There was a lot of buzz today at Development Camp over the qualifying offer situation from yesterday, and then David Poile's subsequent comments on that and other matters, but there was also a noticeable buzz on the ice, as the Predators continued their development camp today for day 3 of workouts.
Thoughts on today's action, as well as more pictures and video from the day at Centennial Sportsplex after the jump.
Thoughts from Day 3
- The team has been running multiple drills on both rinks at Centennial, so I don't get to see everything that goes on, but one guy I saw a lot of was 4th round pick Josh Shalla. Shalla showed great hands today, controlling the puck, and even making a few nifty moves during some of the drills. He also has a nice wrist shot and him and Joel Champagne clicked pretty well together, working alongside each other for part of the day (just for you, JR). He could improve his skating and defensive ability, but has a pretty nice upside.
- Jeremy Smith made a really nice save today. Smith was already sprawled across the net from making a save, and reached his glove up and snagged the rebound chance right out of thin air. Luck? Skill? Probably a little bit of both, but the crowd loved it.
- It's nice to see Zach Budish doing well after his moped accident that sidelined him this season at the University of Minnesota. Budish appears to be fully recovered and has participated in every drill so far this week.
- The Predators may lack offensively-gifted forwards, but there is some young talent in that department. Craig Smith, in particular, has looked sharp shooting and handling the puck, as well as Gabriel Borque, Michael Latta, and Taylor Beck. The future is bright up front.
- Magnus Hellberg talks about his pad situation, what it was like getting drafted, and a few differences he's noticed between the Swedish game and what he's seen this week.
Here's some video of a pretty cool drill the team ran at the end of the day. A little 4-on-4 with significantly less space between nets. Josi scores the lone goal at :26. Also makes me appreciate NHL cameramen a little bit more...
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Future #2 pairing? Behind Weber and Suter, of course:
Magnus Hellberg is tall:
