Had my first opportunity to take in a practice this offseason. Barr wasn't on the ice, so Fortier/Michaud led the drills, big emphasis on PP/PK.
Based on what they worked on, I'd expect them to be very aggressive on the PK. Really liked seeing them practicing retreating diamond structures on the breakout for the PK. That should help them stand teams up in the neutral zone more often by forcing icings/offsides and create more turnovers. Good way to improve their 25th-ranked PK from last season (80.6%). PP breakout didn't look fresh (the pressure of that 1-3 PK was a struggle for them).
None of the goalie really stood out to me in good or bad ways. Will keep an eye out on them if I can make it to any other practices over the next couple weeks.
Forwards were getting mixed and matched a bunch, so imagine the final trios will change often. Noticed Nobes getting used mostly at forward so that's something interesting to keep an eye on as the season progresses. The D-pairings stayed pretty consistent so I'd imagine the top three units are relatively locked in. Some lines combos I saw together frequently:
Nadeau-Breen-Scholle
Freel-Scott-Russell
Mitton-Pichette-Niemo
Makar-Renwick-Fowler
Scholle-Komarov-Nobes
Freel-Scott-Calafiore
Mitton-Pichette-Scholle
Niemo-Breen-Nadeau
Renwick-Scott-Russell
Breazeale-Chabrier
Holt-Djurasevic
Lesakowski-Antonacci
Arnott-Dalton
Holt-Morse
Dalton-Morse
-
PP units:
Mitton-Breen-Scholle
Chabrier-Nadeau
Niemo-Freel-Nobes
Breazeale-Antonacci
Renwick-Scott-Freel
Lesakowski-Antonacci
-
PK units:
Breen-Nadeau
Breazeale-Chabrier
Scott-Freel
Holt-Djurasevic
Calafiore-Freel
Arnott-Dalton
Makar-Fowler
Holt-Djurasevic
Calafiore-Renwick
Arnott-Dalton
Based on what they worked on, I'd expect them to be very aggressive on the PK. Really liked seeing them practicing retreating diamond structures on the breakout for the PK. That should help them stand teams up in the neutral zone more often by forcing icings/offsides and create more turnovers. Good way to improve their 25th-ranked PK from last season (80.6%). PP breakout didn't look fresh (the pressure of that 1-3 PK was a struggle for them).
None of the goalie really stood out to me in good or bad ways. Will keep an eye out on them if I can make it to any other practices over the next couple weeks.
Forwards were getting mixed and matched a bunch, so imagine the final trios will change often. Noticed Nobes getting used mostly at forward so that's something interesting to keep an eye on as the season progresses. The D-pairings stayed pretty consistent so I'd imagine the top three units are relatively locked in. Some lines combos I saw together frequently:
Nadeau-Breen-Scholle
Freel-Scott-Russell
Mitton-Pichette-Niemo
Makar-Renwick-Fowler
Scholle-Komarov-Nobes
Freel-Scott-Calafiore
Mitton-Pichette-Scholle
Niemo-Breen-Nadeau
Renwick-Scott-Russell
Breazeale-Chabrier
Holt-Djurasevic
Lesakowski-Antonacci
Arnott-Dalton
Holt-Morse
Dalton-Morse
-
PP units:
Mitton-Breen-Scholle
Chabrier-Nadeau
Niemo-Freel-Nobes
Breazeale-Antonacci
Renwick-Scott-Freel
Lesakowski-Antonacci
-
PK units:
Breen-Nadeau
Breazeale-Chabrier
Scott-Freel
Holt-Djurasevic
Calafiore-Freel
Arnott-Dalton
Makar-Fowler
Holt-Djurasevic
Calafiore-Renwick
Arnott-Dalton
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