Ottawa Senators head coach Travis Green is known running gruelling training camps. His opening day bag skates are legendary in NHL circles.
Now after having been put through the paces last September, the Senators’ players welcomed the challenge Thursday during their first on-ice sessions of camp.
Senators tested immediately
Senators captain Brady Tkachuk wouldn’t had it any other way.
“It was good, obviously, really hard. That’s kind of how we want it. We know it’s gonna make us that much better. So nice to get out there and compete there. I think you guys saw those skates, those aren’t fun, no matter how much you work on it. So I’m glad that the toughest parts’ over now, we could focus on just day-in, day-out getting into the best shape possible for these games are coming up.”
Tkachuk’s offseason regimen of bike and running to improve his conditioning was put on full display at the Bell Sensplex in Kanata.
“I did a lot of bike sprints and long distance. So I thought that helped, a lot of running conditioning as well. So I just felt like it’s perfect combo, and felt good today. Felt good in the test and probably the best I felt and excited for tomorrow already,” explained Tkachuk who’s heading into his eighth NHL campaign.
Sanderson is in phenomenal shape
Dubbed the “fittest player” during testing Wednesday, Jake Sanderson took Green’s first on-ice session in stride.
“You know, I think ‘Greener’ (head coach Green) has the reputation of having a hard camp. So last year was kind of a mystery, and this year we know what we need to bring and what we need to be ready for…. I think everyone looked good on the ice, and we’re well-conditioned.“
The 23-year-old added, “We’ve been here together for a few weeks now skating, so obviously that was a hard skate. But I think if you know we didn’t come early, we wouldn’t be ready for it. So we feel good right now.”
Like his Senators teammate, Sanderson too, felt improvement during the summer, working on his shot and “building my legs, getting faster.”
Senators coach pleased with players putting in off-season work
The Senators head coach himself was doubly impressed with the work ethic of his players.
“I think, really to a man, I think most of our guys came to camp in really good shape. Thought they worked really hard today,” Green said.
“I just think you need to have a hard camp be ready to play. You know, summer skates are a lot different. I don’t think our camp is ridiculously hard. I think it’s just there and it’s gets you ready for the season, but I think it’s a little overplayed on how hard it really goes.”
One aspect of camp for Senators’ fans to not gage too much into are forward lines and defensive pairings.
Green mentioned during his availability to not get “hung up on them,” it’s more about keeping a balance within the Senators two main groups the first few days.
Notable Group One trios/pairings
Ridly Greig – Tim Stützle – Arthur Kaliyev
David Perron – Stephen Halliday – Drake Batherson
Nick Cousins – Jan Jenik – Zack MacEwen
Thomas Chabot – Nik Matinpalo
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Notable Group Two trios/pairings
Brady Tkachuk – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
Michael Amadio – Dylan Cozens – Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Donovan Sebrango – Carter Yakemchuk
Senators injury report
Centre Lars Eller (abdomen), defenseman Nick Jensen (hip) skated prior to the opening on-ice session as did KItchener Ranger teamates Matthew Andonovski, Lucas Ellinas. Ellinas battled a shoulder injury last season and did not participate in the previous weekend’s Prospect Showdown held in Montreal.
The belief is Eller and Jensen may join Senators’ skates sometime next week.
Dylan Cozens was stung by a shot off his right skate from Gabriel Elliason. Cozens was in some distress for a couple of minutes, but went on to continue drills.
