ColumbusBlueJackets.com’s Jeff Svoboda headed to Plymouth, MI to check in with Blue Jackets stars Adam Fantilli and Zach Werenski as the pair train at USA Hockey Arena.
The article also serves as a quiet reminder that there’s something of an All-Star Team’s worth of U.S. National Team Development Program alums spending their summers training and skating in Plymouth, including the Red Wings’ captain:
The scenes in the gym and on the ice aren’t necessarily dramatic – there’s no ear-splitting music in the gym, no screaming strength coaches getting in the faces of the players – but the intensity is real when you’re working with the best of the best.
The on-ice session was split into drills and mini-games, and the competitiveness among the high-level athletes is palpable. While there are light moments like stick taps for a player who loses an edge and slips to the ice, each 3-on-3 game ends with joyous winners celebrating and losers who start moving nets and pucks into place for the next battle.
Through it all, [Adam] Fantilli – who has often talked about learning and getting better every day of his NHL career – is a keen observer of what’s going on around him.
“It’s all All-Stars out there,” he said. “You’re going against guys that are the best in the league in a lot of senses. I can take from a lot of guys’ games. You have Jack [Hughes] and Quinn [Hughes] out there that are two of the most shifty guys in the NHL, and that’s something I want to add to my game as well. Cole (Caufield) is such a great shooter. Usually Kyle Connor and (Dylan) Larkin are out there, and those are both world-class forwards as well.
“They’re guys I want to take from their games. Learning from them every day has been really beneficial.”
Continued; it’s a good read from Svoboda, especially if you’re a Blue Jackets and/or U of M hockey fan.
