Saturday's edition of
The Telegram (St. John's, NL) included
an item on local product
Luke Adam, who has been grinding through Team Canada's U20 Camp in Saskatoon.
"It's a real honour to be here," he said earlier this week after his second day of the camp. "I knew that coming in, but when you get here with all these great players, you really know how special it is"
But he also know he can't afford to be awestruck, a fact reinforced during a meeting with national team head coach Willie Desjardins at the start of camp.
"He said you won't make the team based on what you do this week, but you can sure work your way off it," said Adam, who is one of more than 30 players in camp who have been selected in the first or second round of the NHL draft.
Adam, a Buffalo Sabres' 2008 second-round pick, had 22 goals and 27 assists in 47 games with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Montreal Junior last season before a ruptured spleen ended his season.
He's fully recovered from the resulting splenectomy and says he got positive confirmation of his health status last month at a Sabres' prospects camp.
"Everything's great. I'm 100 percent. No problems," said Adam, who is being practising on a line with a couple of Colorado Avalanche draft picks - Ryan O'Reilly of the OHL's Erie Otters and Kelsey Tessier of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts.
So with his health no longer an issue, pundits can re-hash the debate of what lane Adam will fill this season and beyond. Last season saw him float between left wing and center with the Montreal Juniors, and it seems like his versatile ways will continue as the 2009-10 campaign creeps up.
He's being used as a left-winger this week, even though he's slotted as the No. 1 centre for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, who acquired him in a June trade with Montreal.
"When you get to here to this level and a chance to make this team, I'll do whatever they want me to do," said Adam.
"It doesn't matter where I play. I just want to play."
