Baby Preds staying put for now
Nine would be-rookie Predators are still in Nashville after the team cut the roster to 44. They include Team USA alum:
Jonathon Blum – CHL Defenseman of the Year, passed 200 pts as a D with the Vancouver Giants, and 2009 WJC Team USA captain. Nice bit of confidence and determination in this quote: “But I feel like I could step into that kind of role just as well, even being a couple years younger. I’m going to push this camp and really try to earn that spot or take it away from someone.”
Colin Wilson – 2009 Hobey Baker hat trick finalist will be making his preseason debut tonight. Nice mentions in Sports Illustrated and The Tennessean.
Edited to add: Wilson was the star in his debut with 1G, 2A for a team-leading 3 points (also a +3 tied for tops w/ 1 teammate). Highlight video
Jeremy Smith – Team USA teammate of both Blum and Wilson at the 2008 WJC
And from Team Canada, prospects Ryan Ellis (playing tonight)
and Chet Pickard have stuck with the team.
The remaining would-be rookies are Nick Spaling (playing tonight) Ian McKenzie, Mark Santorelli and Russ Sinkewich:
For additional photos of any of the above (other than McKenzie & Santorelli), just plug their name into the Photo Archive Search box near the top of the sidebar.
