2009 Phoenix Coyotes Development Camp
Pictures from the Development Camp can be found on our Facebook Fan Page (Link on the Right)
Wednesday marked the first day of the Phoenix Coyotes Development Camp in Peoria. I will be honest here. I’m not familiar with the current state of the Coyotes Prospects or their talent levels so there’s not going to be much to report on today. However, I am a quick learner.
Anyways, the first hour was dedicated to the Goaltenders. Scott Darling (played with the U of Maine last year), Brett Bennett (played with Indiana of the USHL last year) and 2009 third round draft pick Michael Lee (who played with Fargo of the USHL last season) all took to the ice along with forwards Evan Bloodoff (Coyotes 2009 Sixth Round draft pick) and Justin Weller (Coyotes 2009 Fourth Round Draft Pick). Coyotes Director of Prospect Development Sean Burke, took the three goaltenders and ran them through drills that focused on puck tracking (from the moment the puck was shot by Weller or Bloodoff to when the puck hit the boards), lateral movement skills, taking shots from the top of the faceoff circles along with drills outside of the crease. It may not seem like much happened in the first hour but each of the drills focused on different parts of the goaltenders game. It was pretty fascinating to watch.
The second hour marked the arrival of not only the rest of the Coyotes prospects but General Manager Don Maloney who watched over the second hour of the camp from the stands.
The second hour began with team sprints followed by some stretching. The drills then began comprising of drills that focused on the point, the transition game, end to end skating, and odd and even man scrimmaging (the coach would call out a number and that’s how many players per squad would go out on the ice).
Now as I said at the beginning, I’m not at all familiar with the Coyotes prospects since I don’t have game data or footage available nor were the Goalies numbered so not much to report on when it comes to individual players. However, I did focus my attention during the defensive minded drills on Coyotes first round draft pick Oliver Ekman-Larsson. From what Darren Pang said at the Coyotes NHL Entry Draft Party, that Ekman-Larsson was the real deal, I was curious as to what he meant.
I took the fact that he is only 17 years old into account when he began his drills but did see glimpses of brilliance along with some amazing potential in this kid. He got worked over quite a bit in defensive coverage drills (for example) by more experienced players. However, his poise under pressure as well as his defensive smarts showed some of the reasons why he was taken by the Coyotes with the sixth pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft.
For you fans who are wondering, Ekman-Larsson is nowhere near ready for the NHL as of yet. He has to get bigger/stronger, gain some speed (to be able to keep up with NHL caliber skaters), and polish up parts of his game.
Don’t miss this chance to see the future of the franchise before the week is out!
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