So much to see and maybe it all means jack since it was, after all practice and a chance to evaluate what the kids need to work on in order to be successful at the next level. But maybe it also meant a culling process, which kids to invite to training camp, to see who stood out, who had the drive and tools to take a run at the main roster.

Yep it was both sets of things and this group of kids were up to the challenge in a dozen ways.

Mikkel Boedker, Kevin Porter stood heads and shoulders above the other kids. Hands, heads and skates were all on fire just bout every time they made a move. The Bod and KT had a chemistry that was phenomenal and they looked very polished out there. Both still need weight and maturity, but I fully expect Mikkel’s name to be right there with Turris’ on the final roster. Kevin Porter is almost a case of instant chemistry with whomever he plays with. This guy could setup the algae in my pool and it would score. (ok maybe thats a small exaggeration) but give this guy a few runs with a line mate and he makes you think there’s some truth to Pierre’s telepathic link scenario.

After those two it gets kinda dicey. MacLean is going to be one hell of a left wing but needs some skate work. Tikhonov is closer to the roster than I expected and had a real good camp but playin mostly with Kevin and Chad probably helped, so I can’t really factor out the Michigan connection to give a fairer assessment, I think he gets a real long look at camp and preseason. Kolarik ditto. It would be a sorry thing to break up what he and Porter have going on. (think Sedins with both brothers sharing scoring ops instead of one passer and one scorer)

Summers and Hextall were the next tier in offense and had moments of creativity and shine but since Chris is apparently going back to school in the fall we can count him out of training camp. Hextall will probably be giving the AHL a good RW perfomance (along w/ Pat Brosnihan) and challenging hard for a spot fairly quickly but neither has the speed of the others, good vision though and fairly responsible defensively.

EDIT: Hex will be attending the University of North Dakota…

Not sure what will happen w/ Ferrerio, Perry, Long and Lunden… interesting players but very much over shadowed by the draftees. Staal, as alluded, will be a work in progress for a while.

Not sure if anyone else noticed that this camp was overrun with defensemen?

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So, after the usual web prowling, I noticed something new. Something that doesn’t happen that much in Coyotes country during the offseason. Curiosity, speculation, hope and enthusiasm. WOW! Everyone and their mother has a question or a specualtion about the desert dogs.

Well, I gathered up some of the questions and grabbed my courage and bearded GMDM at today’s rookie camp. I figured he’d at least answer 1 or 2 before having me turfed out. Our gracious GM did more than that… he answered all of them! CANDIDLY! (he would’ve even let me record him dammittalltohell! I REALLY need a recording device). Well anyway with no further ado I am pleased to present our very first 1 on 1 exclusive interview with GMDM…. (paraphrased as usual because I am obviously a very slow learner and haven’t bought a damn recorder yet)

ME) What are the team’s plans for Brian McGrattan? What does that mean for Carcillo?

GMDM) Danny needs to be able to concentrate on other things this season. We need to be able to give him the opportunity to get those 20 - 30 goals. Danny can start the wars and Bryan can end them. But thats not the only reason Bryan is here, look behind you, (we all turned to look at the kids on the ice) thats the other reason, those kids out there, Turris, Boedker, Tikhonov need to be able to concentrate on their game without worrying. Bryan will give them the confidence and safety to play their game.

ME) Do you plan on bringing in any more forwards from outside of the organization, and if so, through what means?

GMDM) Our 1st order of business is to fix the blueline period. Once we have that done, then we’ll look around period (UFAs) we won’t really be looking at trading but if a deal falls our way then of course we’ll consider it. But with Tikhonov, Boedker and Porter looking for TOI RIGHT NOW, there doesn’t really seem to be a ‘NEED’ for another outside forward.

ME) Which types of defensemen in particular do you plan on pursuing? What price range?

GMDM) Primarily we’ll be looking for someone who can eat Bally’s minutes. Its a LOT of minutes and we need that steady, stable, reliable and safe choice. We’re currently considering 2 defensemen w/ NHL experience. Now don’t forget we still have Yandle and Matt Jones in the system who will most likely get increased minutes but will still need partners that can be depended on while they learn.

ME) How are Ross and Ahnelov looking?

GMDM) Nick is very young, he has been having a very good camp. Ahnelov is looking good also, both are a bit raw still, but who knows what we’ll see out of them come September. Whether its offense or defense we’ll be looking at who they are replacing (toi, skill set etc) first and foremost.

ME) Are there any Dmen currently in SA that are ready to step up?
GMDM) No. No one on the farm right now is ready.
ME) Who is closest?
GMDM) Declined to speculate.

ME) Since the league has set the cap minimum at 40.7 million with a cap of 56.7 million and we worked w/ a self imposed cap last season. What is the team’s budget this season?

GMDM) 40.8 (much laughter, I called him the Stanley Cup shopper of the NHL). Seriously, We will remain close to the floor. When these guys turn out like I think they’re going to, we may need that money to buy the last one or two pieces that will not only get us into the post season but to actually make a run at the cup.

ME) We all know about the youth movement and the 32 and outta here policy. Is there still an age limit on players you’ll pursue?

GMDM) Yes. We are still dedicated to the youth movement but because of the current blueline situation, the defensemen that we pick up may be a little older than our long term plan calls for.

ME) Of players within the organization who did not spend the full season in Phoenix last year, in your opinion are there any who have the inside track to make the team this year?

GMDM) Enver Lisin comes to mind. Lisin will practically have to play himself off the roster,.Basically its his spot to lose. Unless some other kid just completely blows us away in camp Lisin is in a very good spot. With the transfer agreement issue also bearing on this situation, we need to give Enver his chance to succeed and make sure he has every reason to want to stay and improve.

ME) So when are you going to re-sign fan-favorites TQ and Weller?

GMDM) Honestly? The level of talent is so huge this season, that Tjarnqvist (as much as we loved what he did last season) just doesn’t provide enough offense to justify keeping him at this time.

ME) So who is going to play all those PK minutes?

GMDM) We fully expect the young guys to hold their own on the PK. They all have that ability and in addition they can turn a PK into a real scoring opportunity, which hasn’t happened much in the past.

ME) Ok, what about Wellie?

GMDM) Craig has been offered a 2 way contract (just yesterday!). We certainly hope he accepts it but he may decide to explore free agency as he is UFA this season. We will have to wait and see.

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There were very few people there. Not at all like last year when we picked up KT. Probably about 50 to 60 people, Gintonio, Heeter and 3 news cameras. I tried very hard not to focus all my attention on the new kids (I didn’t look at my program to find out who was who unless a player caught my attention) I looked the kids up when someone had a great pass, a really skilled type of move or a steal/poke check or some other defensive play. Worked pretty well until the same players kept pulling my attention back to them.

Tiki and Bods looked fantastic (fast, good hands, good skate work) both have hard shots and rang some posts as well as catching a couple of the goalies 5hole w/ quick, nasty snap shots.

Ross surprised the hell out of me… fast and sneaky (stealing/stripping pucks with very little effort as well as good at catching up to the forwards and getting position back).

Ahnelov appears to be bigger w/out having lost any speed, good instincts for keeping his man out of good scoring positions too.

Reese was catching my eye quite a bit during the complex figure eight ish drills, good shot on that boy.

Summers stood out, good skating, good positioning, good passing, not flashy, real solid. Was playin a lot of forward so I guess they are looking at him as offense but that may change as camp progresses.

Impressed the most by the lines of Boedker - Turris - MacLean and Tikhonov - Kolarik - Porter, they look like they’ve been playing together for years rather than an hour (which gives me hope that Tiki can develop that kind of chemistry at the next level) quickly and that Boedker may just really be as ready as has been touted. Kyle is definitely a natural leader, he led a few of the stretching and exercise drills with aplomb.

Juha Uotila (from the U of Nebraska-Omaha) might just make a case for himself to head to SA. Lunden and Long may be sleepers too, none of them looked out of place, all of them have decent size, hands and speed.

Billingsley was yellow shirted (for no contact) due to spleen troubles. I’d really like to see more of him at full strength. Both he and Brodeur have potential but are raw.

Players I didn’t notice as much, Brosnihan, Ferriero, Staal (came late to the session) and Perry… I will pay particular attention to them next session.

There are some crappy pics and some odd movies posted in my flickr account if you have a desire to be tortured by horrible camera work or are desperate to see just a hint of what the kids look like. I am downloading more (it takes awhile on dialup) j/k but it does take awhile when the files are like 50mb to 110mb each.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onyxstarr33/