[Royle9]

Group 2 recap:

To start off I figured something may be coming for Isa Parekh as both Craig and Maloney were talking about his game for most of the 2nd group. They mentioned his footwork is very clean and quick and looked really calm and collective out there. (he was on the far side of the ice most of the day)

Stromgren got some attention early on in the drills, I noticed the coach giving him a bit of a hard time for being lazy on a portion and kept it going the entire drill. Other than that he's just so darn skilled its crazy. Many of us including myself were quite hard on him the last few years, but he's clearly taken a giant step in progression near the end of last year. Size wise he's still very lean, I don't foresee him bulking up too much more but time will tell. Either way, his hands and vision are his golden ticket and hopefully he can continue to progress here.

Suniev - I wanted to keep a closer eye on him today but he was in the grouping that was further away again. I will echo his footspeed clearly needs work, I think he's strong on his edges but he has no break away speed to get away from better defenders. His shot/release however is probably the best in this grouping, my god can the kid fire the puck. Near the end he had a shot that I'm not even sure I saw hit his blade and it was already off his stick with the most velocity I think I saw all day. Needs work but I think we all knew that. Was fun to see him out there after not being here last year.

Misa - I can now assume he dropped because of his size, he's very tiny out there. With that said he's very elusive and strong on pucks which he'll need to continue to work on if he's to become an every day NHL forward. I agree with the assessment of a 3rd line forward, I don't see the flashy skill but more so a strong 200ft game. He did have a number of good passing plays, I'd say his vision is probably his best asset right now.

Honorable mention to Tacoman's kid Carter King out there. He definitely didn't look out of place and made a number of good plays in the 2 on 2 drill, I was quite surprised how confident he seemed out there with and without the puck. He setup a few nice goals and was just relentless on pucks. Very high energy!! As a father myself I can only imagine what that feels like Taco, I'm not sure I'd ever be able to contain my excitement personally. I hope he earns something with the team!

Brzustewicz - I didn't see him stand out too much today either which is a bit disappointing, if anything I think his play highlights just how good Mews is when in drills together. Skating definitely needs work, his puck pickup skills seemed to struggle at times too off the walls, the kids clearly talented I wont deny that but something just seemed off. Could be nerves, could be trying to impress too hard I'm not sure.

Mews - Again, how on earth did this guy fall that far??? Easily the 2nd best defenseman of camp behind Z.Parekh in my opinion. His latteral movement is very strong, he's stickhandling and puck skills are top tier. Not the hardest shot but very accurate, I think he hit every forward with a deflection attempt during the 1 drill without missing. Very strong on pucks in the corners, he makes it look so effortless at times.

Isa Parekh - Not the high end offense his brother has, but his skating and lateral movement look almost identical its pretty crazy. I know the brass were keeping a close eye on him today and he looked good out there. Probably the biggest surprise for me in this group, mostly because the expectation was so low.

I always have a hard time evaluating goalies I'll be honest, I basically try and watch their lateral movement, catching and rebound control mostly. Tung was clearly the best one out there both days in this group. He's not the biggest, but he looks so calm out there. His rebound control stood out from the rest of the group, almost nothing bouncing out into the slot ever.

Really looking forward to the scrimmage tomorrow, judging by the crowds I'm going to assume it'll be quit busy so get there early if you plan to attend. Hoping to bring my boys, they're beyond excited to see the Flames skate on the same ice they did this spring.