It was non-stop for a good hour until they broke to have the ice flooded. The whistles were only for goals, goalie freezes and injuries (there were a couple). No penalties called, next to no icing, a few off-sides (Steven Janes took a lot of ribbing for his excursions at the blue line) - just full time playing.
With numbers only on their backs (not on the shoulders and only on a few helmets), and watching mostly through my viewfinder, it was tough for me to keep track of all the newcomers - and there were a lot of them.
| Team White | Team Black |
|---|---|
| 1-Petr Mrazek | 10-Marc-Anthony Zanetti |
| 5-Jon Carnevale | 13-Remi Giftopolous |
| 6-Ryan Shipley | 17-Steven Janes |
| 8-Thomas Nesbitt | 21-Cosima Fontana |
| 12-Zach Rodier | 27-Robert Farmer |
| 18-Shane Prince | 29-Braden Mann |
| 19-Tyler Graovac | 30-Chris Perugini |
| 20-Sean Monahan | 32-Francis Dupuis |
| 22-Dalen Hedges | 34-Cody Lindsay |
| 23-Ryan Van Stralen | 36-Taylor Fielding |
| 25-Copper Rush | 37-Nicholas Foglia |
| 28-Aaron Taylor | 40-Daniel Walsh |
| 31-Denny Dubblestyne | 41-Sean Callaghan |
| 33-Dalton Smith | 42-Christopher Lane |
| 44-Jon Carlson | 46-Henry Thompson |
| 45-Brett Gustavsen | 50-Blake Stephenson |
| 51-Gian Marco DeMeis | 71-Patryk Wojenski |
| 55-Travis Gibbons | 77-Ryan Martindale |
| 61-Tyler Toffoli | 89-Nathaniel Quinn |
| 81-Ryan McCaughan | 91-Ryan Hanes |
| 84-Cody Ceci | |
| 85-Michel Vered |
With the departures of Cuma, Demers, Nigro, Cowick and Merrett, there is room for 5 additions (2D, 3F). Earlier this week Brian Kilrea was on Team1200 and noted that a few vets needed to step up their game or be at risk of being replaced (scroll through their facebook posts to hear the interviews with Killer and coach Byrne). So there could be even more new faces this year. This camp will identify the first set of cuts with a few guys getting an extra long look while Mrazek, Zanetti (DET), Martindale (EDM), Toffoli (LA), Smith (COL) and Nesbitt (NJ) head off to their NHL rookie camps soon.
Mrazek and Perugini didn't dress - likely saved for the afternoon game. As reported in the media earlier this week, this year's first round draft pick, Sean Monahan was injured on his first shift of camp. I noticed him at the rink with an ice bag taped to his wrist.
The White Team dominated the first half of the game (or was it the first game - not sure if they played two games or just one long game). It was high-tempo, intense, with a few hits and at times chippy. I lost track of the score - something like 6 - 2 for White; apparently they were handed their butts yesterday so there was some motivation today.
As you would expect, the the guys that are closer to making it to the NHL stood out - especially Ryan Martindale. He just moved the puck at will through and around pretty much everyone.
Of the new guys, I noticed Taylor Fielding, Daniel Walsh, Cooper Rush and Brett Gustafsen the most with Fielding standing out the most for me. These players were in the mix of things with Brett irritating Lindsay enough to nearly start a scrap.
And speaking of scraps, newcomer Robert Farmer dropped the gloves to tangle with Dalton Smith. Jon Carnevale tried to intervene but was clearly more familiar with Dalton's fighting credentials than Robert. If Robert makes the team, he will need to be told about the penalty for removing his helmet for a fight.
I don't know who made it hard for the coaching staff and who made it easy over the last three days. A smaller crew will be traveling to Kingston tomorrow for the first pre-season of the year. Team1200's Jon Abbott will begin this season's coverage of the 67's with this game.
Here are more pictures from today. I tried to concentrate on the hopefuls but without more visible numbers, I am not able to put a name to most of these players. My apologies to them and their families.
And the season begins!!!
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