Soo Greyhounds forward Zach Senyshyn feels that the Greyhounds have something to prove as the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League regular season inches closer.
The 19-year-old forward, who is entering his third full season with the team has been impressed with what he’s seen on the opening two days of the Greyhounds 2016 training camp.
“The first scrimmage is always a little sloppy but I liked the pace and I liked the effort,” the veteran forward said Wednesday morning’s scrimmage. “The guys were getting competitive which is good. It was a little bit of a shootout (in the second scrimmage) but it’s been very exciting. I’ve seen a lot of high-end talent, which has been awesome.”
“We all have something to prove,” Senyshyn said of the competitiveness of the camp so far. “We’re a really close-knit group but when the puck drops we’re definitely not so nice to each other.”
The Boston Bruins draft pick said he’s been impressed with some of the Greyhounds young players as training camp continued at the Essar Centre with a pair of practices and two scrimmages.
“I’ve been really excited to come back and to be able to see some of these young guys come back after a big summer, they definitely impressed me and the coaching staff,” Senyshyn said. “It’s looking like it’s going to be an exciting season.”
“Guys like Morgan Frost and Liam Hawel had really big summers,” Senyshyn said. “You can see they put on the size, but just the experience and the confidence they come to the rink with. They’ve been working on their skills over the summer on the ice but getting bigger and stronger off the ice has been great.”
Senyshyn, who skated on a line with import forward Otto Makinen and returning forward Boris Katchouk in Wednesday’s morning scrimmage, said the import forward was also impressive early in camp.
“He’s a great player and he really knows how to move the puck well,” Senyshyn said of the Finnish centre.
For Senyshyn, who missed the Bruins summer rookie camp due to mononucleosis, said he’s put in a lot of work over the summer in preparation for the Bruins training camp.
“I really just worked on my conditioning to get bigger and stronger,” Senyshyn said. “I’ve definitely got to put on a lot of speed and weight to compete (in Boston).”
“The mono held be back a little bit but I had a good summer,” Senyshyn said. “I made a lot of gains and I’m really excited to step in there (at training camp with Boston).”
Training camp continues with a pair of scrimmages on Thursday. The morning scrimmage sees Team White face Team Red at 11 a.m. The scrimmages wrap up at 7:30 p.m.
The annual Luke Williams Red/White game is set for Friday night at the Essar Centre at 7:07 p.m.
The team will then prepare its roster for its exhibition opener on Saturday night in Saginaw against the Spirit. The teams then move north to meet on Sunday afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie in a 4:07 p.m. start at the Essar Centre.