Yes, Bruce is organized. Yes, he is excited to go. Yes, he is in love with the team and our lineup. We want a competitive camp. We want every player to “earn” his minutes. We want a team that has depth and we want to have a great relationship with Hershey. Hershey should be much improved this year and continue to be a success on its own as well as developing and providing us with great young players.
Ted's Take
I remember when Jimmy Johnson took over the Dolphins in the NFL. He came into their first training camp, looked at all the players, and said “No one has made this team yet.”
Of course, after the team did their first warm up, he looked around, pointed at Marino and said, “OK, you impressed me, you’ve made the team!”
I suspect Bruce’s initial camp will be the same and that after the first drill, he’ll point to Alex and say he’s made the team (not that he’s in any danger.)
It is going to be a real competitive camp as there are lots of jobs open and lots of good candidates to fill the positions. Who is going to be the second line center, and who will be the 3rd line center between Nylander and Fedorov? Who is going to be a wing on the second line with the winner of that battle and Alex Semin: Laich? Clark? Fehr? Flash? Who plays on the third line with Fedorov or Nylander? Is the 3rd line a checking line or a scoring line (or both with Clark, Fedorov and Laich!)
On defense, who makes the team? There are eight good candidates for six starting jobs and the 7th man slot.
Does Alzner make the team (I say yes, but there’s no guarantee)? How about Chris Bourque? How about Sami Lepisto? All of these guys seem to be NHL ready…
It is nice to have to make decisions like these as opposed to “Who can we sign to get the salary figure up to the minimum?”