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Coyotes eye Barch, Oilers give Tkachev a shot

Montreal Canadiens v Florida Panthers

SUNRISE, FL - MARCH 29: George Parros #15 of the Montreal Canadiens and Krys Barch #21 of the Florida Panthers fight during first period action at the BB&T Center on March 29, 2014 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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Here are a couple quick-hit training camp invite bits:


  • The Arizona Coyotes’ list of training camp invites continues to swell, as pugilist Krys Barch was added to the mix, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Earlier, word surfaced that fellow bruiser Matt Kassian would be in training camp alongside defenseman Jamie McBain and Matt Smaby.

From that list alone, one gets the feeling the Coyotes want to add more of the same (grit and defense) to their roster, but considering the low-end roles these guys are shooting for, it’s probably not that big of a deal.

(That said, Arizona’s clearly pulling for a lot of 2-1 wins on paper, eh?)


  • Apparently undrafted prospect Vladimir Tkachev turned enough heads in the Edmonton Oilers’ rookie camp to earn a look with the big club’s camp. The Edmonton Journal provides some additional insight on the under-sized but skilled Russian forward:

Tkachev’s reputation isn’t solely built on two games in a rookie tournament; he showed well in 20 games in New Brunswick last year, posting 30 points in a brief QMJHL stop. He caught the eyes of some scouts, including the folks at Red Line Report, who had him ranked No. 58 on their 2014 draft list. It’s worth noting too that he scored very well in Russia’s MHL as a 17- and 18-year-old, actually surpassing [Bogdan] Yakimov’s scoring in the same league at the same ages.

NHL training camps tend to go by in a blur, but that doesn’t mean that they lack in interesting opportunities for players who follow less traditional development paths. Perhaps Tkachev could eventually find himself on Edmonton’s radar thanks in part to a strong September in camps?

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins