The Vancouver Canucks concluded their first day of training camp at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton.
The players discussed the intensity of the first day of camp and the importance of buying in to the standards that Manny Malhotra and his coaching staff are teaching. A total of 52 players were split into two groups, learning the systems and battling against one another in separate on-ice sessions.
Getting in on the fun, Malhotra and his coaching staff participated in line skates and bag skates with the groups, setting the tone that they’re all in it together.
“I was pleased with the way things went. We talked yesterday about the balance of wanting the intensity to be high while teaching fundamentals and basics and things that we need to get down pat day one, so I thought there was a great balance of that,” Malhotra said. “They picked up on a lot of the cues and the tendencies quite quickly and were able to execute. So for me, it was a positive thing.”
Before camp, forward Brendan Gallagher could tell that players were “itching” to get the season going and he was pleased with the energy on the first day.
“Guys were excited, so the pace was good. Good practice, put in some good work; you don't have a ton of time here, so you’ve got to take care of some stuff. [I] thought it was a good first day,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher talked about how prepared Malhotra was and has made his expectations with everyone clear.
“He's intense, but he's very prepared, and he knows what he wants. There are no gray areas, and as a player, that's all you can ask for. So, the expectations are in place, and now it's on us to go and execute that,” Gallagher said.
“I think guys are excited to learn from him. He played in this league a long time, he's coached now, he understands the game. He's incredibly intelligent, and we're excited to have him as our leader.”
Malhotra said they aren’t setting any lines or pairs in stone right now, and the way they play and develop chemistry early will be important. Gallagher was on a line with Max Sasson and Drew O’Connor during day one, which he enjoyed, and the veteran forward was impressed by the character and skill of the Canucks prospects.
Defenceman Jamie Oleksiak shared that the group has been very focused during a video session before the on-ice portion of Day 1 and everyone’s got the right mindset coming into camp.
“It was great. I thought the tempo was very good. We were battling out there, you can tell I got a little cut here in my lip, eating some elbows and stuff. It's good, everyone's grinding out there, and it was a long summer, but everyone seemed to be ready to be on the ice,” Oleksiak said.
Oleksiak was paired with Filip Hronek for some of the drills, noting how impressive Hronek is as a teammate.
“Just how well he can read plays, he's got great footwork and makes a great first pass. He brings a lot of attributes to the game, and we didn’t really do offensive stuff, obviously shots is what he's really known for – he has a bomb from the point. You can see just a great all-round player, and it's just fun to see him on the ice,” Oleksiak said.
From Group B, Filip Chytil was impressed with a lot of what he experienced from day one, skating with Paul Cotter and Brock Boeser. The communication from the coaching staff is helping the group fit a lot of information in a small window and he’s looking forward to the season.
“I'm very excited about what's ahead of us,” Chytil said. “It was a very good practice, good pace, I'm excited about what's in front of us.”
Chytil also noted it’s not every day you see the coaching staff join in for bag skates.
“That was impressive. I was pretty surprised that they were skating with us, but that's saying a lot about them and they try to coach us as much as they can, and this was great,” Chytil said. “It had a great tempo and when coaches push us like this as well it's very good for all of us.”
Zeev Buium said it was a great first day in setting the tone for the season. He said the video and on-ice sessions were great, expectations were clearly laid out, and some of the players who have played Malhotra’s systems before helped out with any explanations.
“The first thing Manny and RJ said to us yesterday was our attitude and our approach to every day isn't going to change whether we win or lose. You have to have the same energy, same confidence, same everything every day. I think we kind of built on that a little bit last year as a group, and now having this management group and this coaching staff is really going to elevate that I think,” Buium said.
Buium’s goals for the season are to be able to shut down other team’s top lines, and also contribute offensively.
The Canucks are back for Day two of training camp tomorrow at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
