The beginning of the NAIL!

Today opens up to the public of Edmonton to get another look at the Oilers prospects, both young and old. 2 years ago, the public swarmed into Clareview arena to get a first hand look at Paarjarvi, Hall and Eberle. Last year, their was several people at Millennium Place but the excitement to see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Lander on the ice, was not the same. This year, I suspect with Nail Yakupov and Oscar Klefbom in town, Millennium Place will be packed tight with on-lookers.

The most difficult thing for fans to do is not try to evaluate the skills sets they see out there on the ice. It truly is about staff seeing these kids develop and will not be assessing or evaluating where they are at. On the other hand, should you look out of place and be further behind in your development? It means your progress has slowed down, therefore it really is about evaluating.

For the guys who have been at a camp or two, it means checking in on how their development has come along. For the new guys, it is about assessing and putting together a plan for them to development more this summer and into and through next season. It also goes a long way to make decisions where players could be placed this next season.

With fitness testing done, Nail Yakupov and his teammates will take to the ice today but he may be in for a bit of a surprise. Day 1 of camp can be a disappointment for fans as well. Day 1, is about executing various drills and learning new skating skills. Nail would love to show off for his fans, but is it possible in a development day like Day 1? Only time will tell.

Klefbom will be getting his first chance at doning some Oiler silks on the ice today but I am sure the crowd will be buzzing about his future potential. 

I will be at camp tweeting away, so if your wanting some information, have a question feel free to tweet away or leave a comment here. I will plan to follow up todays blog with another tomorrow AM, with some small insights. You never know, sometimes some small tidbits get leaked while hanging around the Oilers staff as they observe the talent down on the ice. Past 2 years, I was able to over hear some juicy information which did later turn out quite true. Of course, in the best interest of the participating parties, I don't disclose that info publicly (haha!)

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