Karl with a K

I couldnt possibly like him any more then I do. Really. From Corey:

"I noticed in the first period I had a lot of options. I guess it was really fast and I was just a little bit behind the pace and didn't make the tape-to-tape passes," Alzner said. "I think I stayed in the loop pretty good and I was a part of things. I wasn't a standout, but I am happy to get one now. My hands were shaking. I was telling [teammates] that my hands were shaking so much in between periods because I didn't know what to expect."

Alzner is earning a well-deserved reputation as a quote machine, and today was no different. He referred to a conversation he had after the first period with "Mr. Pettinger." When asked about it, he said he won't start calling guys by their nicknames until he makes the team.

NOTE: Alzner, Bouchard and Godfrey were sent back to their junior teams today. Not a huge surprise, but it feels nice to know that they are in system, no?

And more from Corey:

The most interesting nugget from coach Glen Hanlon's post-practice talk -- he said Viktor Kozlov is going to begin the season as a center. Kozlov's versatility was viewed by a lot of people as big bonus, and he will almost surely see time on a wing at some point in the season, but Hanlon said he wants to see Viktor in the middle during camp.

The obvious follow-up question is where does Nicklas Backstrom fit in? Yesterday he was skating as a right wing, but Hanlon said he could start the season on the left side. If that is the case, it likely wouldn't be with one of the top two lines, since there are a couple of Russian guys in his way.