Preds Want to Become Hardworking Team Again, Improve Day by Day

They were discussing the first day of training camp on the third day of January, and they all wore masks on their video calls, but there was still a sense of normalcy - and, more importantly, excitement - on Sunday.
For the first time since August, the Nashville Predators gathered as a team at Bridgestone Arena as they began Day One of their 2020-21 season - a campaign that will look and feel different than any other in franchise history.
And no matter the logistics and optics that will come with 56 regular-season games played against just seven other teams in a temporarily realigned Central Division, the Predators intend on providing a different look on the ice too.

A 2017 run that saw them come just two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup is long gone, and a disappointing finish in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifying round last summer was unacceptable in the eyes of each and every member of the organization.
Now, as Predators Training Camp presented by Vanderbilt Health commences, a fresh season brings new hope, a sense of pride and a belief that this team still has what it takes to remain in the conversation among the League's best.
"We have a point to prove to ourselves, as well as everyone else out there, that we're still a team that can compete," Preds Associate Captain Ryan Ellis, who celebrated his 30th birthday Sunday, said. "With the additions, and the guys that have been here for a number of years, I think we have a team that has a chance to do something special. But, Day One, going forward, we have to focus on getting better every day. I think we've taken a step back the last year and a bit, and I think we have a chance to improve every day. That should be our main goal."

Those improvements, according to Ellis, need to come in every area of the ice. Not long after the Preds lost their best-of-five series by a 3-1 count to the Arizona Coyotes last August, those in charge stressed an obligation to become a tougher team to play against.
Offseason acquisitions like forwards Nick Cousins and Brad Richardson, as well as defensemen Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning went a long way in addressing those needs, but the Preds know players who remain from last season also must play a part in adding some snarl to the lineup.
"It's very simple: we want to be known as a team that's one of the hardest-working teams in the League," Preds Captain Roman Josi said. "The Preds have always been known for that, and I think we got away from that a little bit with our identity the last couple years. That's got to be a main goal to get back to that, and I think it starts in camp, to start to practice just working hard and being the hardest working team. Then, that'll carry over to the games."
The next 10 days of training camp will prove to be invaluable when it comes to establishing the identity the Predators want to bring into Opening Night against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 14, but there's also another experience to draw on for those who remain in the Nashville room from the summertime.

Immediately following their elimination in August's Qualifying Round, Ellis stated that while the loss to the Coyotes was certainly disappointing, it didn't feel as deflating as previous defeats. In contrast to prior postseason exits, the associate captain pointed to a new belief and a sense of pride in the locker room instead of a helpless feeling.
Ellis believed the style the Preds were starting to truly embrace under Head Coach John Hynes was the start of something much greater and a return to the mojo the team had lost.
Others felt it too, and that ideology remains as a new season begins.
"Coach Hynes came in and emphasized a lot of things on details and things that need [to be improved] to take us to the next level," Preds center Ryan Johansen said. "[He gave us that] self-team belief of doing the right things over and over where you feel confident on the ice. And going off of what [Ellis] said, that's the sense of the feeling we're getting. We felt like we're getting close to just a really consistent and smart, detailed, team game. Obviously, we lost and we got knocked out early…but it definitely wasn't a feeling like we're lost or anything like that, it was, I guess, we need a little more time. Now, we have some new players and impactful players to join us, and we're excited to get things going."

The first of just six on-ice practices for the full group comes Monday morning at Bridgestone Arena. Those sessions will combine with two scrimmages next weekend to simulate games, and before long, the puck will drop for real.
Until then, the Predators plan on making the most of the allotment they've been given and emerging from camp as a relentless, tenacious team ready for anything.
And in a time when just about anything can happen, the Preds will worry about what they can control, starting with their own sense of confidence.
"We're just looking to be a better team than we have been," Ellis said. "It's tough to put expectations on it right now. Obviously, everyone knows what the ultimate goal is, but right now we have a lot of new things, new pieces to this team, whether it be coaching or players, and there's just a new belief. We need to get the momentum early that we're going to come in here with and continue it. It's a shortened season, everything's a little different, but it's going to be the team that adapts the best that's going to have the best chance of winning."