Nashville Predators assign Blum, Eaves, Thuresson and Dekanich to Milwaukee

Dirk Hoag — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:44:05 -0000

Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has reassigned goaltender Mark Dekanich, defenseman Jonathon Blum and forwards Ben Eaves and Andreas Thuresson to Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.

A total of 19 forwards, nine defensemen and two goaltenders remain in camp. Teams must be at or below the 23-man active roster limit by their first regular season game, which comes for the Predators on Thursday, Oct. 3 at Dallas.

Players by position currently participating in camp are as follows:

FORWARDS (19): Jason Arnott, Wade Belak, J.P. Dumont, Martin Erat, Marcel Goc, Triston Grant, Ben Guite, Patric Hornqvist, Ryan Jones, David Legwand, Peter Olvecky, Cal O'Reilly, Mike Santorelli, Jerred Smithson, Nick Spaling, Steve Sullivan, Jordin Tootoo, Joel Ward, Colin Wilson.

DEFENSEMEN (9): Francis Bouillon*, Cody Franson, Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Klein, Teemu Laakso, Alexander Sulzer, Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, Nolan Yonkman.

GOALTENDER (2): Dan Ellis, Pekka Rinne.

* - Denotes in camp on a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO)

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.

Predators Update, March 19 2009

Dirk Hoag — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:18:00 -0000

I'm moving slow after a hockey game last night (4-3 loss, scored once), but I can still crawl around the internet to dig up your Nashville Predators news this morning:

As I noted in the Game Thread yesterday, Puck Daddy's jumping on board the "Pekka Rinne for Calder Trophy" campaign. It's not quite a full-throated endorsement, but definitely calls into question the conventional wisdom that it's Steve Mason's award to lose.

The Tri-City Herald reports that 2008 1st-round draft pick Chet Pickard has been named a finalist for the Western Hockey League's Goaltender of the Year. 2007 1st-round pick Jonathan Blum also made the WHL's Western Conference All-Star team on defense.

Kevin Allen at USA Today talks about the challenging mathmatical juggling that goes on in calculating a team's playoff chances at this point, with plenty of input from Preds GM David Poile.

In another example of how sensational headlines create lingering misperceptions, Adrian Dater at the Denver Post, in an article about how the Colorado Avalanche might tap into NHL revenue sharing for the first time, says that:

In order to qualify for NHL revenue sharing this season, teams must average at least 14,000 in attendance. That has led at least one team — the Nashville Predators — to buy its own tickets at market price for some games in order to raise the average attendance. In effect, the Predators are paying themselves, then will receive money from financially better-performing teams.

I'd challenge Dater to provide any evidence that the Predators have done any such thing. In an interview with the Tennessean several weeks ago, David Freeman talked about some of the owners potentially buying tickets, but doubted that would be necessary. And owners, particularly since they have other businesses as well, frequently buy tickets to their own teams through those businesses. You don't think Comcast buys tickets to the Flyers?

Lastly, Defending Big D has a look at the Western Conference playoff race, including projections as to how each team must perform in order to reach the postseason.

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.)

SB Nation - Jonathon Blum

Nashville Predators assign Blum, Eaves, Thuresson and Dekanich to Milwaukee

Nashville Predators announce roster and schedule for development camp

Predators Update, March 19 2009