EDMONTON -- Four of the Edmonton Oilers' offseason acquisitions are getting familiar with their new playing environment.

Defensemen Keith Aulie and Mark Fayne, and forwards Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell, are here this week doing some reconnaissance work.

While in town they plan on doing a little house hunting.

"We've been pretty busy. We're trying to get a feel for the city a little bit," Purcell said. "We've looked at some places, went over to the rink and got to meet some of the staff over there. We had dinner with the coaching staff [Monday] night too. It's been fun. It's been a hectic couple of days, but I think it's nice to get into the city and get a feel for it before coming in blind at training camp."

Hockey has carried Al Montoya all over the world, but this summer it's brought him back to his roots.

Montoya signed a one-year contract July 1 with the Florida Panthers. He was born in Chicago, but his parents and grandparents were born in Cuba and immigrated to Miami in the 1960s.

"My grandfather decided it was the best decision," Montoya recently told the Panthers website. "He thought it was better for his family to be here with nothing than there with everything.

"He went from being a landowner and then going to selling strawberries on the side of the road in Miami just to make ends meet."

TORONTO -- One of the more intriguing players at Toronto Maple Leafs prospect camp was forward Connor Brown.

At 20 years old he was one of the veterans at the camp and arrived after a career year with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.

Brown led the OHL in scoring with 128 points and won the league MVP award. His 83 assists were first in the league and his 45 goals were tied for fourth. Though he played alongside a handful of other prolific scorers, including 2015 NHL Draft top prospect Connor McDavid and Washington Capitals 2013 first-round pick (No. 23) Andre Burakovsky, Brown, the Maple Leafs' 2012 sixth-round pick (No. 156) was prepared to be a leader among his fellow prospects.

COLUMBUS -- The appearance of the Columbus Blue Jackets' three first-round picks from the 2013 NHL Draft at development camp has fans anxious to see them skating in Nationwide Arena this season.

Imagine how those players feel.

"I want to be a part of this team to be honest," said center Alexander Wennberg, the Blue Jackets' first selection (No. 14). "It's a team on the way up and only going to get better, so of course I'm going to try and stick around."

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Derrick Pouliot hopes to battle for a roster spot under his former coach Mike Johnston after having shoulder surgery. But first, the defenseman needs to heal.

Pouliot attended Penguins development camp last week but was unable to take the ice alongside fellow prospects. He had shoulder surgery May 21 and was expected to need 4-6 months to recover.

The 20-year-old said his recovery is coming along as expected, but he is unsure if he will be ready to compete for an opening-day roster spot.

"Obviously, I'd love to be out there right now, but just with how this has to heal, it's not really possible right now," Pouliot said. "You're kind of itching for it, but you just have to be patient. It's a slow process and it’s going to take some time."

Last season was a busy one for Leon Draisaitl. The 18-year-old played more than 80 games under the glare of NHL scouts analyzing his play and value heading into the 2014 NHL Draft.

His season ended when the Edmonton Oilers selected him with the No. 3 pick of the draft, and after an introductory press conference in Edmonton, he joined the team's other prospects at a development camp in Jasper, Alberta.

Instead, Draisaitl returned to Edmonton. Work comes before pleasure for a player aiming to play in the NHL in 2014-15.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- After Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad wrapped up his first professional development camp, the first pick in the 2014 NHL Draft wasn't quite sure what was next on his agenda.

Perhaps he would attend a camp in Cape Cod conducted by Panthers skating and skills coach Paul Vincent. Or maybe he would stay in Ontario and focus on off-ice training.

Either way, Ekblad is going to be working. The development camp provided him with an idea of what it would take to earn a spot on Florida's roster in training camp and he'll spend the rest of the summer with that thought in mind.

"I loved it," Ekblad said after development camp ended. "I had a lot of fun from the very beginning, learning quite a few pretty important lessons I can take into the rest of the summer. Obviously I still have a lot of hard work to go through to make this team in September."

BUFFALO -- If there's a saying that might become popular in Buffalo in coming seasons, it's "Youth is king."

The players taking part in Buffalo Sabres development camp make up the foundation of the organizational rebuild that's underway. All positions feature players the Sabres expect to become NHL players, in some cases great ones.

A major key to the future comes from the forwards they've collected through the draft and trades, and the spotlight is on Sam Reinhart, taken with the No. 2 pick of the 2014 NHL Draft.

His big season with Kootenay in the Western Hockey League, when he had 36 goals and 105 points, has fans hoping he'll be in the Sabres' opening-night lineup. It's a challenge he's ready to take on.

"The biggest thing for this week was getting comfortable with it," Reinhart said. "Obviously it's another step up when the next training camp comes around, so I think the biggest thing is pace of play, and obviously that's something I've been working on for some time, so it was pretty good to get in here and experience that."

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Leading up to the 2014 NHL Draft, brothers Jordan Schmaltz and Nick Schmaltz visualized a scenario of playing in the NHL together.

Jordan was a 2012 first-round pick (No. 25) of the St. Louis Blues; Nick was the anxious little brother awaiting his turn as the 2014 draft took place at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia in June.

The Blues were searching for forwards, so the younger Schmaltz, a center/right wing who most recently played for the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League, would have been a perfect fit alongside his brother.

There will be an NHL reunion one day, but it will likely involve Jordan and Nick competing as adversaries in one of the best rivalries in the game.

PITTSBURGH -- Kasperi Kapanen understands any expectations of making the Pittsburgh Penguins opening-night roster could be unrealistic, but the forward is prepared to defy the odds.

Kapanen, Pittsburgh's first-round pick (No. 22) in the 2014 NHL Draft, skated at Consol Energy Center for the first time this week during Penguins development camp. The 17-year-old began the week frustrated by his lack of game-ready legs.

By the time camp ended, Kapanen said he felt there was room for significant improvement, but he is ready to compete when Pittsburgh opens training camp in September.

"I'm still not at the top of my game. I haven't been on the ice this summer at all before this," Kapanen said. "So it's been hard for me. But this week, it's been fun to be on the ice and being on the ice with these guys. It felt good, I felt good with the puck. I think I made some good plays.

"[Being prepared for training camp] is going to be tough. It's going to be tough, but I'm ready. I think I'm up for the challenge. I know some people might doubt me, but I'm just going to bring everything to the table and hopefully make the team."