T-BirdsTraining Camp Wrap: Day 4

By Andrew Eide

The Thunderbirds had another full day of training camp on Sunday with two full squad scrimmages. The format was the same as the day before with a blue, grey and white squad each playing a 30 minute period against each other. This time there were two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The team will play a game-like scrimmage Monday evening at 5:30. Monday’s game will be timed like a regular game, with officials and game jerseys.

In the morning the Blue and White team played a very spirited scrimmage. It was physical, there was a lot of chatter on the ice and from the bench and a couple of scraps broke out. When the two teams were done head coach Steve Konowalchuk headed down to the ice to address both squads about the nature of the play. It was hard to hear exactly what he was saying but it sounded like he was not happy with the slashing and stick work that was going on during the game.

Here is a rundown on the notable events from day four:

Dylan Gambrell: Gambrell continued his strong camp on Sunday, playing for the grey team, and was all over the ice. He is fast, plays at both ends and if Seattle can get the 16 year-old signed they could end up with a really good player. The most impressive part of his game Sunday was his forecheck as he wreaked havoc and turned the puck over a few times.

Brenden Troock: The Dallas Stars draft pick had a very strong day Sunday scoring several beautiful goals. He scored in a multitude of ways as well, including one goal where he took his time and fired a nasty upper corner wrist shot. Troock has fought through some injury problems in years past and if he can stay healthy this season he could put up some good numbers for the Thunderbirds.

Riley Sheen: Sheen continued to look fast and dangerous in the offensive zone. He played on Mathew Barzal’s wing again and their line was one of the stronger ones. Sheen turned in some highlight reel assists on Sunday as well that benefited his line mates who had easy tap-in goals after Sheen fed them the puck.

Taylor Green: The big defensemen was back on the blue line Sunday a day after trying out at forward. He looked much more comfortable on defense and had a pretty solid day moving the puck and cleaning up in his own end. It would appear that the forward experiment is over, for now.

Austin Douglas: The big guy had another good day and really looks like he has the potential to be a good player. He really has improved his mobility and seems to skate with ease and has a good defensive instinct. He made a couple of ‘sixteen year-old passes’ that were ill-advised but he recovered from them nicely and they didn’t cost his team. The White team he was playing for dominated the day and did not allow very many shots on goal.

Goalies: Brandon Glover looked strong in net during his runs on Sunday. He is very calm and controlled in net and never looks flustered or nervous. There was one sequence where he made three consecutive saves before the fourth ended up in the back of the net. He could have used some help from his defensemen on the play but the first three saves show how much of a battler he is. Danny Mumaugh had a nice day, especially in the afternoon session, where he stopped several break aways and took a big step forward. Daniel Cotton had a tough outing Sunday afternoon and it will be interesting to see how he bounces back Monday evening.

Roberts Lipsberg: After taking a turn at center of Saturday Lipsberg moved over to his natural position at left wing on Sunday. He continues to look like a strong player and on Sunday showed that he has a nice, hard and sneaky shot. Lipsberg could end up playing a significant role for the Thunderbirds this season.

Jesse Forsberg: Forsberg is a very solid defensemen and is going to help give the Thunderbirds some experience that the young guys can learn from. He was the team captain in Prince George and already seems to be popular with his new teammates. In the first game he got into a fight with Carter Folk and while the tilt was going on his teammates were shouting their encouragement to him. He could be a candidate to wear the ‘C’ on his sweater this season.

Seth Swenson: Swenson took off last year after arriving from Portland and he looks like he is going to continue that pace. He is big, looks strong and bullied his way to the net often on Sunday. He is going to be a handful for opponents to handle this season and will end up scoring some of those dirty goals for Seattle.

20 Year-olds: The Thunderbirds are going to have some interesting and difficult decisions to make in regards to their over-agers this season. Goalie Brandon Glover has one of the slots wrapped up which leaves Brad Deagle, Luke Lockhart, Brandon Rouse and Chance Lund fighting it out for two spots. Handicapping that competition right now is tough as they each seem to be at similar levels. It may come down to what position the team feels they need that experience in.

Brayden Low: The Thunderbirds picked up Low this off season after he played a couple of games in Portland. He had a nice day on Sunday and found himself in the middle of the action. Playing center he had a nice game in the afternoon session where he ended up with a goal and an assist.

The scrimmage Monday evening starts at 5:30 at the ShoWare Center as is free to the public.