Day two of Nashville Predators camp came in a flash. The Predators took the ice and to conclude the first session had a quick-paced scrimmage.
While in the scrimmage some early glimpses of defensive pairs and line combinations formed.
Some combinations this morning with Group A's scrimmage. Not all stayed together the whole time. #Preds pic.twitter.com/VvAYGBYjBQ
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) September 22, 2023
Head coach Andrew Brunette provided an injury update later in the afternoon saying forward Jusso Parssinen & defenseman Adam Wilsby are both nursing lower-body injuries and are day-to-day.
The pace of offense in drills and scrimmages has been up-tempo, just as Brunette designed it to be, and so far has been impressed with what he’s seen.
“There’s a few things we do a little differently and it takes a little time,” Brunette said. “I think they’re buying in and they’re trying to do the right things.”
Brunette stated he’s not seen one prospect that hasn’t worked extremely hard and to him, it’s a good feeling to see that out on the ice.
There were a few things he liked as well. The line of Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly had a lot of chemistry. He also mentioned Cole Smith buzzing around the ice.
“I think moving them around and seeing them play and trying to find a little chemistry,” Brunette said. “I thought the Tommy Novak line was really good, you can see why they’ve had success last year. You put Luke Evangelista and Egor Afanasyev together you could see they had a little chemistry.”
While it’s early to see if these lines will stick, early chemistry can start developing. Among combinations that stood out defenseman Roman Josi was seen the majority of the time with Luke Schenn on the blue line.
Schenn has some experience with talented defenders across the league. Last season alone he was on a line with Morgan Rielly while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and he also spent time with Quinn Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks before being dealt in February.
“It’s a pleasure to play with guys like that,” Schenn said. “The first day was with Roman who is very similar to those types of guys that are elite offensively and good skaters. You never know how things are going to shake out, but definitely fortunate to have played with guys like that in the last few years.”
General manager Barry Trotz made it clear in July that he wanted to protect Josi. Schenn knows his role as a veteran and feels he’s adjusted well getting his family settled.
“We’ve relied heavily on the McDonaghs, they were here last year and were pretty hands-on with their kids as far as schooling and that sort of thing,” Schenn said.
Entering his 16th year Schenn is now on his eighth team after being drafted 5th overall in 2008 by the Maple Leafs.
Contrary to where Schenn is in his career defenseman Tanner Molendyk has been moving seamlessly on the ice. His ability to separate has been the best attribute coming into training camp and he’s been flashing it consistently.
Molendyk is still eligible to return to the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League and with that can still get accustomed to honing in on skills he wants to improve.
Defenseman Jake Livingstone said back at development camp his goal was to make the roster this fall. He does have a few players he’s competing with i.e.; Spencer Stastney, Jeremy Lauzon, and Alexander Carrier.
“You have to make the right decisions, a new coach and GM, they all have things they’re looking for and what they want,” Livingstone said. “You have to play with confidence and play your game. I was talking to my family and I told them I knew I was brought here for a reason. I have to play to my identity and be myself out there.”
Forward prospect Joakim Kemell has been flaunting his hard shot as well at training camp as any pucks that miss the net sound off across the rink. He and some of the forwards were practicing their shootout attempts on goaltender Yaroslav Askarov as Group B’s practice ended on Friday.
Kiefer Sherwood & Fedor Svechkov shootout attempts. pic.twitter.com/ZsxQdkuCtD
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) September 22, 2023
The Predators will be back on the ice for day three of camp on Saturday with sessions beginning at 9 a.m.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
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