Recap of Day 3 of Development Camp
Sad that it's over, happy it happened
With day 3 of camp over, this signifies the end of camp. Coincidentally, this was also the most competitive day, with the majority of the session being pure scrimmages, whether that be full ice 4 on 4, neutral zone 2 on 2, or one zone 3 on 3/2 on 2. I also talked with both Stanislav Yarovoy and Semyon Frolov (with the help of a translator, thank you again Oleg) and the important parts of those will be at the end.
Ivan Ryabkin, dude. His pure skill is ridiculous. One of the craziest shots I’ve seen and the way he can use space in the offensive zone is impressive. I want to make sure people know that this is an 18-year old and while yes, I was a big fan of his camp performance for the most part, he’s got a lot of room (and time) to grow. But this camp calmed a good amount of my worries.
Also, I don’t know where he will play this year. He was drafted in the first round of the CHL import draft to the Charlottetown Islanders but I wouldn’t be surprised if he played in either the CHL (specifically, the QMJHL) or USHL.
The Roman Bausov pick confused me at first, solely because I didn’t do research on the player, but I am impressed. One of the purest skaters that I have seen with a little mean edge to him. After a (suspect) check from Yarovoy, he went right after Yarovoy when he had the puck on the wall. Interested to see his development going forward.
The past two years, I’ve walked away impressed with Jayden Perron. It’s a great sign when a developing player willingly goes to the middle of the ice to create offense and Perron loves it. There was one play during the full ice scrimmage where he legit went straight through two defenders and setup someone for a goal. Big year for him upcoming in Michigan.
If dawg/60 was a trackable stat, Charlie Cerrato would lead the camp. He is a true heart and soul player that has good skill. A super, super fierce competitor, noted by having to be separated from Alexander Rykov after a scrimmage shift.
I’m still intrigued on goalie invite Jaeden Nelson. He looked really solid this camp.
UMaine teammates Justin Poirier and Josh Nadeau looked really good together. Nadeau specifically was a standout in the full ice scrimmage, netting a hat trick and the scrimmage winning goal. I hope Maine uses them on a line together next year.
I really hope the Canes sign Yarovoy to his ELC. He looked like a player that could become something and his skill is sneaky good. Didn’t show it a ton during his most recent KHL season, but it was on full display today. He attempted a Michigan and scored one of the nicest shootout goals I have seen. Just imagine a Pavel Barber esque shootout attempt and that’s what Yarovoy pulled off.
Viggo Nordlund, yes. Truly dynamic skill. During the full ice scrimmage, he went to the middle, gets tripped, and still made a Grade A pass for a goal. His shot is sneaky good as well. I also liked fellow countrymen Filip Ekberg’s skill in tight situations and Oskar Vuollet had a couple of good moments during the week.
Today’s theme was intensity, all driven by the players. They truly cared about who won and you could tell. There was the two aforementioned moments (Rykov/Cerrato and Bausov/Yarovoy) but Simon Forsmark (I think) absolutely leveled Nils Juntorp (who was fine and looked decent today) and Ryabkin took a high stick from someone, who he had some choice words for.
Another theme of today was injury scares. Juntorp was one, but noted First Team All Camp Forward Fyodor Avramov took a puck off the knee from a blue line shot and stayed done for a good minute. He popped back up and played out the rest of the day, but it did spook me. He had an insanely good camp, loved his skating and the way he created offense for himself. Good shot on “Uncle” as well.
Also, quickly, I was disappointed to not see Kurban Limatov skate but he was around the prospects all week. Could be wrong but it seemed like a precaution.
Stanislav Yarovoy Interview (kinda)
I say kinda because it felt more like a conversation. The two biggest takeaways I came away with was that 1.) he wants to stay in North America for next season and 2.) he takes pride in the ability to play center. His contract situation is up in the air, as he doesn’t have an ELC from the Canes (at the time of writing) and his KHL rights are with Spartak Moscow. The center part comes from his development over the past year. He showed a real desire to get to the middle of the ice and showed defensive responsibility in his own zone. He takes pride in the ability to do that. He also mentioned that he’s enjoyed his time in North Carolina (so far) and thanks the fans for being so kind and supportive. When asked about the funniest guys in the room (a question I asked last year just to see a guy’s personality flash more), he answered Ryabkin and Blake Biondi. He also mentioned that Ryabkin’s sense of humor is different, but he likes it. His English popped up a couple times and was good. He mentioned that he doesn’t know a ton, but he knows the right words to use on the ice.
Semyon Frolov Interview (kinda, again)
Another giant human being (I am 6’2 and I had to look up a little bit), Frolov started off by saying how good of an organization Carolina is. He was happy to be selected by the Hurricanes, all from the comfort of Miami, Florida (he wanted to go to LA for the in person draft, but couldn’t make it). He also mentioned he was happy to see his buddy, Pyotr Andreyanov, get drafted. He doesn’t have anything specific in his game that he wants to work on, but wants to get better in every aspect of his game. He was honest, mentioning he can be better. Matt asked about his personality while in the crease, noting his reactions to making saves on Ryabkin shots, and he was reserved in his response (note: he cracked a smile while saying it) saying that he tries to stay quiet in net. When asked about what his plans were for next season, he said he’s going to play at the highest level he can in the Spartak system. He has two more years on his KHL contract. When asked about who was the funniest in the room, he also said Ryabkin. Basically said the same thing Yarovoy did about his sense of humor too.
And that’s camp. It was a fun time and even though I didn’t get to talk with as many prospect as last time, I still thoroughly enjoyed speaking with everyone and getting to view a ton of players I will now only be able to watch through a screen. I want to give a special thank you to you, the reader. This Substack was ranked as the #84 substack in the “Rising in Sports” category and that’s all thank to you reading, so I appreciate everyone who has read anything I have put out. With camp being over, the content on the account and this Substack might go dry for a little bit, with nothing really happening until mid July with KHL/VHL/MHL preseason and training camp. So thank you all for reading and I’ll be back soon!