Can Skinner's rookie performance be duplicated?

[germany00]

ven before his Calder Trophy-winning season began, Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes was one of several promising players looking to make his mark at the annual Traverse City Prospects tournament in Michigan last September.

Needless to say, he accomplished that goal.

"Besides being a short conditioning camp, it was sort of my first taste of the next level and it's fun to go there and get to know the people in the organization and at the same time have that competition feeling when you're playing in the tournament," Skinner told NHL.com. "I think for the players, it's a great opportunity to show your stuff to management and the people in the organization. For me personally, it was good preparation heading into (training) camp to sort of get into game shape."Skinner, the club's 2010 first-round draft pick (No. 7), looked every bit as good as advertised competing against the top prospects from other NHL squads while donning a Hurricanes jersey for the first time. He finished tied for the tournament lead with 7 points, including 2 goals, a plus-2 rating and a tournament-high 21 shots on goal. Skinner's final goal, 3:36 into overtime, gave the Hurricanes a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third-place game.

"Anytime you have people sort of fighting for spots and trying to get an opportunity it's going to be a competitive environment," he said. "I think to be a part of that with your new organization and the people that showed the trust in you at the draft, is a lot of fun. It was the first time I was part of the team and competing in a tournament."

Skinner won't be playing in the Traverse City Prospects Tournament this year, to be held Sept. 10-14, but his former teammate with the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League, defenseman Ryan Murphy, will be. Murphy, Carolina's first-round pick (No. 12) in June, is looking forward to this year's tournament. He's hoping to follow in Skinner's footsteps.

"There will be a bunch of high-caliber hockey players at this camp," he told NHL.com. "Hopefully, this one can help tune me up for the upcoming camps. The main thing (Skinner) told me to do was to work my butt off in Traverse City at the conditioning camp and show them that I won't quit."

Skinner said he expects Murphy to play his game and have fun with his teammates, just as he did, at last year's tournament.

"The team drafted Murphy for the skill he brings to the ice, so I think he should just sort of go there, have fun and just play his game," Skinner said. "It can be overwhelming, I guess, to think about the new things that are going to come at him and the new situation, but just have fun and sort of roll with things. That would be advice."

The five-day Traverse City Prospects Tournament was expanded to eight teams in 2006 and has become an annual opportunity for coaches and general managers to evaluate their prospects against their peers.

"When we first started out, Ken (Holland, Red Wings GM) and I were talking about how we could evaluate our players better," Red Wings Vice-President/Assistant General Manager Jim Nill said. "We used to always bring players to training camp and you'd throw them on the ice with (Steve) Yzerman and (Brendan) Shanahan and (Nicklas) Lidstrom and it was sink or swim. We felt that wasn't a fair evaluation -- these kids aren't strong enough, mentally or physically.

"So this prospects tournament came about. Here, we get to evaluate our kids against their own age group. The thing we didn't realize was how high a level of play it would become, and looking at the alumni of players who have come out of this tournament … (Ilya) Kovalchuk, (Henrik) Zetterberg, (Dany) Heatley, (Pavel) Datsyuk, Skinner … the level of play at this tourney is so high for this time of year. When you think about putting a bunch of kids together, who never played together on the ice, you think, 'Oh boy, this isn't going to be that crisp of hockey,' but the hockey is unbelievable."

Is it possible this season's Calder Trophy winner will start his season at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament?

Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Ryan Johansen might be the closest thing. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound center, chosen with the fourth pick of the 2010 draft, will be joining his teammates in Traverse City for the second straight season.

Despite playing for a team that allowed the most goals, took the fewest shots and finished winless at last year's event, Johansen skated hard throughout and wasn't afraid to work the corners, finishing with a goal and 2 assists.

"It's a great experience and good to get in some exhibition games before you start your main camp," Johansen told NHL.com. "It's nice to be in that game mode before you even arrive at main camp. Traverse was really high-paced. The few games that we played were a lot of fun and competitive."

Columbus will compete in the Howe Division, with the Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and defending tournament champion Minnesota Wild. The Gretzky Division will feature prospects from the Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. The Sabres, competing in the Traverse City tournament for the first time, will send a talented lineup that includes forwards Luke Adam (No. 44 pick of the 2008 draft), Daniel Catenacci (No. 77, 2011), Marcus Foligno (No. 104, 2009) and Zack Kassian (No. 13, 2009) and defensemen Mark Pysyk (No. 23, 2010) and Brayden McNabb (No. 66, 2009).

 

[Mr.Baller]

Why not ? Skinner is simply amazing man his gonna a have great second year in the NHL

 

[germany00]

thats not proven. But i know he is a great plar. for ME, i sense a sophomore slump, but i could be wrong, and i hope i am wrong.