Recap of Day 2 and 3 of Development Camp
Lots to talk about
So, I was supposed to have something on Day 2 yesterday, but decided to push it back and combine 2 and 3 together. It’s not a big deal, at least I don’t think it is, but it means this piece will be slightly longer than what it would’ve been. Let’s start with Day 2
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Kurban Limatov is an absolutely unbelievably skater. It’s insane watching him in person because you can see just how effortless he makes it look. Consistently the fastest out of his group (the other Russian defenseman), he also did well in the resistance skate. A shocker, you’ll hear me rave about him later on.
Mikey Berchild did really well on the resistance skate. Coaches were giving him props on his run at the highest level of resistance. Zach Lansard also had some good runs.
Was nice to see Charlie Cerrato have some good runs in the resistance skates. Not that I was nervous, necessarily, about him coming back from injury but he looks real good.
Got to see the first sighting of Justin Poirier as he was just walking around and talking/chirping the Russian defenseman while they were doing the resistance skate.
Some idiot left early and missed the goalies getting technical work in, what a dummy (my apologizes there).
There really wasn’t a lot to talk about coming out of Day 2. It was mainly test scores that the Canes will keep internally to have a baseline on these guys (or update scores from last year). Day 3 had a LOT more to talk about.
In the absence of the normal “Jussi Jokinen” award (given to the prospect who always scored in the shootout), I’m going to give out camp MVP. The recipient this year is Kurban Limatov
This kid Kurban impressed on every single day of camp. Day 1 he was leading skating drills and showing off his explosive movement (including a viral post that I got harassed for). Day 2 he was getting love from the training staff and coaches for his ability in the top speed/blue line to blue line and back drill. On Day 3, it was his ability to defend off the rush and in odd man situations. His skating carries him in the regard, being able to cover so much ground and keep up with the fastest forwards the prospect group had. Even threw in some physicality on the boards. I know I’ve said in the past I need to pump the brakes on Kurban because his hype was getting out of control, but his play next year at the pro level will give a great baseline on what he can be at the NHL level.
Roman Shokhrin was easily the best defensive defenseman today. His foot speed might not be the fastest but he’s incredibly good at reading and anticipating plays. Multiple times he knew exactly what the forward was going to do and was able to break up the play. Interested to see where he ends up playing this year in Russia.
I never really saw the hands part of William Hakansson’s game but man, he’s got sneakily good hands. Scored two beauty goals in the shootout. Large Fella who was able to dish out some fun (and light, will stress light) physicality today. Should mention he’ll attend the World Junior Summer Showcase with Sweden in late July.
Mikey Berchild had some really fun shifts, including getting stonewalled by Limatov on a rush and still managing to get around him and get a good chance on Ryder Fetterolf. He’s got really solid hands and good skill, interested on what David Carle can mold him into.
Speaking of Fetterolf, that kid just stops pucks. He does well to get out to the top of his crease to challenge shooters and does a good job fighting around screens. Again, importantly, he’s good at stopping the puck.
Zachary Jovanovski had some nice moments as well. He’s the larger of the two goalies and has some nice patience. Able to recover well and make the save the second time if he needs to.
“Guy who has the best straight line speed” goes to Zach Lansard. When he gets moving, he can absolutely fly. Solid skill on him as well, fun combination of a player. I’ve lucked into some game tape of his that I’ll try and get some videos from over the next week or so.
Timur Kol looks and plays like a pro. Good at defending the rush and has some solid offensive ability.
Cerrato impressed heavily today as well. He’s able to make the offensive play happen and play off contact, while also being a leader on the ice. Multiple times you could hear him clearly calling out plays or asking for the puck. After the session was over, he got almost every single player for a game at one end of the ice and you could hear him explaining the rules. Interested on if he continue to develop his 200 foot game in Chicago, because I think he’s going to have a really good rookie AHL season. He seems to have put his previous injury behind him.
Was good to see Justin Poirier get out on the ice after the session and get some loose skating in. Only was skating for about 10ish minutes but it was still nice to see. Reminder that he’s coming off hip surgery.
That’ll be all for Development Camp. It’s always a fun time seeing the prospects in person and this time was no different. With the season finally over, I plan on taking a small break from writing after finishing the “Year in Review” for the Chicago Wolves. I’ll be back sometime before the Prospect Showcase (which SHOULD be in North Carolina this year, emphasis on should) to do the positional rankings but until then, thank you for reading!