot his role in the drill. Really peculiar stuff.
Tyson Barrie: After Dario and mfured's excitement over Barrie yesterday, I was looking forward to spending an hour locked in on him in every drill. I'd say the excitement was justified. He's a real intriguing guy moving forward. Watching the skating drills, Barrie doesn't strike me as a particularly fast skater but he's awful quick. He's not going to make anyone think of Cumiskey in a straight line but he has the ever-important explosive first step and he gets going in a hurry. Watching him carry the puck, it's clear he chose the right profession. He looks around well and surveys the ice while carrying the puck and keeps an eye on everything going around him. Even in just the drills, you could see him constantly checking and double-checking where guys were headed to make sure he was in the right spot. Small details, but that's what I look for the most. You want to see a guy doing all these little things that separate players. Barrie does them all the time. I'm still worried about his size but I think if he had been 3 inches taller he would've been drafted right in the same neighborhood as Stefan Elliott.
That's pretty much it for the guys who I watched very closely. I'll go ahead and just post my random observations as they are written in my notes:
- Varly!
- Omg Varly :D
- Mueller's tinted visor looks awesome.
- Lindstrom and Mueller laughing it up along the boards for past 2 minutes. Wonder if they've been hanging out?
- Lindstrom on fire. Shot is wicked, being placed consistently in corners. Hotttt.
- Olver :)
Beachie here. Dario was on fire with the videos again yesterday. Here's a list of the links. Enjoy!
Shinny
Bordello of Blood
Varly & Muller
Varly (pic)
Transition drills (#25 is Siemens)
Breakout drill
More drills
Pre-camp warm ups