Ducks Training Camp Report: Silfverberg Is The Real Deal

Via: ducks.nhl.com

With the first day of on ice training camp in the books we are inching closer to the promise land, the start of the NHL season. Training camp isn’t exactly game situations, but this is the first time the coaching staff can evaluate their team. All eyes were squarely on newcomer to the camp Jakob Sifverberg, part of one of the biggest blockbusters the franchise has been a part of since landing Chris Pronger. Jakob Silfverberg comes as a highly touted player, winning the Elitserien’s (Swedish Elite League) Most Valuable player award for the regular season and their version of the Conn Smythe for his playoff performance. With that kind of pedigree there will be a lot expected from the youngster, on his first day he definitely impressed his coach.

"“Every game that I watched Ottawa play — and I watched quite a few of them — Silfverberg’s name was being brought up in a positive mode,” Boudreau said. “Two-way player. Plays both ends of the ice. Smooth skater. Solid, great shot. And you see those things.”"

Quoted from Helene Elliot of the LA Times,  September 12th, 2013.

"Switched from his natural right side to the left Thursday, Silfverberg meshed with right wing Teemu Selanne and center Nick Bonino during the first day of practice at Anaheim Ice. To Coach Bruce Boudreau, Silfverberg lived up to his billing."

Quoted from Helene Elliot of the LA Times,  September 12th, 2013.

It appears that Silfverberg is the promising young prospect everyone had pegged him to be. He has received nothing but praise from the media, and seems to be an early fan favorite. Listening to the sound bites of his media scrums he appears to have a very solid attitude. Most want to ask him about whether he feels he can fill the shoes of Bobby Ryan. He calmly responds I want to be judged on my own merits, and would rather let his play speak from his worth to the team. Sounds like he has the right frame of mind to go in and play his hardest. Silfverberg is known for his lethal release, and has much more two way play upside than Ryan. Silfverberg also is a tenacious forechecker despite his size. Only time will show his true impact but all signs point to him being an amazing return for Bobby Ryan.

Silfverberg also did a small off ice interview with Adam Brady, you can find that here.

The next emerging stories out of camp are the reuniting of the PPG line, of Penner, Perry, and Getzlaf which has been a consistent pairing in training camp. Another consistent line combo has Silfverberg, Bonino, and Selanne.

Another story line has been the play of Holland, many felt after Rakell’s standout performances he was getting close to being the 4th line center. It appears as if Holland is more hungry and NHL ready judging by his training camp performance.  Not to be overshadowed was Emerson Etem who has been having a strong camp. Emerson Etem may not start with the team, being one of the few two way contacts we may see him with Norfolk and called up on a regular basis. The logjam of wingers leaves few options for him. A potential 4th line appears to be forming chemistry in Devante Smith-Pelley, Patrick Maroon, and Daniel Winnik.  There leaves a lot of roster questions but the top two lines appear to set for the most part. A lot of tough questions for the roster going forward.  Also on defense Vatanen has been paired with Bryan Allen, possibly as an insurance to a more offensive minded defenseman, also showing that as the bottom pairing. Francois Beauchemin also returned to camp and seems to be close to game ready and may be ahead of his injury and join the club on opening night. Beauchemin may be feeling the pressure of injuries on defense and may be pushing his recovery to help the team.

I leave you with those important notes from training camp. I’ll be live tweeting the first preseason game tonight. The rest will be determined off the play in the preseason and what else the players show in training camp. Come opening night we may see a very different squad then last year. Hopefully they can deal with the unfinished business from last season.

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