Monday, July 25, 2016
Development on Display
5 NCAA returnees who earned raves at NHL development camps.
NHL teams’ development camps offer different opportunities for the variety of players in attendance. For first-year pros, it’s a chance to prove their readiness to take the next step; for recent draft picks, it’s a chance to make a first impression on their new organization.
Campers in the middle of those two categories – in their second, third or fourth development camps – have the chance to show how their game has grown since they made those first impressions.
Related: 5 Poised for First Pro Season
Here are five college players who made positive impressions as they prepare to return to school this fall:
Anders Bjork, Notre Dame/Boston Bruins
Bjork’s offensive production spiked 59% from his freshman to sophomore seasons, but he entered Bruins development camp hoping to take further strides. General manager Don Sweeney certainly sounds happy with what he’s seen from Bjork’s game to this point.
“He plays in a very tight system at Notre Dame,” Sweeney told the team web site. “So the habits away from the puck are really ingrained in him and now he’s looking to explore his offensive side.”
Bjork and former Boston University defenseman Matt Grzelcyk – both camp veterans at this point – were singled out for their efforts.
“You can tell the guys that have been here. Grizzy has a great week and Anders [Bjork] has a great week because they’re just comfortable in what they’re doing,” said Sweeney.
“I mean they’ve played at the college hockey level for two, three, four years in some of these kids. And they’re very comfortable in their own skin and what they do.”
Will Borgen, St. Cloud State/Buffalo Sabres
Borgen joined St. Cloud State straight out of high school last fall and made an immediate impression around college hockey. He earned a spot on the U.S. National Junior Team and carried that level of play into Sabres’ camp this summer.
“Going from high school to college, you go from playing kids your own age or younger to playing against grown men, 25 year olds,” he wrote in a diary entry on Sabres.com. “You’re playing against stronger guys and it’s a faster pace. You learn you have to grown up on the ice a little bit.
“I became a little more defensive than I was in high school. In high school I was all over, but I turned into more of a puck-moving defenseman trying to get it up to the forwards. In college they do the work up there in offense, so I can play my role more on the defensive end.”
Ryan Fitzgerald, Boston College/Boston Bruins
Fitzgerald’s third year at Boston College represented a dramatic improvement from very good freshman and sophomore seasons – and that was no coincidence.
“I definitely upped my tempo off ice in the weight room,” he told the Bruins’ web site. “It was something that I prided myself on last summer. There’s still a lot of room for improvement there, but I think that’s kind of one of the things that helped me succeed last year.”
He will be a senior for the Eagles this fall. On a team that lost seven underclassmen to the pros, it’s easy to forget that in Fitzgerald and Colin White, BC brings back its top two scorers.
Bruins Executive Director of Player Personnel John Ferguson expects to see continued growth in Fitzgerald’s game.
“Ryan, as much as probably any of the guys here, has made strides every single year since he’s been drafted,” said Ferguson. “He had an outstanding season last year at Boston College and he’s obviously turned into one of their go-to players. He’s gotten quicker, he’s getting stronger.
“He’s addressed many of the areas that you need to as a young player who gets drafted. But like others he needs to improve in different areas. And he’s demonstrating that he has done it and continues to do it.”
Jordan Greenway, Boston University/Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild had 13 draft picks in NCAA hockey last season, and to hear Director of Player Development Brad Bombardir tell it, it’s hard to imagine they are happier with any of them than Greenway.
“I’m just incredibly excited, I think we all are, for the type of player he has become in one year and with the player he may become,” Bombardir told the team web site. “The best thing about Jordan is that he knows what type of player he needs to be. How is going to play at the next level? How is that game now translate to what it’s going to translate to in the NHL?”
The reason for that excitement? Head coach David Quinn and his staff.
“David Quinn is an outstanding coach and he loves Jordan,” Bombardir said. “He really feels that he’s going to be a great player for us, as do I, and as do all of us in the organization. They style of play that BU plays is an NHL style and you can exactly see where he’s going to fit in that and where he fits there and where he fits into the system here.
“And he’s accepted that, ‘This is the type of player I’m going to have to be, and I’m willing to be.’ And he is. He’s a net-front, offensive juggernaut on the wall where he can get pucks and it’s hard for guys to get the puck off him.”
Dylan Sikura, Northeastern/Chicago Blackhawks
Sikura quadrupled his point total as he moved from freshman to sophomore season, helping lead the Huskies back to the NCAA Tournament in the process.
That progress was evident at Blackhawks development camp, where Sikura stood out among the whopping 39 NCAA players (and others) in attendance.
“The guy I’ve noticed a lot is Dylan Sikura from Northeastern,” general manager Stan Bowman said. “He had a great season this year. It was his sophomore season. His freshman year was a tough year for him. He didn’t play much. He was having trouble getting into the lineup. Last year he almost had 30 points in college hockey. He sort of carried that over here. I’ve been impressed with his ability to make plays. He’s a smaller player, but he’s got great skill and quickness and playing-making.”