BLOG: Colby Cohen's Early Takeaways from Opening Days of Camp

Training Camp is just two on-ice sessions in, but there's already a lot we can takeaway from the opening days at Fifth Third Arena.

CAMP CARDIO

I can't help but feel tired from watching Day Two of Training Camp -- yes just from watching. Jeremy Collilton really put the Blackhawks groups through a hard day on the ice, maybe one of the harder days the players will see all camp long.
The first group hit the ice for a high-pace practice with a handful of what players call "disguised bag drills". These are not your typical post-practice conditioning drills, these are game-like situations where you are skating up, down and maybe back up the ice, all while defending a forward or trying to score against a defenseman. These drills are brutal on the legs and brutal on the lungs. Day Two was FULL of these drills. These types of drills will be a theme, though, because this team wants to be a fast, in-your-face team and the best way to achieve that is to make sure your entire team is in better shape than the opponent. After about 30 minutes of those high-tempo, disguised bag drills, Group A moved into an intrasquad scrimmage and then finished with some traiditonal on ice laps for conditioning. Boy, I do not miss playing in Training Camp!

COMPETITON HEATS UP

It was good to see a pair of scrimmages on Friday (and continuing Saturday), first with the main group of what you'd expect to be most of the NHL roster. A few players in the first group are still battling for a spot -- and this will be a fluid situation -- but the more interesting names of players battling for opening night roster spots were on display in the latter session of Group B vs. Group C. Names like Henrik Borgstrom, Adam Gaudette, Alex Nylander, Ian Mitchell and MacKenzie Entiwistle, just to name a few.
I thought Gaudette looked fast, looked strong and stood out. As did Entwistle on opposite side. It speaks to the depth of this roster to realize that only some of these guys can start in Chicago, because all are very capable NHL players. With preseason games right around the corner, these are names to keep a close watch on.

UNDER THE RADAR

Here are a few names that are flying under the radar -- names of guys that you've maybe heard but aren't familiar with -- and these guys have gotten off to a great start.
Colton Dach: The younger brother of Kirby is looking to pave his own path, and he got off to a nice start in Day Two's scrimmage, with a couple of nifty goals and nifty passing plays (playing on a line with Nylander and Borgstrom). Colton and his line seemed to create a significant number of offensive zone opportunities throughout the 50-minute scrimmage.
Evan Barratt: You can tell Barratt plays with a high hockey IQ. Certain players play with jam and Barratt plays with jam. He is the first guy to get in on the forecheck, he's the first guy to take a hit to make a play and he has a great scoring touch around the net. I expect to see him make the most of any preseason game opportunity over the next week or two.
Isaak Phillips: The 2020 fifth-round pick is a big (about 6-foot-6 on skates), smooth skating defenseman who caught my eye in todays group b vs group c scrimmage. His puck poise and skating stood out. He's a young defenseman who will benefit from a regular AHL season this year, but he's a prospect you'll want to keep your eye on with the tools and skills he possess.