Golden Knights training camp: Three observations

The Golden Knights second training camp of the season is complete.

The team will head for its playoff bubble in Edmonton on Sunday after 10 days of full-team, on-ice workouts. The camp gave the Knights the chance to work on a lot of areas of their game, including some coach Pete DeBoer didn’t think they would have time to address.

He said because the team did not travel and had no preseason games, they squeezed in the equivalent of three months’ worth of practices during the regular season.

“I thought guys were great,” DeBoer said. “They were dialed in. We had very few dips in our energy levels or our execution. I thought we got better as camp went on.”

The Knights put a lot on display in camp, including a new-look third-line, a simmering goaltending battle and a penalty kill that’s still seeking consistency. Here are three additional observations:

1. Depth is there

One upshot of the camp for DeBoer was the chance to get his eyes on several players in the Knights’ system.

Seven of the team’s 10 call-ups skated with the coach for the first time. Overall, DeBoer came away impressed.

“They all have (stood out) in that I think they’re excited to be here,” DeBoer said. “Your biggest fear is they slow the group down and what you’re trying to do because they aren’t up to speed tactically or they’re not up to speed from a skill point of view and they’re slowing down your practices. That hasn’t been the case. I think they’ve all fit in.”

DeBoer having confidence in the call-ups is important because several could be crucial next season. The Knights’ top three backup skaters — forward Tomas Nosek and defensemen Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland — are pending unrestricted free agents.

The flat salary cap may make it difficult for the team to retain them. So some of the depth players sticking around — such as forwards Patrick Brown, Gage Quinney, Keegan Kolesar and Reid Duke and defensemen Nic Hague and Dylan Coghlan — may be asked to fill in the gaps.

2. Round robin will be taken seriously

The Knights, by virtue of their top-four finish in the Western Conference, get to avoid jumping into a do-or-die playoff series right away.

The team still doesn’t plan on treating its three round-robin games against the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche as extra exhibitions. The Knights view it as a goal to grab the No. 1 seed and the home-ice advantages that come with it.

That includes last change and being able to put their sticks down last on faceoffs.

“We want to get the top seed,” right wing Ryan Reaves said. “It’s not going to be feeling each other out. I think that’s going to be full playoff intensity, from our team anyways. I expect that from the other three teams.”

3. Team has been safe and (mostly) healthy

The Knights’ No. 1 goal of camp was keeping their players healthy and free of COVID-19.

Mission pretty much accomplished. DeBoer knocked on wood Friday because he said the team has avoided the coronavirus so far. DeBoer said the only two players to miss practices during camp — Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Pacioretty — were not absent because of COVID-19.

Leaguewide, the NHL said it only had two positive tests the first five days of camp Monday.

Pacioretty is also the Knights’ only injury concern. He missed the last four practices with what DeBoer said was a “minor issue.”

Defenseman Jon Merril said that between small-group workouts and camp, the Knights’ training and medical staff have worked hard to make players feel comfortable.

“They’ve done an unbelievable job and (I) 100 percent felt safe every day,” Merrill said.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.