74 MINUTES AT PROSPECT MINICAMP
NYI Practice play-by-play with Tavares and Gordon
After staying away from John Tavares for a few days, I decided to concentrate on his session today at prospect minicamp. This timeline may focus primarily on Tavares, but includes some peaks into Scott Gordon’s workouts.
11:33 am: As Group I takes the ice, Tavares spend some time dangling with the puck at center ice – through the legs, around the back. Child’s play.
:36 - Tavares has been at the front of the line for drills all week. Today is no different. Gordon puts his prospects through some stickhandling practice. In one drill, they skate to the first blueline, do a 360, then the red line and other blueline and do the same. Tavares takes it, as most do, at a moderate speed. A few, like gritty-gutty underdogs Joel Rechlicz and Vladimir Nikiforov, attack the routine at full-speed.
:40 - Group stretch at center ice, led by Rechlicz. Coaches on the ice are Gordon, Dean Chynoweth, Bryan Trottier, Jack Capuano, Sudarshan Maharaj and Pat Bingham.
:42 - Gordon draws up a drill on a dry-erase board. It’s worth noting that of all the NHL head coaches at all the NHL prospect minicamps this summer, it’s likely none are more hands-on than Gordon has been this week. For good reason.
“Our situation is different with so many good young prospects and this being my first minicamp,” said Gordon, who has been on the ice for every second of it. “When they come to training camp in September, I want there to be a familiarity with what we do. We’ve worked on a little bit of everything this week. Tomorrow they’re going to get some power skating work. We also gave them just a taste of our system of play. It’s been a real good week, very productive.”
:44 - Gordon blows his whistle to stop a drill where two players come over the blueline and make a play. The coach appears to ask for more sharpness to the drill. After yesterday’s sessions, the team went on a fishing trip. Coincidence or not, some of the players appear sluggish, as can be expected with five straight days of skating. After Gordon’s nudge, Tavares converts a nice feed from Calvin de Haan for a goal and the drill continues at a much better pace.
:51 - The head coach draws up his second drill of the session, this one a 2-on-1. A player makes a pass, skates along the blueline from one board to the other, (hopefully) stays on side and scores off a cross-ice pass. After three minutes, the players work the same drill on the opposite side.
:57 - The forwards spend time in one end with Gordon, Trottier and Bingham. The D join Chynoweth and Capuano in the other end.
Noon - The forwards take part in a 2-on-2 drill that seems to be all about battle level. The puck is slid into the corner to the offensive pair, who try to score. In the first showdown, it’s Tavares and Matt Martin vs. Rechlicz and Calle Ridderwall. Later on, Tavares and Casey Cizikas are on defense against the attacking Tomas Marcinko and Nikoforov. Goaltender Kevin Poulin wins the battles.
12:08 pm - The group is brought together for more drills, including a 4-on-2 that starts with a breakout and leads to a scoring chance.
:14 - The drills stop for a minute as Gordon has a private chat with Cizikas. “By design, the paint is not on the ice to show the players exactly where to go,” Gordon said. “I wanted Casey to know that he doesn’t have to do the drill the exact same way every time.”
16 - The head coach is back to the board to diagram one last drill that touches on the team’s system. As he has for most of the week, Tavares stands just to Gordon’s left, leaning on his stick. Most players take a knee.
:22 - Unofficially, it’s a historic moment as the workout stops while Gordon explains something about the drill to Tavares at center ice. (We’re just being over-dramatic. It was no big deal, but it’s the first time we saw it this week).
“Awareness,” Gordon said. “When he was going back to support, I wanted him to know whether it was as a defenseman or as a center.” (Tavares was not made available to Point Blank today).
Later on, Tavares is on a trio briefly with Corey Trivino and Justin DiBenedetto. The top hockey instructor at Iceworks walks by and says, “That kid Trivino, sweet pair of hands. Gordon later says of DiBenedetto, “We never have to tell him to work harder. He just brings it all the time. I’m really impressed by him.”
:25 - Private D lesson for Calvin de Haan from Chynoweth, a former Islanders first round pick.
:32 - Stretch at center ice. Trottier takes the six centers – Tavares, Trivino, Marcinko, Cizikas, Doug Rogers and Anders Lee – down to one end. Time for some faceoff tutoring from a Hall of Famer.
“More about approach than technique today,” Trottier said a few minutes later. “I wanted to talk to them about the importance of faceoffs. It’s about pride and determination. Confidence. Tomorrow we’ll go over a few tricks. I want them to get in the mindset of, ‘Hey, we’re up a goal and this faceoff is in our own end.’ That’s the fun stuff. Great bunch of kids to work with. Eager to learn. I’m having a blast.”
:39 - Trottier talks hockey with Tavares for a few minutes, ending the chat by playfully rubbing the top of his helmet.
12:47 - Tavares ends the workout as he started it – working on his own, dangling, playing with the puck. The first overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft looks like there’s no place he’d rather be.
Comments.
39 Responses to 74 MINUTES AT PROSPECT MINICAMP
NYI Practice play-by-play with Tavares and Gordon
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kevin27nyi says:
thanks for the recap
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Matt says:
thanks for the update CB.
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beatlebailey says:
Great story! This is exactly why this blog must continue. We Islander addicts could get this stuff nowhere else. Keep up the great work CB!
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CT Isles Fan says:
Pretty cool insight.
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John says:
Nice update. Anything going on in the Matt Martin front?
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Mike L says:
Thanks for the play-by-play CB. I really like what Gordon’s doing with the prospect camp this year. The team could have easily milked this thing by holding scrimmages at the coliseum for everyone to see (See what the Bolts are doing). But it looks like Gordon doesn’t want to waste any time. This camp isn’t for the fans, but for the players to get acclimated to what they should expect to go through once they sign a pro contract. Say what you want about Gordon’s coaching, but I think he’s really helping these prospects improve.
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kabbage19 says:
Great article! Gordon is showing that he is a teacher for sure – The right guy for young players.
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Numbers65 in Ohio says:
Where else can anyone get such great Isles coverage, other than being there! Thanks CB!! Let’s go Islanders!!
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JPinVA says:
Thanks for being our eyes and ears CB, this is great stuff for a July day south of the Mason-Dixon.
Before some folks transform Scott Gordon into Moses, just remember that he taught about thirty players how to finish dead last in 2008-09. That’s not to say that he will garner the same results this coming season, but that’s what we have to go by…so far.
He will have a green JT, and three players that were markedly improved through his tenure at the helm (KO, Comeau and Gervais).
Maybe a healthy Sutton makes them better. Maybe there are some deals on the horizon which might make a healthy sutton, Witt or Martinek even more valuable in June 2010…and/or bring in some fresh blood on the blue line.
Either way, I know a lot of us are getting excited about October. -
kurversforgm says:
CB…..Does Martin re-enter the draft if he is not signed by the end of camp? Thanks
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Tavares #1 says:
Gordon certainly is the right man for this job. With Trotts as JT’s mentor, JT might just end up one of the best two-way players in the game.
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My dad and I cant wait for this season to start…We both dont expect too much as far as wins go but we would love to see the team progress.
Last year Kyle Okposo didnt really impress us too much but by the end of the year I thought he was one of the best on the ice every single night. I would be happy if I saw the same from Bailey/Comeau/Tavares and one guy I really want to see more of is Jesse Joensuu. Any word on how he performed this week? -
#11 I don’t look at last season as gordon teaching a team to finish dead last. I’m not a big Gordon supporter either…yet, but the blame is not on him.
Also as far as improved players, we’ll need more to improve, but one I question is Gervais. Like the kid a lot but I don’t see a top 6 d-man in him, I see a lot of mental lapses, some lazyness, lack of toughness, and no aggresiveness on offense. I get confused when I read praise for him, but maybe I have to pay closer attention. -
doc says:
Wow… talk about not paying attention.
Were we watching the same Gervais…? We’re talking about Bruno Gervais right?
Gervais was accountable, aggressive on the offensive attack, sharp defensively and relatively tough on defense last year. It started when he was paired up with Streit and continued till the end of the season.
He actually was one of the better players on the ice every night for the Islanders. (I know I know… that’s not saying much)… but it’s true.
DOC
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I won’t tie up this thread, but I will try to clarify my thoughts ont he subject.
Last year was not Gordon’s fault at all. It’s a succession thing. When Snow became GM, he had a coach he didn’t pick. When Gordon became coach there were still players that thought they were trying to make the playoffs… but not for long.
Last year’s team was a mess. This year he should have every body on the same page… so we should get a better picture of what he wants, and how he plans to get there.
That’s fine… but if we start to see the same third period collapses on a regular basis… shoddy defensive play… and lack of leadership in the offensive zone, then maybe it wasn’t injuries or the players that got them to the first pick.
As for Bruno, the guy has his own movie now… he must be doing something right.
Actually, towards the end of the year he started playing more confidently. Like he did in the Buffalo series… but he needs to step up in the weight room, and compete every shift. he can be a top four guy… If nothing else he can still order for the team when they’re in Montreal. -
Smokey says:
#17: I would say the early Gervais of last year was like that. Only noticed him for the bad things, seemed to have no idea what he was doing, etc. Toward the end of the year, he became a different player when paired with Streit. A true night and day difference, especially offensively.
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Strummer's Army says:
#17 & #18 Geravis went from being the NHL’s worst d-man to being exactly what #17 described. His improvement went from horrible to well below average. It also hurts the Isles pairing him with our top d-man to improve his play because it means Geravis would then often be out against the other teams better players and that made Streit less effective. Gordon & Snow talks about not wanting to bring in FA or make trades for guys who’d take ice away from the Isles young players but Geravis is one guy who could really be improved upon and should be.
CB, is Ullstrom projecting as a winger or center?
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So much pressure on him. I hope he can handle it. I know he’s been in the spotlight since he was a kid, but now… it’s show time.
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Staten Islander says:
Thanks CB, this is the best place for Islanders coverage bar none
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DM says:
great insight as others have said…hope more than a few of these other kids can join him on the big team in a few years
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dose says:
that was a cool report. i played every sport but hockey and i thought this was a really interesting account. i love how involved trottier is. with him and chynoweth – who by all accounts is an excellent coach in his own right – and with gordon really settled in now, the overall positive feeling i get for the team keeps getting stronger.
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Tom B says:
great stuff. nice read chris, thanks!
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Jon the sniper Sim says:
Can’t wait till oct 3 n Johnny lights up the lamp… Any word on a
decent goal song? -
19 ISLE in NJ 22 says:
Thanks for that unique perspective CB!!!
Great way to sum it up … is there any place a prospective NHL future star would rather be than on the ice? Love it.
Trotts knows a few things about face offs… hope it rubs off on the kids.
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TuxTax says:
I am expecting a JT Contract announcement in a day or two, someone took some Marketing Classes in the Isles front office huh?
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Gary9-19-22 says:
The old say of “A walk of 1000 miles beings with one step” applies.
JT is still taking #2.
Great update but way to early to mean anything.
I would like to see Bossy come around and show them a thing or two.
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Islander Fan in Boston says:
Cant wait until Oct 3rd.
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peter debenedetto says:
I am officially cancelling my Hockey News Subscription because I can read at least 2 new Islander stories EVERY DAY!!! right here on Islanders Point Blank.
Hey CB……where can we order our official ISLANDER POINT BLANK T-Shirts??? I’ll take a Blue XL please.
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Mick Vukota says:
Great piece CB. How long have we NYI fans been waiting for something like this? I cannot wait until October. It’s nice that the season begins a little earlier this year on account of the Olympics. The full schedule is due to be released at 3:00 today.
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NYI FAN on Jul 15th, 2009 10:48:17 said:
I wonder if Marcinko is related to Demo Dick Marcinko, Navy Seal.i wonder if he’s related to brian marcinko an original islander.
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Spartiarti - RVC says:
Great Coverage CB. Is the fact that Hilbert’s name has not been mentioned at all in resigning mean we have decided part with him. If so that is great news. Hilbert might skate hard, and be good at Penalty Killing but thats pretty much where his game ends. 16-18mins of ice time was wasted night in night out.
Isles will be better without him in lineup next year. Give those extra mins to Bergie.
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Irish Isle says:
“39 – Trottier talks hockey with Tavares for a few minutes, ending the chat by playfully rubbing the top of his helmet.”
Oh to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. -
KO21 says:
Gervais looked phenominal in the 2nd half last season. I was as surprised as anyone to see him play like a top line D-Man. I think many isles fans don’t watch the games.
I also can’t believe anyone could blame the coach for a last place finish. Did we forget about the record breaking amount of injuries and the 2 back up goalies as starters that Gordan was left with?
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Phenomenal? Sorry to turn this into a bruno discussion (gervais is better than the disappointing movie by the way), but I seriously don’t see it. Especially praise equalling “phenomenal”. Did I notice improvement? Sure..but to me on any average team he’s the 4,5,6 d-man. I saw some flashes of improvement and I actually do think he has great potential, but I haven’t seen much out of him at all.
He needs to step up big time, but I did predict this was the year he shut me up, I’m hoping so. I just don’t get why he seems to be marketted as a big piece of the puzzle or important face of the franchise, his play is not justified yet, but like I said this is hopefully the year! -
He looked Great, fantastic, use any puf those words to describe Gervais emergence. Like I said, he was a pleasant surprise. The question is will he continue to pick up where he left off.
It sounds like this has been very productive so far. CB, see any flashes of Tavares’ individual offensive skill we’ve all seen clip and heard about?