Day one of training camp for the Nashville Predators is in the books. It was a day filled with intensity as head coach Andrew Brunette had all three of his groups moving as fast as they could.
“The message was to start now & today we started on time. It was one day but it was a building day,” head coach Andrew Brunette said. “I thought there was the pace I was looking for from all three practices. You don’t know what you’re getting after the first day but I thought our leadership group drove all three practices.”
From one-on-one drills to playing a simulated even-strength situation Brunette & his staff stayed on top of their plays from the start. To end every group players had one-on-one battles with each other six times while rotating who maintained the puck.
Here they are during 1 v 1 battle to end practice. https://t.co/csnI7zdOmm pic.twitter.com/95iBqRqOLa
— Nick Kieser🏒 (@KieserNick) September 19, 2024
All of Nashville’s new faces were on the ice & began the process of getting acclimated to learning a new system & playing with new teammates.
“We try to build off of what we did & we have to find ourselves but we always want to be a threat & play with a certain pace & that’s not going to change,” Brunette said.
In the first group forwards Steven Stamkos, Tommy Novak, & Jonathan Marchessault skated together. The top line from last season Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg, & Gustav Nyquist stuck together yet again.
Marchessault said Novak was a ‘slippery’ player & had a nice touch to his passes. A compliment Stamkos had as well knowing he can let fire the puck when Novak can find him on the ice.
As for some of the younger players Juuso Pärssinen & Joakim Kemell were part of drills with Mark Jankowski.
While it’s the start of camp the Predators are getting a glimpse of what works early on without hesitation.
Day One Takeaways
Steven Stamkos
After being with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the last 16 years Stamkos had a rejuvenated feeling as training camp began.
“It was good pace out there. I felt like a young kid again out there getting out & feeling out the surroundings,” Stamkos said. “It’s been nice to get acclimated with the family & get into a routine.”
Stamkos was able to tell his new teammates had good summers. He looks forward to seeing how it all looks when the games roll around next month.
The former captain of the Lighting has a few things in mind that will help him during training camp.
“There are some tweaks to some system things that aren’t going to happen overnight,” Stamkos said. “When you rely on your instincts a lot & they were one way now they’ve changed in certain areas. Some questions for sure during practice & mistakes to correct in camp or exhibition games.”
Juuse Saros
Nashville’s 29-year-old goaltender agreed to a new 8-year contract extension over the summer & when he did it was late back home where he was training during his hiatus away from Tennessee.
“I don’t know if I did anything special right away it was pretty late at night,” Saros said reflecting on when he agreed to his new deal. “I got up for practice the next day & it was already all over the news so I got a lot of texts afterward.”
Now the Finnish netminder doesn’t have trade rumors or questions swirling around his head going into this season. He can focus on being at his best in the second year under Brunette’s system.
“Just focus on the hockey now. Kind of like the same thing as last time as I signed,” Saros said. “I signed it and didn’t think about anything else so [moving forward ].”
Filip Forsberg
The newest father on the team is back for his 13th NHL season & over the offseason made it a point to a few specific areas.
“Diaper changes was going to be my answer,” Forsberg said with a smile. “Maintaining & keep getting faster. That’s one thing I can keep working on. Spent a lot of time at the track, that’s been the main focus overall.”
Forsberg is still open to the idea of playing on the same line but recognized he has other teammates to lean on like Stamkos & Marchessault who help make the top six forwards more potent for teams to handle.
“I haven’t talked to Brunette yet but based on today that’s where it’s leaning I’m assuming,” Forsberg said. “We have tons of options so if something is not working we can slide guys in & it’s a good problem for Brunete to have.”
Luke Schenn
Ryan O’Reilly referred to defenseman Luke Schenn as ‘Scoops’ during an interview with TSN this offseason when reacting to the free agent signings. On Thursday Schenn said it was about him being in the know & having a pulse on things.
“Been around a long time & know lots of people throughout the league & have great relationships. Players talk amongst each other & on top of that a lot of players I played with are coaching or management now,” Schenn said. “The game comes full circle when you’ve been around for a while.”
Schenn was happy to see Nashvlle be aggressive this offseason & stay on top of adding to what this group started last season.
The pace felt faster for Schenn this go around as camp started. As a 17-year veteran, he’s been trying to keep up with the talent around him to remain a stalwart on defense.
“We wear chips in our shoulder pads & [an athletic trainer] was talking to me & said it was a similar practice to last year but 20 percent more intense,” Schenn said. “I think that goes hand in hand with understanding Brunette more & more in what he wants out of us.”
To start this season Schenn feels better this go around knowing the expectations & the organization better now that he’s been in Nashville for one season.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photo courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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