The scythe has swung again, as nine more players were sent from the Nashville Predators training camp today, following 19 from the day before.
Quoth the Preds:
Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has assigned Scott Darling, Scott Ford, Magnus Hellberg, Kevin Henderson, Michael Liambas,Bryan Rodney, Scott Valentine and Mark Van Guilder to Milwaukee (AHL). The team also reassigned Brendan Leipsic back to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks (WHL).
Leipsic, who missed watching his Winterhawks raise a banner last night celebrating their WHL championship from last season, leaves behind Seth Jones as the only other junior player left in camp. Jones, of course, is expected to make the NHL straight out of training camp, and the buzz is indeed building about his potential to make an immediate impact. From Elliotte Friedman’s latest 30 Thoughts column:
One guy to get excited about: Seth Jones. “He will play top four very quickly” was a thought shared by several people at the Florida Panthers prospect tournament.
Preds fans will get a chance to judge for themselves, as Jones is included on the roster (PDF) for tomorrow’s game against the New York Islanders. Pekka Rinne is also scheduled to play with Carter Hutton as his backup, and Magnus Hellberg heads to Milwaukee (but hey, at least he’s got a spiffy new mask). It’s interesting that Marek Mazanec remains with Nashville for the moment, but it could well be to allow Hellberg to set up as Milwaukee’s #1 guy while Mazanec can serve as a third goalie for practice purposes here.
More from On the Forecheck:
- Saturday’s Dump & Chase: Training Camp Returns To Centennial
- Mattias Ekholm Season Preview: “Horrible, Just Horrible,” Hero, or Holed up in Milwaukee?
- Nashville Predators Training Camp: 19 Players Cut Today
- Friday’s Dump & Chase: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
- Pre-Season: Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Nashville Predators 1/