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Blades display wealth of talent

2 min read

October in Florida brings many things: less humidity hinting at the beautiful weather to come; flocks of tourists and snowbirds causing traffic headaches for those who live here year round.

For hockey fans it means Everblades season!

The Florida Everblades skated to victory in two preseason games this past weekend as they get ready for the regular-season opener Friday night at Germain Arena. If you missed the games, you missed the start of what could be the most exciting year in Everblades history.

For those who might have been out of touch, the Blades have a new coach in Malcolm Cameron.

Along with Cameron came seven former Texas Wildcatters players, including ECHL All-Star Kevin Baker.

Rarely are preseason games more than a way for coaches to evaluate their assembled talent. The games mean nothing in the standings, but coaches can learn certain things from them, like a team’s potential strengths and weaknesses.

In the case of the Everblades, based on the weekend’s 7-0, 4-2 demolition of the Phoenix Road Runners, weaknesses are few, not counting call-ups to the AHL and assuming the injury bug can be avoided.

“Our depth relates to the two-way players we have,” Cameron said after Saturday night’s victory. “We have a lot of guys who can skate both sides of the ice.”

Defensively, Cameron has collected several players who skate and handle the puck well. That was evident in Saturday’s win as three defensemen earned points and combined for six shots on goal.

In all, nine different Blades players scored goals in the two preseason games.

With so much talent, Cameron faces a difficult decision for his final roster cuts to the 23-man roster he can carry into the season.

When asked about it Cameron said he is waiting to look at video tape before he begins evaluating the team to make his cuts.

“I know we can score and I think we are going to be pretty good on the penalty kill,” he said. “I haven’t even worked with the guys on (the penalty kill) yet and we didn’t give up a (power play) goal all weekend.”

It may have been a couple of preseason games, but there is a lot to look forward to when the puck drops in the season-opener Friday night at Germain Arena against the Charlotte Checkers.