The final practice of the week was at Centennial Sportsplex on Wednesday afternoon. Head coach Andrew Brunette is fine-tuning what he’d like to see on the ice moving forward with 26 players on the roster.
One decision made on Wednesday was forward Mark Jankowski being placed on waivers. TSN NHL insider Chris Johnston had his daily list released at 1 p.m.
Brunette, a veteran of 1,110 games in the NHL, said he would be handling the powerplay units moving forward this season. The last few days have seen lines slowly start to come together as more chemistry develops.
“Every coach that coaches it puts a lot of work into it and it’s the hardest thing to coach,” Brunette said. “Everybody figures on the man-advantage you should be lights out and that’s not always the case. There’s not much sympathy for the powerplay coach because we all think we should score every time.
“As long as you’re prepared, as long as it makes sense, and as long as you give them room to be creative within the structure of what you’re looking for I think no matter how good of a coach you are you give some options and at the end of the day they make the decisions. You have to trust they make the right decision and have the right players make the decisions.”
Forward Ryan O’Reilly is a key component to the Predators’ powerplay going into the season as the veteran is poised to be a heavily relied-upon leader in big moments.
“He brings everything everywhere,” Brunette said of O’Reilly. “He’s an extremely intelligent player. Very cerebral and one of the smartest players in the league on both sides of the puck. His timing is impeccable. He’s always available and he’s arguably the best stick in the league so he brings a lot of different things.”
The main question that’s posed from the start of training camp is how do you get to your best roster for opening night? Brunette and his staff have had a few weeks to get a sense of the depth with prospects and more throughout the drills they’ve run.
“I think a lot of the players in most positions have put their best foot forward,” Brunette said. “It’s made it extremely difficult for us, there’s going to be some hard decisions.”
Brunette confirmed in the same breath that the latest addition Samuel Fagemo will get a look in the final two preseason games before there’s a final decision on him.
Head coach Andrew Brunette working on a drill with forward Cody Glass.
Now, in terms of who makes the opening night lineup the Predators appear to have plans for forward Cody Glass who after practice said he was getting comfortable with everything.
Glass was seen on the ice with Brunette and alongside O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, Tyson Barrie and Roman Josi going through moving the puck on the powerplay.
“I think so, a lot of reps is what helps,” Glass said of working on special teams. “We have some familiarity with some players but we need to carry confidence into the season and we have two more games so maybe just catch my stride and feel more comfortable and play more confident and that will lead me to success.”
As camp has waned on the Winnipeg native is seeing reps with new forwards Denis Gurianov and Gustav Nyquist. Glass said he’s realized his new linemates are really fast.
“They’re really great skaters and really great with the puck, they always make the right decision which is great for a centerman,” Glass stated. “It’s been easy to play with them, they’re very communicative and that makes it ten times easier for me.”
As Glass sees teammates get sent down to the American Hockey League he’s been in their shoes. Admirals head coach Karl Taylor and his staff are in the middle of training camp now preparing for their season.
“Some people at the start think it’s a demotion but at the same time, I think you’re going to be working on your game. You’re going to get that feel for the pro hockey level and we’ll probably see some of them sooner rather than later,” Glass said,
Philip Tomasino is another forward who has seen time at both the NHL and AHL levels over the last two years. As he ends camp he feels good knowing he’s had fun competing for a spot.
“For a guy like me, I just want to do anything I can to help our team, whether it’s on the penalty kill or the powerplay I want to be a guy that our coach can depend on,” Tomasino said. “Would love to be an every situation player for us. There’s still some trial and error right now but it’s been a lot of fun. I haven’t been on the PK a lot, especially in the last few years, so it’ll definitely be cool to be on that.”
Tomasino said he felt like he was ready to make the next jump to the NHL full-time, but in the next few days, it’ll be in the hands of Brunette and his staff.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
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