The Carolina Hurricanes 2023 Prospect Development Camp continued into Day 2 on Tuesday with more on-ice work than the previous day.
Development camp is almost entirely off-ice focused these days with fitness training, informational sessions, and things of that nature, because really, the main goal is to help the prospects take at least something with them from camp to continue to better themselves.
“I think over the years how we do this has changed," said Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour. "Because really, what are they getting out of it? They’re here for four days. So you try to give them a sense of what this level is about. So a little bit of testing and just things that are going to help you when you leave. What are you taking away when you go back to wherever you’re playing to get a little bit better and understand that if and when you do get here, what’s expected.
"It’s really more than anything, just comfort. So these kids get to meet everyone and when they do come back it’s not like, ‘Oh, I don’t know anything, I don’t know where anything is, I don’t know who’s running the show, who the trainers are.’ It’s all about these little things that help you acclimate when you do come back and that’s important.”
But there is still on-ice time devoted to basic skills and drills.
So here's my takeaways and some videos from Day 2:
The prospects where split into two groups with one hitting the ice first before the second group came on.
The first group on the ice was the defense along with goaltenders Patrik Hamrla and Nikita Quapp. The defense ran through various drills around and near the net. They also worked on retrieving pucks, walking the line, and pinching in for shooting lanes.
Brind'Amour also joined the prospects on the ice for Day 2.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take in much of the first group nor collect videos of them on Tuesday.
The second group out was the forwards along with goaltenders Yaniv Perets and Jakub Vondras.
Felix Unger Sorum did not participate in the on-ice sessions today due to precautionary reasons.
For goaltenders, the on-ice sessions are about repetitions and building muscle memory for 'good' habits.
“These are guys that I work with all year," said goaltending development coach Jason Muzzatti. "So I kind of try to design things for the guys that are around at the time. The big thing you hear about in goaltending is tracking. It’s just guys following the puck with their eyes, getting square at the same time.
"In the end, it’s similar to stuff we talked about back when I played, but it’s a little bit different terminology now. There’s a little more focus on the eyes and puck focus. There’s a lot of general moves that the goalies do that you need to repeat because it’s muscle memory. Whether it’s post protection stuff or tracking lateral passes, just different things like that.
"I spend time with puck handling too. You kind of have to know what your organization is looking for and Roddy wants his netminders to play the puck a lot. Not everyone does, so it’s kind of my job to teach them to play it a lot.”
In addition to these drills, just seeing consistent shots from the forwards during their drills also helps the netminders build up those reps.
The forwards had a bit more of a showcase on Day 2 with most of the drills focusing on skating.
The prospects went through a few different patterns involving pivoting around obstacles, cutbacks and forward and backward skating.
The forward group also began working through 1-on-1 drills to start on that defensive responsibility aspect that many have lacked through juniors.
The biggest standouts for me were Bradly Nadeau, Justin Robidas, and Jayden Perron. The speed and agility in their skating was definitely a step above the other players present.
Nadeau and Perron also really stood out shooting-wise. Both just have such quick releases and are able to find those holes on goaltenders. You can really see what people were reaving about with those two.
Extra Information: Andrei Svechnikov also swung by Invisalign Arena early in the day for a workout. He said he was feeling good and planned to hit the ice for the first time since his injury on Friday.
Alongside Svech, Jalen Chatfield also showed up for a workout.