Rookie camps wrap up today as players report to training camp tomorrow for physical and medical testing. Yesterday, I was in Nashville for the final day of games between Boston, Florida, Nashville and Tampa Bay that saw the Panthers defeat the Lightning 6-3 and the Bruins defeat the Predators 4-2 thanks to two third period goals.
You can check the archives for players that garnered my attention during the first two days of this camp and on this final day of games I want to talk about Tampa's Anthony DeAngelo, Florida's Vincent Trocheck, Boston Malcom Subban, and Nashville's Kevin Fiala.
As you should know, I was pretty surprised to see that DeAngelo, an offensive defenseman selected 19th at this year's draft, wasn't even invited to Team USA's National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid this summer, especially since he had been invited to selection camp last year. I know there's some history here as DeAngelo passed on an invite to the US National Team Development program by signing with the Sarnia Sting in the OHL at 15 after one season with the USHL Rough Riders in Cedar Rapids that saw him become the youngest player ever in the USHL after playing four games at 14 years old. That said, USA Hockey has always said that they want the best players on their U20 teams no matter where they play....BUT, DeAngelo is the first player since the early years of the NTDP that hasn't seen it as the best way to develop into the best hockey player they can be. In his defense, while the gap between the USHL and the CHL it much smaller than it was, things were vastly different when DeAngelo made this decision nearly four years ago.
The bottom line is....It's time for USA Hockey to put it's big boy pants on and look past history and give DeAngelo some serious consideration because this guy brings some serious offensive punch to the blueline. He was incredibly noticeable in a very positive way during each game and at times acted like a fourth forward as he followed his instincts and jumped up into the play while still being defensively responsible. He'll earn some opportunities at main camp, but he's presently unsigned and will eventually make his way back to Sarnia and tear it up this year and hopefully play for Team USA at the World Junior Championship. (Note: There was a USA Hockey scout in attendance during the entire camp and I know - not just an educated guess - that he was here to pay special attention to DeAngelo.)
Moving on to Trocheck, thanks to injuries providing an opportunity, he played 20 games last season with the big club and looks to continue that progress this season. Not an easy task given Florida's depth at center, he plays hard and with a passion, makes great passes, gets physical and would be a solid edition to any muck grind and loose puck find line. He had a great season with San Antonio last year at nearly a point per game and he showed this weekend that he's ready to continue that upward progression.
I've gotten a couple questions about Subban especially with the debate and discussion about him challenging for the backup spot...I thought he played well. Made some great saves and definitely has a flair for the dramatic even when it's not necessary as he made routine saves look much better than they actually were, but I guess it's all part of the entertainment value. There's no doubt that he's good, but this jury is still out on just how good. Curious to see how he fares next week at training camp.
Finally, Fiala...very strong showing this week for the 18-year-old Swiss. I feel like he got lost in the shuffle a bit because he played so seemlessly with Forsberg and Sissons, but he deserves some special attention because he was pretty spectacular on his own. While he has many great attributes - speed and skill - I think his greatest one is the way he thinks the game...or rather doesn't think about the game. He just plays and instinctively knows who is going where and what's going to happen next. With the new direction the Predators are going, there's definitely opportunity for him in Laviolette's game plan and I'm curious to see just how flexible he can be because if he can play either wing, he's got a better shot of making this jump.
If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that there was a glaring omission in my coverage from this camp in Nashville and I'll address that in my next blog.
Tomorrow, I'll be in Oxford, OH visiting the RedHawks of Miami before I head to Ann Arbor on Friday to see the Michigan Wolverines.
Julie
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