Who says Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year? It’s really in September, when the sweet aroma of hockey permeates the air, NHL training camps begin, junior teams are forming on the ice and youth hockey players are ready to put on their gear.
For me, not many things can beat the feeling of anticipation I get when I know that the hockey season is approaching. I tend to keep very busy during the off-season spending quality time with my children, aimlessly working on my golf game and running my hockey instruction group (Hockey Dynamics). Around the middle of August though, when the kids start back to school and people get back into their regular routines, I get the hockey itch – and my wife cheers for me to get the heck out of the house! As I write this, we at the Predators are only two days from the start of training camp.
This is my ninth NHL training camp and 22nd season in professional hockey, so naturally I have gotten used to the routine. I never get bored, because each season is always different from the others. We’ll have 55 players vying for 23 roster spots at our shortest camp ever – only 20 days. When you factor in six pre-season games, there will be just two weeks of practice to prepare for the regular season. Fortunately, in today’s NHL the players come into camp in great shape and have already been skating for a month or more.
They’ll be no easing our way into camp this year. Once players have had their physicals and fitness testing, they will hit the ice the next day. Generally, the first day is aimed at setting a “tempo” for camp and establishing good work habits. Lots of skating and one-on-one battles take place as coaches aim to break the players of some of the bad habits they may have developed playing pick-up hockey in the offseason.
From the second day on, training sessions are focused on systems and team play, including deep and neutral zone forechecks, lost draw forechecks, breakouts, defensive zone coverage, special teams and more. Many practices will be either preceded or followed by a systems meeting in which the coaches will use film or illustrations to teach these systems to the players as a group.
As the pre-season schedule begins, video becomes a tremendous resource for coaches to assess how well their systems are being absorbed by the players. It also enables them to look closer at who deserves to stay with the big club.
It is also a tremendous asset to have your entire scouting staff at training camp. As the old saying goes, “It’s better to have many sets of eyes instead of just one!”
Before you know it, the season will begin and with it nine months of excitement. Good luck to all players, coaches, staffs and parents as they begin the 2007-08 season.
Editor: Over the summer, Bouchard made the very difficult decision to resign as head coach of the Irish hockey team in order to devote more time to his children and career.
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