Iqaluit, NU (CP)
The Rovers hit the ice for their first on-ice session at prospect camp this morning. 24 Rovers in total were on the ice, including 23 prospects and sophomore defenseman Zbynek Michalek, who was looking for some extra work prior to main training camp. While day one was strictly drills and no contact, a few players stood out. Up front, center Evgeni Malkin was a man amongst boys and often stopped to mentor younger forwards such as Riley Nash or translate for fellow Russian Alex Vasyunov. The coaching staff could immediately see how his seasoning in Russia has paid huge dividends. On the blueline Marc-Edouard Vlasic was silky smooth in transition skating and was the crispest passer by a significant margin. Tomorrow will see the players split into a white and teal intra-squad game where the coaches will see the guys in game action for the first time.
Forwards (12)
Bouchard, Francois, 20, Sherbrooke, QC
Boyle, Brian, 23, Hingham, MA
Brouwer, Troy, 22, Vancouver, BC
Giroux, Claude, 20, Hearst, ON
Glumac, Mike, 28, Niagara Falls, ON
Little, Bryan, 20, Edmonton, AB
Malkin, Evgeni, 22, Magnitogorsk, Russia
Nash, Riley, 19, Consort, AB
Pesonen, Janne, 26, Suomussalmi, Finland
Sheppard, James, 20, Lower Sackville, NS
Vasyunov, Alexander, 20, Yaroslavl, Russia
Zajac, Travis, 23, Winnipeg, MB
Defensemen ( 8 )
Ellerby, Keaton, 19, Strathmore, AB
Michalek, Zbynek, 25, Jindrchuv Hradec, Czech Rep.
Murphy, Cory, 30, Kanata, ON
Petry, Jeff, 20, Ann Arbor, MI
Schubert, Christoph, 26, Munich, Germany
Valentenko, Pavel, 20, Moscow, Russia
Vlasic, Marc-Edouard, 21, Montreal, QC
Weber, Mike, 20, Pittsburgh, PA
Goaltenders (4)
Danis, Yann, 27, Lafontaine, QC
Halak, Jaroslav, 23, Bratislava, Slovakia
Rinne, Pekka, 25, Kempele, Finland
Varlamov, Simeon, 20, Samara, Russia
