We are less than one week into training camp, but there is already a new, palpable energy surrounding this Nashville Predators team.
This week’s practice sessions and scrimmages at Ford Ice Center Bellevue have provided an up-close and personal look inside the offensive philosophy of Head Coach Andrew Brunette, and roster battles are heating up as Opening Night inches closer.
Ahead of the Predators first preseason games on Monday against the Florida Panthers, here are five key takeaways from this week’s on-ice sessions at training camp:
1. Bruno Has Arrived
“Fast.”
“Flying.”
“Sprinting.”
These are just a few of the descriptors used by the players at Preds camp to describe their first few practices under Brunette. Throughout his coaching career, Brunette’s name has come to be synonymous with the dynamic, high-powered system he implements on offense – and the results speak for themselves.
Brunette led the Florida Panthers to the best regular season in franchise history in 2021-22, leading the NHL in goals (337) and posting a power-play percentage of 24.4 percent, tied for the NHL's fourth-best mark. Last season, under Brunette’s leadership, the New Jersey Devils improved their power-play unit from 28th in the league the season before to the 13th-best in 2022-23. Brunette's contributions also helped the Devils clinch their first postseason berth since 2018.
Brunette’s offensive philosophy has been evident this week at training camp. He wants to be fast; he wants to check; he wants to control the puck. If the Predators can master this system under Brunette’s leadership, the results should hopefully be similar to what they were in Florida and New Jersey.
“He's bringing a lot of freshness here [with] the pace of play we're going to be playing with this year,” forward Cole Smith said. “I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I think you can tell, if you're watching any of our practices and the scrimmages there, that we're going to be getting up and down the ice, working for the puck… So, we're going to be flying up and down the ice. I think that's kind of our goal, to play fast.”