As we prepare for the 3rd day of training camp to begin, DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills posted an article which summarizes the storylines on day 2:
“The details have been pretty sharp for the first two days of Training Camp,” J.T. Compher said. “Sometimes there’s a little bit of sloppiness. I can only speak for our group that I’ve skated with the last few days, but it’s been sharp and I feel the focus has been there, which is important. These are important days to hammer down the systems and learn. It’s really good to see the guys ready to go right from the start of camp.”
Training Camp also provides an early look at possible line combinations. During the first two days of camp, Compher skated on the second line between Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko.
“That’s what camp is about — learning each other’s tendencies,” Compher said. “Whether the lines switch up or stay the same, you want to try to get as much familiarity with guys as possible. The first day was maybe more feeling each other out, then today I feel like us three were a little more vocal with each other and talking through things.”
…
“That top-four [defense] could be fluid a little bit at times,” [coach Derek] Lalonde said. “Sometimes guys have chemistry, just puck support, being able to get pucks out on a breakout. Of course you’re starting to envision some pairs. No different from my conversation and comments about our offensive lines yesterday. We’ll be looking at some different things, could be fluid, and try to get a combination there.”
Among other things that Lalonde and his coaching staff will evaluate through Training Camp and the preseason is Detroit’s goaltending situation.
“Ville [Husso], Cam [Talbot] and Alex [Lyon] have had really nice stretches in this league,” Lalonde said. “They’ve proved they can win in this league, and we’ll look for one to step up. Jack [Campbell] has done that also. Obviously, we have some numbers in camp, which is a little unique, but it’s a positive. I still look back to last year, we kept the three goalies around for a while. It wasn’t ideal, getting in the net at times, but again, it saved our season. It’s going to be a healthy competition. It’s going to be wide open, and it’s a clean slate.”
