While it was nearly numbing to finally trade SPF8 for a jacket Tuesday, it was cool to be in a hockey rink again. It's especially fun to watch some of the world's elite players skate around with no refs, no rules and only a couple of people watching. A few thoughts on the pre-camp workouts, which I wrote about here today: *The talent possessed by Maxim Afinogenov is almost unbelievable. We've always used the word "shifty" to describe him duringnhl games, but that fails to convey how he plays in a pickup game. You know the keep-away game everyone played as kids? When one person would run all over trying to get the ball away from a couple of people? Well, it was sort of like that at times Tuesday. Except Afinogenov was keeping the puck, and there were five people chasing him. Problem is, he's at his best with no rules. When you put offsides and a "system" in play, things get a little complicated. It'll be interesting to see if things mesh this season, or if he's even here. It's not unheard of for people to be traded in training camp. *The Sabres' defense should be improved immensely this season. You look out and see a core of veterans such as Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek, Toni Lydman and Craig Rivet, and it's tough to imagine a lot of breakdowns. *Adam Mair is a bona fide leader of men. Obviously, there aren't coaches in offseason workouts. But somebody has to take charge. On Tuesday, Mair did a lot of the lifting. He was giving younger players pointers, showing them how to trail at the blue line or cut across at the right time. He's underrated in every aspect. *Tim Connolly looked to be in decent shape, though I only spoke to him for a few seconds. It was welcoming to see him on the ice, though. *Marek Zagrapan, a bust so far as the first-round pick of the 2005 draft, continues to bulk up. This is his third year in the system. While guys such as Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville spent three years in the minors and became key figures in thenhl, it says here Zagrapan has to make an impact soon or he never will. He must know it, too, because he joined Spacek and Lydman in doing extra work after the pickup game. ---John VoglSource
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Offseason workouts
While it was nearly numbing to finally trade SPF8 for a jacket Tuesday, it was cool to be in a hockey rink again. It's especially fun to watch some of the world's elite players skate around with no refs, no rules and only a couple of people watching. A few thoughts on the pre-camp workouts, which I wrote about here today: *The talent possessed by Maxim Afinogenov is almost unbelievable. We've always used the word "shifty" to describe him duringnhl games, but that fails to convey how he plays in a pickup game. You know the keep-away game everyone played as kids? When one person would run all over trying to get the ball away from a couple of people? Well, it was sort of like that at times Tuesday. Except Afinogenov was keeping the puck, and there were five people chasing him. Problem is, he's at his best with no rules. When you put offsides and a "system" in play, things get a little complicated. It'll be interesting to see if things mesh this season, or if he's even here. It's not unheard of for people to be traded in training camp. *The Sabres' defense should be improved immensely this season. You look out and see a core of veterans such as Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek, Toni Lydman and Craig Rivet, and it's tough to imagine a lot of breakdowns. *Adam Mair is a bona fide leader of men. Obviously, there aren't coaches in offseason workouts. But somebody has to take charge. On Tuesday, Mair did a lot of the lifting. He was giving younger players pointers, showing them how to trail at the blue line or cut across at the right time. He's underrated in every aspect. *Tim Connolly looked to be in decent shape, though I only spoke to him for a few seconds. It was welcoming to see him on the ice, though. *Marek Zagrapan, a bust so far as the first-round pick of the 2005 draft, continues to bulk up. This is his third year in the system. While guys such as Paul Gaustad and Jason Pominville spent three years in the minors and became key figures in thenhl, it says here Zagrapan has to make an impact soon or he never will. He must know it, too, because he joined Spacek and Lydman in doing extra work after the pickup game. ---John VoglSource
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