Hey, it might not be the roster we wanted - "we" in this case referring to myself as well as my cat and number one assistant Pete - but it's the one we get.
Along with myself, a large portion of the fan-base was looking forward to seeing the likes of Domi, Samuelsson and Gormley on the opening night roster. We don't get that yet, but will just have to patiently wait for it to happen.
What we get instead is a very competitive roster with nice mixture of youth and veterans, skill and grinding. The Coyotes have set their team up to compliment what they have - which means a focus on defense and being hard to play against.
Most teams wouldn't play Vermette and Doan on "scoring lines" but the Coyotes will. It might seem strange, however, they are smartly using what they have and playing to their strengths. Vermette - barring a breakout from Hanzal - will be the centre who gets the most ice time. I imagine he'll line up against other team's top lines. Most teams traditionally (although, to be clear, these things are much more fluid in real life than on paper) play their offensive players up top and have a checking line of sorts on the bottom. If what I have been lead to believe is true, the Coyotes will basically be icing 4 checking lines with scorers like Boedker and Erat and Gagner peppered through-out the top 9.
On to the roster that will debut Thursday:
The team made it's final cut and defenseman Matt Smaby, though he had a strong camp, finds himself off the team. He was always a long shot to usurp Schlemko/Summers as the 6/7 guys anyway.
Good news on the young player front however: Connor Murphy has made the team, although I never doubted he would after a strong 30 game audition last season.
The D should look something like this:
OEL - Yandle (not sure if they'll keep them together, but they've been experimenting after rarely ever doing it at full strength before).
Michalek - Stone
Murphy - Summers/Schlemko - I myself am a Summers guy, but Old Schlemko is pretty underrated and is also a good option.
On Forward, the only surprises (after the surprising cuts earlier) are that BJ Crombeen made the team as did Justin Hodgman, a free agent they picked up under the radar July first.
McMillan also made the team, but I always expected him to as I was really impressed by his game at the end of last year.
The Lines should vaguely resemble somethign like this:
Doan - Vermette - Boedker Erat - Hanzal - Gagner Korpikoski - Vitale - McMillan Chipchura - Hodgman - Crombeen
Klinkhammer, Moss
The important thing to remember here is that guys like Samuelsson, Dauphin (recently signed to an ECL), Gaudet, Rieder, and Gormley - basically all the guys we'd rather watch than Erat or whoever, are only a phone call and a plane ride (although a long one) away. The competition for jobs on this team is extreme and that can only help.
Overall, it was an pretty exciting camp - although it would have been better with some more televised games. Vitale was a bit of a revelation, and it is certainly nice to have a guy like Hodgman get a chance.
The thing that stands out to me going into the season is how hard this team will be to play. Yes, the D doesn't really scare anyone from a physical standpoint, but they are tougher then they appear and the forwards are loaded with grit. The team will be well coached and play as a cohesive unit that is stronger than the sum of its parts.
Thanks for reading.