SB Nation - Jeremy Smith

Friday's notes: Major moves among Nashville's minor-league players

Dirk Hoag — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:13:21 -0000

We polish off the work week this morning with not just your usual helping of Predators and NHL news, but also a few tributes to Montreal's 100th anniversary celebration, which concludes tonight with their game against the Boston Bruins.

After the jump, we also have word of some surprising moves within Nashville's minor league system, and one Central Division rival living the high life, while two others are down in the dumps...

Predators News

Preds' Goc gets to notch some scoring opps - Nashville City Paper
David Boclair highlights Marcel Goc's recent production.

Predators' unveil third jersey, then watch their fortunes change - Nashville Scene
Did the Preds' recent winning streak end because they debuted the new 3rd jerseys?

Major Shakeup for Ads Roster - Admirals Short Shifts
Besides Ryan Jones getting called up, there was a surprising move made with Mark Dekanich heading down to the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, with Jeremy Smith coming up. I don't know which is weirder - that, or the fact the Section 303 guys noticed that Jeremy Smith was just added to the Admirals' roster in EA Sports' NHL10 in their latest patch as well.

Around the NHL

Our begrudging tribute to 100 years of Canadiens hockey - Puck Daddy
Greg brings you everything you need to know about 100 years of hockey in Montreal...

The Birth Of The Montreal Canadiens: From Humble And Tenuous Beginnings, Came Hockey's Greatest Franchise - Habs Eyes On The Prize
Robert takes us back to how it all began for the Habs.

85 Reasons to Hate the Canadiens - Stanley Cup of Chowder
Given their rivalry with Boston, it also makes sense today to celebrate reasons to despise Montreal's club...

Blackhawks prove again they are what Bears aren't: winners -- chicagotribune.com
Rick Morrisey is downright giddy at how things are going for the Blackhawks these days. Can the Preds ruin the good vibes tonight, like they spoiled Chicago's red-carpet opener last season? (hat tip to Kukla's Korner)

Game No. 28 (Puck-rakers)
Meanwhile, the mood is darker in Columbus, where the sputtering Blue Jackets where manhandled by the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on home ice.

Oilers beat Red Wings 4-1 - Winging It In Motown
If the news about Columbus wasn't good enough, the lowly Oilers came into Detroit and beat the Red Wings, too.

Chris Pronger Commits Mutiny Against Mike Richards | PuckUpdate
Strange stuff coming out of Philadelphia, where Pronger spoke with the media about Mike Richards' leadership as the Flyers' captain.

Stevens on the hot seat in Philly - From The Rink
Coach John Stevens is also in hot water, given the enormous expectations the Flyers had heading into the season.

Jiri Tlusty Traded - Pension Plan Puppets
The Maple Leafs faithful are scratching their heads a bit over yesterday's trade of prospects with Carolina.

Acquisition Of Jiri Tlusty About More Than What’s Been Said - Canes Country
When first-round draft picks get swapped like this, speculation abounds as to what the GM's motivations really are.

User-controlled camera debuts on Hockey Night - CBCSports.ca
The next step in televising games online, as Hockey Night in Canada will offer online viewing with a 360-degree camera that users can manipulate themselves. This sounds pretty awesome...

6 Sports/Hockey Related Predictions For the Unholy Matrimony of NBC Sports & VERSUS " Puck The Media
Steve Lepore with some thoughts on how Comcast's pending purchase of NBC might impact the NHL.

Down Goes Brown: When teammates attack: Other teammate-inflicted NHL injuries
DGB brings the funny like nobody else...

Do Goalies Need to Face Shots in Order to Stop Shots? - Behind The Net
A nice piece of myth-busting by Hawerchuk.

Rangers Analysis: Grading the Blueshirts thus far - Blueshirt Banter
Joe hands out interim reports on the New York Rangers....

Nashville Predators assign 10 players to Milwaukee

Dirk Hoag — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:28:13 -0000

The training camp roster is now down to 34 players, after cuts made today by the Nashville Predators.

Nashville, Tenn. (September 19, 2009) - Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has assigned 10 players to the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Nashville's training camp roster now sits at 34 players: 21 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goaltenders.

Forwards Hugh Jessiman, Ryan Maki, Ian McKenzie and Mark Santorelli, defenseman Robert Dietrich and goaltenders Chet Pickard and Jeremy Smith were assigned to the Predators primary developmental affiliate, while defensemen Scott Ford, Mark Matheson and Russ Sinkewich were released from Professional Tryout Agreements, and will head to Milwaukee on minor league contracts.

No big surprises here (note that Mark Santorelli got sent down, not his brother Mike, who is trying to earn a Top Six winger job).

The fans come out in droves, and Geoffrion closes out Development Camp in a shootout

Dirk Hoag — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:54:48 -0000

The waning moments of the last public practice of the Nashville Predators Development Camp featured a shootout competition between the Blue and Gray squads. Hometown hero Blake Geoffrion (of nearby Brentwood, TN) closed out the festivities with a nifty backhand roof shot after the goaltenders stoned a number of shooters, in front of an energetic crowd at Nashville's Centennial Sportsplex.

After the jump you'll find the video presentation summarizing today's events, and a recap on some of the great hockey conversation that was had. I brought my newspaper, thinking that there would be lulls in the action during which I could do some reading, but I never had the chance to open the darned thing. Nashville's hockey fans are ready for September to be here, and excited about a youth movement that appears to be underway.

So who was there? Well, from the blogging side of things, just about everybody. There were Buddy & Jackson from Preds on the Glass, Jeremy & Codey from Section303.com, Paul & Brandon from Hockeybuzz, Paul Nicholson (well known around Nashville on Twitter, but also stretching the blog muscles occasionally at Geek Thoughts), and I think I saw Rachel from What the Puck, but didn't get the chance to stop by and say hi. I also got the chance to meet Jim Diamond of the Nashville Predators Examiner, who wrote a great piece recently on Nick Oliver, the 4th-round pick who played for his father on a state-championship high school team.

There were also a host of fans who I know best from all the conversation on Twitter (where you can find me at @Forechecker), like George Scoville (@stackiii), who played such a prominent role in organizing the Nashville NHL Tweetup on the first night of the playoffs, and is moving to Washington D.C. in the fall. We, as a Predators fan base, fully expect George to make us proud when the Preds make a road trip to play the Capitals this upcoming season by giving us a YouTube-worthy moment (actually that was a guy I used to work with, I'm in the back of that video in the Swedish national jersey).

Then you had Mike Barnes, the amateur videographer who posted another couple segments of video from today's session. At the tail end I even got to have a great conversation with TV play-by-play man Pete Weber, a walking encyclopedia of hockey history that every Preds fan should take the opportunity to meet when they have the chance. Pete agreed with me that the exciting thing about the youth movement taking place this season is that the younger players are only being expected to come in to fill roles on the 3rd and 4th lines up front, and on the 3rd pair on defense. Last fall, you had Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Jones on the 1st and 2nd lines, and that's just too much to ask of kids facing their first NHL campaign. This time around, they'll have a bit more seasoning, and the expectations should be more appropriate.

So many questions swirl around the roster that will come out of training camp this fall, and instead of the last two seasons which saw first a salary purge and then a defection, there's genuine anticipation and an upbeat atmosphere about what the future holds for Nashville. Here are just a few of the questions which had tongues wagging:

Can't we just declare Joel Ward the 2nd-line winger, go with a "kid line" as the 3rd, using the money free up to sign a defenseman?
What are Chet Pickard's prospects for stepping in at Milwaukee and earning the #1 job ahead of Mark Dekanich? In the event of injury, might Pickard be the guy called up to Nashville as a backup?
Who's going to center the 3rd line coming out of training camp? Cal O'Reilly, Mike Santorelli, or Colin Wilson?
Could the Preds actually go with 3 rookies on the blueline?
How freaking big will Zach Budish (6'3", 229 lb at 18 years old) get?
Is Nick Spaling ready to step up to the NHL level?
Where are all these goalies going to fit? Hint: Jeremy Smith, who stood out this morning, may go back for one more year with the OHL's Niagara IceDogs*,or possibly the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones.
How rough will the schedule be, considering the two-week Olympic break that gets wedged into the same overall timetable? We'll find out more on Wednesday when the 2009-10 Regular Season schedule gets released.

You can debate all these questions and more over the coming weeks, we've certainly got some time to fill until training camp opens in September!

*Thanks to Pete Krupsky of the Plymouth Whalers for correcting me with the note that Smith was traded from Plymouth to Niagara last season.

Nashville Predators announce roster and schedule for development camp

Dirk Hoag — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:59:32 -0000

The Nashville Predators announced details of their Developmental Camp which begins on July 7 at Centennial Sportsplex, with a host of prospects coming to Nashville for a series of workout sessions that include on-ice practices which are open to the public. The list of attendees doesn't spell out, as of yet, which 2009 draftees will attend the camp, but last year we got our first look at Colin Wilson and Chet Pickard in Preds gear, so stay tuned for further details in the days ahead.

After the jump, everything you need to know about who's coming to camp, and when you can see them in action...

The Nashville Predators will have many of their top prospects in town this week when they officially open their 2009 Developmental Camp on Tuesday, July 7 at Centennial Sportsplex with fitness testing. The camp continues through Sunday, July 12 with the first of three on-ice sessions coming at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 8.

   The purpose of the camp is to educate and direct players in their pro development and conditioning programs, and the week's events will be presided over by the Predators coaching staff.  Strength and Conditioning Coach David Good will lead the scheduled training regimen, which includes a variety of dry-land activities and workouts, on-ice fundamentals work, off-ice testing and team-building activities.  The players will also receive instruction on training principles such as sport-specific power and strength enhancement, flexibility and off-ice conditioning.

            Coaches and members of the Predators' player development/scouting staff will be assisted by Milwaukee Admirals (AHL affiliate) head coach Lane Lambert and assistant coach Brad Lauer as well as Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL affiliate) coach Chuck Weber. Martin Gelinas, Nashville's new Director of Player Development, is also scheduled to aid in the week's activities.

In addition to 17 Predators picks from 2005-08 and several free-agent signees or invites, the camp will feature a number of Nashville's selections from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, including first-round selection Ryan Ellis (11th overall).

            All on-ice workouts at Centennial Sportsplex are open to the public. On-ice sessions are currently scheduled for:

            Wednesday, July 8                                    10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

            Thursday, July 9                                       10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

            Saturday, July 11                                      9:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

            The preliminary roster of attending players is below. Both the schedule and roster are subject to change.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2009 DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER

Forwards

Height

Weight

Shoots

Place of Birth

Birthdate

2008-09 Team

Ryan Flynn

6-2

214

R

St. Paul, Minn.

3/22/88

U. of Minnesota (WCHA)

Blake Geoffrion

6-1

191

L

Plantation, Fla.

2/3/88

U. of Wisconsin (WCHA)

Jani Lajunen

6-1

174

L

Helsinki, Finland

6/16/90

Espoo (Finland)/Espoo Jr. (Fin-Jr.)

Ian McKenzie

6-5

223

R

Weyburn, Sask.

5/23/87

Milwaukee (AHL)/Cincinnati (ECHL)

Ben Ryan

5-11

190

R

Detroit, Mich.

10/16/88

U. of Notre Dame (CCHA)

Mark Santorelli

6-1

191

R

Burnaby, B.C.

8/6/88

Milwaukee (AHL)/Cincinnati (ECHL)

Nick Spaling

6-1

187

L

Palmerston, Ont.

9/19/88

Milwaukee (AHL)

Taylor Stefishen

5-11

170

R

North Vancouver, B.C.

8/15/90

Ohio State University (CCHA)

Ryan Thang

5-11

190

R

Chicago, Ill.

5/11/87

U. of Notre Dame (CCHA)

Casey Wellman**

6-0

174

R

Brentwood, Calif.

10/18/87

Umass-Amherst (H-East)

Colin Wilson

6-1

213

L

Greenwich, Conn.

10/20/89

Boston University (H-East)

Defense

Height

Weight

Shoots

Place of Birth

Birthdate

2008-09 Team

Jonathon Blum

6-1

177

R

Long Beach, Calif.

1/30/89

Vancouver (WHL)

Jeffrey Foss

6-2

208

R

Fargo, N.D.

12/12/88

R.P.I. (ECAC)

Roman Josi

6-1

185

L

Bern, Switzerland

6/1/90

Bern (Switzerland)

Teemu Laakso

6-1

201

R

Tuusula, Finland

8/27/87

Milwaukee (AHL)

Russ Sinkewich*

6-3

214

R

Westlake, Ohio

9/21/85

Bowling Green (CCHA)/Milwaukee (AHL)/

Lake Erie (AHL)/Johnstown (ECHL)

GOALTENDER

Height

Weight

Catches

Place of Birth

Birthdate

2008-09 Team

Atte Engren

6-1

194

L

Rauma, Finland

2/19/88

TPS Turku (Finland)/K-Vantaa (Finland-2)/

TPS Turku-Jr. (Fin.-Jr.)

Anders Lindback

6-6

198

L

Gavle, Sweden

5/3/88

Brynas (Sweden)/Brynas Jr. (Sweden Jr.)

Chet Pickard

6-2

210

L

Moncton, N.B.

11/29/89

Tri-City (WHL)

Jeremy Smith

6-0

168

L

Dearborn, Mich.

4/13/89

Niagara (OHL)/Plymouth (OHL)

* - denotes under contract with Milwaukee (AHL)

** - denotes free-agent invites

Prospect Notes

- The preliminary roster - which does not include 2009 draftees attending - features 17 draft picks from 2005-08, one free-agent signee (McKenzie), one player on an AHL contract (Sinkewich) and two free-agent invites (Pederson, Wellman). Of the 17 picks, three are first-rounders (Wilson, Blum, Pickard), four are second-rounders (Geoffrion, Spaling, Josi, Smith), two are third-rounders (Thang, Laakso), two are fourth-rounders (Ryan, Santorelli), one is a fifth-rounder (Stefishen), two are sixth-rounders (Flynn, Foss) and three are seventh-rounders (Lajunen, Engren, Lindback).

- Ten of the 17 skaters played college hockey last season. Wilson won a NCAA title with Boston U., while Ryan and Thang played on a Notre Dame team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the 2008-09 season.

- Josi led all Led all Swiss League junior players (under-20) in points, goals and assists last season playing on a Bern team that also featured new Predators Director of Player Development Martin Gelinas.

- Three attendees won major awards last season - Blum was named 2009 Canadian Hockey League Jack Link's Defenseman of the Year, Pickard won the Del Wilson Trophy as the Western Hockey League's Goaltender of the Year for the second consecutive season, while Wilson was USA Hockey's College Player of the Year in addition to being one of three Hobey Baker "Hat Trick" Finalists.

- Blum, Smith, Geoffrion, Flynn and Wilson were teammates on the 2008 U.S. World Junior Championships team, while Blum and Wilson represented the red, white and blue again this past December/January.

- Free-agent invite Casey Wellman's father Brad played for the S.F. Giants, L.A. Dodgers and K.C. Royals from 1982-89. Wellman just finished his freshman season at UMass-Amherst. Invite Jody Pederson hails from the same small town in northwestern British Columbia as Predators defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2009 ENTRY DRAFT CLASS

Rd

No

Forwards

Height

Weight

Shoots

Place of Birth

Birthdate

2008-09 Team

2

41

Zach Budish

6-3

229

R

Edina, Minn.

5/9/91

Edina High School (Minn.)

3

70

Taylor Beck

6-2

205

R

St. Catharines, Ont.

5/13/91

Guelph (OHL)

3

72

Michael Latta

5-11

200

R

Kitchener, Ont.

5/25/91

Guelph (OHL)

4

98

Craig Smith

6-1

189

R

Madison, Wis.

9/5/89

Waterloo (USHL)

4

110

Nick Oliver

6-3

184

L

Grand Forks, N.D.

5/4/91

Roseau High School (Minn.)

5

132

Gabriel Bourque

5-9

183

L

Rimouski, Que.

9/23/90

Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)

7

192

Cameron Reid

6-2

185

L

Delta, B.C.

8/25/91

Westside (BCHL)

Defense

Height

Weight

Shoots

Place of Birth

Birthdate

2008-09 Team

1

11

Ryan Ellis

5-9

173

R

Hamilton, Ont.

1/30/89

Windsor (OHL)

2

42

Charles-OlivierRoussel

6-1

196

R

St. Eustache, Que.

9/13/91

Shawinigan (QMJHL)

4

102

Mattias Ekholm

6-4

194

L

Borlange, Sweden

5/24/90

Mora Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)

Draftee Notes

- Four of Nashville's 10 draftees were born in a 21-day span in May 1991 - Nick Oliver (May 4), Zach Budish (May 9), Taylor Beck (May 13) and MichaelLatta (May 25). Mattias Ekholm was born May 24, 1990.

- The average size of the 10 draftees is 6-1, 194 pounds.

- Ryan Ellis was part of the 2009 Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires coached by former Predator defenseman Bob Bougner. Nashville's Expansion Draft selection from Buffalo, Boughner played 141 games with the club in 1998-99 and 1999-00, posting 19 points (5g-14a) and 234 penalty minutes. Ellis was also a teammate of 2008 Predators first-round pick Chet Pickard (18^th overall) on the Canadian World Junior Championships team that claimed gold. The 5-9, 173-pound blueliner won the 2009 Max Kaminsky Award as the OHL's Most Outstanding Defenseman.

- Charles-Olivier Roussel and Gabriel Bourque will participate in Canada's World Junior Development Camp for the 2010 World Junior Championships, while Zach Budish will attend the United States World Junior Evaluation Camp. Both take place in August.

- Zach Budish has committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2009-10 season after missing the 2008-09 campaign due to a knee injury. He will join 2006 Predator draftee Ryan Flynn on the Golden Gophers. Craig Smith will head to his hometown to play for the University of Wisconsin, joining 2006 draftee and Nashville native Blake Geoffrion. Nick Oliver is bound for St. Cloud State, and Cam Reid is headed to the University of New Hampshire.

- Taylor Beck and Michael Latta are teammates on the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League. They were picked within three picks of each other, were born 12 days apart, and both also played in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game, as did Charles-Olivier Roussel.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2009 DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER
Forwards	Height	Weight	Shoots	Place of Birth	Birthdate	2008-09 Team
Ryan Flynn	6-2	214	R	St. Paul, Minn.	3/22/88	U. of Minnesota (WCHA)
Blake Geoffrion	6-1	191	L	Plantation, Fla.	2/3/88	U. of Wisconsin (WCHA)
Jani Lajunen	6-1	174	L	Helsinki, Finland	6/16/90	Espoo (Finland)/Espoo Jr. (Fin-Jr.)
Ian McKenzie	6-5	223	R	Weyburn, Sask.	5/23/87	Milwaukee (AHL)/Cincinnati (ECHL)
Ben Ryan	5-11	190	R	Detroit, Mich.	10/16/88	U. of Notre Dame (CCHA)
Mark Santorelli	6-1	191	R	Burnaby, B.C.	8/6/88	Milwaukee (AHL)/Cincinnati (ECHL)
Nick Spaling	6-1	187	L	Palmerston, Ont.	9/19/88	Milwaukee (AHL)
Taylor Stefishen	5-11	170	R	North Vancouver, B.C.	8/15/90	Ohio State University (CCHA)
Ryan Thang	5-11	190	R	Chicago, Ill.	5/11/87	U. of Notre Dame (CCHA)
Casey Wellman**	6-0	174	R	Brentwood, Calif.	10/18/87	Umass-Amherst (H-East)
Colin Wilson	6-1	213	L	Greenwich, Conn.	10/20/89	Boston University (H-East)

Defense	Height	Weight	Shoots	Place of Birth	Birthdate	2008-09 Team
Jonathon Blum	6-1	177	R	Long Beach, Calif.	1/30/89	Vancouver (WHL)
Jeffrey Foss	6-2	208	R	Fargo, N.D.	12/12/88	R.P.I. (ECAC)
Roman Josi	6-1	185	L	Bern, Switzerland	6/1/90	Bern (Switzerland)
Teemu Laakso	6-1	201	R	Tuusula, Finland	8/27/87	Milwaukee (AHL)
Russ Sinkewich*	6-3	214	R	Westlake, Ohio	9/21/85	Bowling Green (CCHA)/Milwaukee (AHL)/
						Lake Erie (AHL)/Johnstown (ECHL)

GOALTENDER	Height	Weight	Catches	Place of Birth	Birthdate	2008-09 Team
Atte Engren	6-1	194	L	Rauma, Finland	2/19/88	TPS Turku (Finland)/K-Vantaa (Finland-2)/
						TPS Turku-Jr. (Fin.-Jr.)
Anders Lindback	6-6	198	L	Gavle, Sweden	5/3/88	Brynas (Sweden)/Brynas Jr. (Sweden Jr.)
Chet Pickard	6-2	210	L	Moncton, N.B.	11/29/89	Tri-City (WHL)
Jeremy Smith	6-0	168	L	Dearborn, Mich.	4/13/89	Niagara (OHL)/Plymouth (OHL)

NASHVILLE PREDATORS 2009 ENTRY DRAFT CLASS
Rd	No	Forwards	Height	Weight	Shoots	Place of Birth	Birthdate	2008-09 Team
2	41	Zach Budish	6-3	229	R	Edina, Minn.	5/9/91	Edina High School (Minn.)
3	70	Taylor Beck	6-2	205	R	St. Catharines, Ont.	5/13/91	Guelph (OHL)
3	72	Michael Latta	5-11	200	R	Kitchener, Ont.	5/25/91	Guelph (OHL)
4	98	Craig Smith	6-1	189	R	Madison, Wis.	9/5/89	Waterloo (USHL)
4	110	Nick Oliver	6-3	184	L	Grand Forks, N.D.	5/4/91	Roseau High School (Minn.)
5	132	Gabriel Bourque	5-9	183	L	Rimouski, Que.	9/23/90	Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)
7	192	Cameron Reid	6-2	185	L	Delta, B.C.	8/25/91	Westside (BCHL)

		Defense	Height	Weight	Shoots	Place of Birth	Birthdate	2008-09 Team
1	11	Ryan Ellis	5-9	173	R	Hamilton, Ont.	1/30/89	Windsor (OHL)
2	42	Charles-OlivierRoussel	6-1	196	R	St. Eustache, Que.	9/13/91	Shawinigan (QMJHL)
4	102	Mattias Ekholm	6-4	194	L	Borlange, Sweden	5/24/90	Mora Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)