The Traverse City NHL Prospects tournament started today featuring the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres and St Louis Blues. All eight teams skated this morning before their games this afternoon and here's what I found out for you....
Alex Biega - Buffalo - The biggest thing he takes away from his time at Harvard is time management. He says Ivy Leagues schools are always professional….most colleges kids are strolling around in sweats and the athletes can blend in. At Harvard, if you're in sweats you stick out like a sore thumb…so you have to raise your game in every respect. You have to work hard in the classroom and on the ice and always look presentable because you're always representing the Crimson.
Ryan Rondeau - Buffalo - Had a break out year with the Bulldogs at Yale and attributes a lot of it to working with a sports psychologist last summer. Seeing how it impacted his game, he worked hard on the mental side of the game again this summer - breathing exercises and relaxation techniques - so he can get his head back in the game quicker than he used to and hopefully take his game to the next level.
Ryan Murphy - Carolina - Been a busy summer for him, but with the combine, Hockey Canada's WJC Camp, Carolina's development camp he's realized just how much more strength he needs to make it to the next level. He's been drinking protein shakes and working out hard not necessarily to get bigger, but to get stronger and more explosive and is excited to see how he plays this week.
Jamie Oleksiak - Dallas - He said it's been hard to listening to the people (fans on twitter, mostly) who were mad at him for a) going to Hockey Canada's WJC Camp instead of USA Hockey's (including fellow Stars prospect Jack Campbell) and b) leaving Northeastern. "Both were hard decisions, but they were the right decisions for me." The 6'7 defenseman also packed on some pounds this summer as he looks to ramp up the intensity of his physical game.
Jay Barriball - St Louis - Now that he's out of college, his off season workouts have been less structured as no one is around to hold yourself accountable and set up your training schedule. He said, "It's totally up to you to be a professional about it and workout…if you don't you won't have a job and that's all the motivation I need to get to the gym."
Cade Fairchild - St Louis - This tournament and the pro life is a new experience but it's been great for him to be able to lean on a teammate you've had for so long and know so well as he does with fellow former Gopher, Barriball. Someone to vent to and to share experiences with.
Chase Polachek - St Louis - Seth Appert, head coach at RPI, wanted to change the culture at RPI. "He came from Denver where they won two national championships and we just needed to buy into what he was selling. Good thing was that it was easy to buy into his plan and even easier once we started to see results from it and now with the new facilities it's only going to get better as we're able to attract better recruits." He's looking to take everything Appert taught him and apply it to his first professional experience this week.
JT Miller - New York - He's not used to not having any time off in the summer, "Usually I get four months, but this year it's been two weeks off at a time. I'm not tired of playing hockey though, this is what I love to do and I'm glad to have the opportunity to do it at such a high level."
Carl Hagelin and Matt Rust - New York - Rust just found out on Tuesday night that he was coming to this camp and is excited to not only have the opportunity to showcase his skills as an invitee, but to be able to play on a line with Carl Hagelin, a Rangers draft pick and his former linemate at Michigan. It's really a tremendous opportunity for both of them to have the advantage of always knowing where your linemate will be and are eager to get the Michigan mojo going in tonight's game against St. Louis.
Cam Atkinson - Columbus - He's excited to see how all of his hard work in the off season will pay off in these games. Last year's stint with Springfield in the AHL at the end of the season helped him figure out exactly what he needed to work on and he's ready to see just how much he's improved since then.
Brendan Smith - Detroit - Learned a lot last year in Grand Rapids, but has been focused on earning a spot with the Red Wings this year. He's put on some weight and is looking to be a leader on this team in Traverse City and make a good impression that forces Ken Holland to think more than a few times before deciding his fate. He's also still sour about losing the National Championship game to BC in 2010 and about losing in the title game at this tournament last year. It really irritates him that in 13 years this tournament has been in existence, Detroit has never won and he'd like to be a big part of the team that finally does it.
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Sorry about the lack of Minnesota guys...they snuck out a side door, but I'll catch a few after their game tonight.
3:30 PM - Minnesota vs. Buffalo
4:00 PM - Dallas vs. Carolina
7:00 PM - NY Rangers vs. St. Louis *airing live on MSG and simulcast on NHL Network
7:30 PM - Detroit vs Columbus
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The debut of the College Hockey Spotlight is coming later this month and I've been hard at work making sure it's everything you could ever want in a college hockey program. Here's a glimpse of what you might see this season.....
Julie
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