The Ottawa Senators hit the ice for the first time in this year’s Training Camp and new Head Coach Travis Green made sure that they got their money’s worth.
Much has been made about the ol’ Travis Green Training Camp of Doom and today we got to see it up close and personal. Pace and effort seemed to be the name of the game throughout today’s drills and based on first hand accounts from the rink, Green wasn’t afraid to let the group know if he didn’t like what he saw.
Perhaps the most encouraging sign from today’s skate though is that the player’s seemed to expect it. Green has mentioned on a few occasions that he made a conscious effort to relay his expectations heading into the new year and it seems like the message got through.
The videos of the players finishing up today’s on-ice session with a grueling skate were all over social media today but it was something in the immediate aftermath that caught my attention. Sure, there were guys struggling to breathe and players keeled over in exhaustion but it was the way that guys almost seemed to be congratulating each other for making it though the day that really stood out.
It’s Day One and actual hockey games are still weeks away but it looked like this team enjoyed the challenge. As though they liked being pushed a little bit. The quotes from individual players seemed to confirm as much.
All good signs after the first day of Training Camp.
Because conditioning appeared to be the focus today, it was a little difficult to draw any conclusions from the line combinations and defence pairings. Green mentioned not to draw conclusions from the early alignment but there are always clues hidden in there.
For example, Nick Cousins found himself on the wing with Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle. Certainly doesn’t seem like a regular season trio but who knows. Jake Sanderson and Nick Jensen seemed to spend some time together as a pairing while Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub found themselves together in Group 2.
There was also one unexpected face that turned up today as goaltender Dustin Tokarski joined the team on a professional tryout agreement.
With Leevi Meriläinen dealing with an injury, the Senators needed another goaltending option in Camp and through the preseason and Tokarski fit the bill. Tokarski, known best for the weird way Pierre McGuire said his name at the World Juniors that one year, spent last season with the Rochester Americans in the AHL. He posted an 11-9-3 record with a 3.32 GAA and an .890 save percentage.
The Senators are back on the ice tomorrow at 10:00 AM. They open the preseason on Sunday against the Leaves.
