Friday, July 17, 2015
Sophomores Show Off Development
After a year in college, sophomores are turning heads at NHL Development Camps.
Eighty-four players who will be sophomores this fall are appearing in NHL Development Camps this summer, and for many who were drafted prior to this June, it’s an encore presentation. NHL teams tend to love what they’ve seen in these second impressions after players have enjoyed a year of development at the NCAA level.
Boston College sophomore Zach Sanford (Auburn, N.H./Waterloo-USHL/WSH) was one such player. A second-round pick back in 2013, he earned raves in his second camp under Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz.
“I think each kid, we look at them individually, because some of them have been coming in over the course of time, we see their progress, some people you haven’t seen, you watch how they are,” Trotz told the Washington Post. “A guy like Zach Sanford, I’m impressed with him, his developmenty from last year to this year.”
Like many NCAA players, Sanford added strength during his time at school and came in to camp at 197 pounds; he was listed at 191 to start last season.
“One big thing is I’m a lot bigger and stronger, more mature,” Sanford told the Post. “I think my hockey IQ has gone up a lot from the coaching I’ve had the past few years, so I think just those few things make a huge difference out there.”
An early star at Boston Bruins camp, which is taking place this week, is Denver sophomore Danton Heinen (Langley, B.C./Surrey-BCHL/BOS). The Pioneers’ leading scorer as a rookie, a fourth-round pick in 2014, was “the best player on the ice” early in Bruins camp according to Comcast SportsNet’s Joe Haggerty.
Heinen missed Bruins camp a year ago while taking summer classes at Denver. He’s made a great impression, as he did in NCAA hockey as a freshman.
“You can tell he’s talented,” Bruins development coach and Boston University alum Jay Pandolfo told Haggerty. “He’s got a lot of poise with the puck. He’s got a great release and a great shot. He’s going to be a really good player. He still needs to get a little stronger. That will help him protecting pucks. But he looks really good. I thought he stood out today.”
In Calgary, Boston University sophomore Brandon Hickey (Leduc, Alta./Spruce Grove-AJHL/CGY) has shot up the Flames’ prospect depth chart thanks to an impressive freshman season. He added 12 pounds of muscle to his frame and improved as the season progressed.
“It was an interesting situation for him, last season, having three freshman defenceman there,’’ Flames general manager Brad Treliving told the Calgary Herald. “So he just kept getting more and more responsibility. The impressive thing is that the opportunity was there and Brandon didn’t sit back; he grabbed hold of it.
“Now he’s going to become a leader on that team, develop in that area. What sticks out with him, obviously, is his skating. He’s an elite skater. It comes easy to him. For me, now, it’s just being a little more on the puck, working on his decision-making in that regard. … We think the sky’s the limit for this guy.”
For Hickey – like Sanford and Heinen – the key is now continuing that improvement and playing an even bigger role in 2015-16.
“I just want to make the same kind of strides I made last year,” he said at Flames camp. “I want to be that go-to guy on defence, along with Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass./U.S. NTDP/BOS). I want to be in the same boat as him, playing a lot of minutes, in all situations.”