swflyers25
9-13-05, 8:50 PM
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Mike Knuble is able to practice with his new teammates after signing in the summer of 2004
Flyers Begin Training Camp at Skate Zone in Voorhees
by Kevin Kurz, philadelphiaflyers.com
Voorhees, NJ ? Despite the tag line that has been preached for months by the organization, today was really the first day that the Flyers are in fact back where they belong. That is ? on the ice.
While Simon Gagne and Eric Desjardins learned to make cheesesteaks, Robert Esche got a little ride on a zamboni around City Hall and Jeff Carter and Mike Richards twisted a couple soft pretzels, today was the day that Flyers fans have been waiting for ? the opening of training camp for one of the most anticipated seasons in team history.
Although many players have been in the area for weeks and even months, scrimmaging among themselves and hitting the weight room since the end of the work stoppage, today was the first day that the Flyers? coaching staff could run a full, organized practice with all 53 players in camp.
?I had a hard time sleeping last night I was so excited,? said Keith Primeau. ?I was actually looking forward to one of Hitch?s practices, so you know it?s been a long time when you forget how difficult the practices are. It was a great feeling to be back out there, and I am just really excited about the year.?
?It felt good; there is no doubt about it,? added Desjardins. ?I was looking forward to that moment for a long time now, but now we?ve started and we?re happy to be back.?
The turnover in the Flyers? locker room was a significant one, as was commonplace among most teams in the league. Because of that, this training camp will be extra important to build chemistry on and off the ice.
Among the new players is Mike Knuble, who signed with the club in the summer of 2004 after five productive seasons in Boston, is just now getting to know his new teammates.
?The guys who have been around, we may not know each other personally, but we all know of each other,? said Knuble. ?You kind of get together quick, and the onus will be on the team, the players and the coaches to try and bring us together as quickly as possible.
?There are a lot of older faces, and there are a lot of younger faces, too, and that?s the way the cap works,? he said. ?It?s a whole new dynamic in the league in how you create a team, so it?s going to be the teams that figure that out and gel the quickest that will get off to the best start.?
Primeau also realizes the new landscape of how to build an NHL team, and is amazed at the talent level in the Flyers locker room despite the fact that the payroll has decreased by almost half from the 2003-04 season. Tuesday was of course the first day that he could see everyone in person together in one room.
?I don?t envy the general managers at this point in time,? he said. ?With the group that we?ve assembled here, it?s really exciting. To still be able to have this number of quality players, and to be able to play at a level which we should be able to attain is exciting. Cutting your payroll almost literally in half, to be able to bring the quality of people that we have in this locker room here, for the franchise and the fans in the city is great.?
As usual, Flyers practices at the Sovereign Bank Flyers Skate Zone are open to the public. There was a good crowd on hand to see the players in action, as the teams were split up among Flyers and Phantoms regulars for a hard practice and then a scrimmage. After the scrimmage portion, the fans gave the players a standing ovation as they headed to the locker room after the first of many days to come in what promises to be an exciting 2005-06 season.
The ovation was not lost on the players.
?The people just love their Flyers. They always have, and they always will,? said Primeau. ?That?s not saying they are pleased with what transpired. There?s still some disappointment, but ultimately they are just glad we?re back and we are glad to be back where we belong.?
For Flyers ticket information, please click here or call (215) 218-PUCK (7825)!
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/trainingCamp/archive/2123.asp)
Complete training camp coverage (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/trainingCamp/stories.asp)
Richards 1st entry:
Entry Date: 9/13/2005 12:20 PM
?Today was interesting. I think everybody was really anxious to get it going today. It was fun. It was kind of a wake up call for myself, personally, just to see how intense it was. It?s nice to get it underway.
?This morning, we had video and then a stretch. We went on the ice for about an hour and worked on the penalty kill and the power play, and now we have a workout. It?s a pretty full day. It was a nice start to training camp, and was certainly nice and intense.?
Hitch's quotes for today
9/13/2005
What stuck about practice today?
?The thing that sticks out the most to me is the competitiveness of the players that were with the Phantoms last year. They kept the tempo of the combination of our players who were excited to get back out there and their work ethic especially coming back from that championship team, is what stuck out to me more than anything.?
How did it feel coaching today?
?I?ve been with the Olympic team for two weeks so it feels normal. But now this is our own team and our own players. I feel prepared and ahead of the curve as for teaching on the ice because I had a chance to do it at a high level and I think with the coaching staff, we have been working on this for almost a month now so I feel very prepared. The thing for the players was that the tempo was so high today that you?d be hard pressed to keep up to this tempo for four straight days, but we?ll see.?
Is everyone getting ready physically for the season?
?I think that a lot of that work is going to get done off of the ice, getting people to do things that we want them to do, the way we want them to do it. I don?t think that?s going to be a big issue. The only issue is for Derian [Hatcher], because he?s missing three games. And if he doesn?t get exhibition games in, then there?s a big gap here between when he?s going to be able to play in a game because he didn?t play much obviously in the last year or so and that?s a big thing. We hope Derian can get some exhibition games in before he has to sit out again.?
Are the players excited because they got to see and play alongside their teammates again?
?That?s why you play and keep playing because you don?t want to lose that feeling of camaraderie-that feeling of togetherness. That?s why people play old timers hockey, that?s why they play slow pitch-you don?t ever want to lose that. You don?t ever want to leave the dressing room until someone rips the sweater off of you. That?s why players play longer than they should and that?s why coaches coach longer than they should and we don?t ever wan to leave this atmosphere. It?s a comfortable atmosphere, it?s an atmosphere that you get in where you love the ability to sacrifice for the person sitting next to you and when you are on your own, and you?re not in the team sport, it?s a poor feeling everyday and these guys and including myself have had to go through it.?
Coach's report (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/CoachsReport/default.asp)
Mike Knuble is able to practice with his new teammates after signing in the summer of 2004
Flyers Begin Training Camp at Skate Zone in Voorhees
by Kevin Kurz, philadelphiaflyers.com
Voorhees, NJ ? Despite the tag line that has been preached for months by the organization, today was really the first day that the Flyers are in fact back where they belong. That is ? on the ice.
While Simon Gagne and Eric Desjardins learned to make cheesesteaks, Robert Esche got a little ride on a zamboni around City Hall and Jeff Carter and Mike Richards twisted a couple soft pretzels, today was the day that Flyers fans have been waiting for ? the opening of training camp for one of the most anticipated seasons in team history.
Although many players have been in the area for weeks and even months, scrimmaging among themselves and hitting the weight room since the end of the work stoppage, today was the first day that the Flyers? coaching staff could run a full, organized practice with all 53 players in camp.
?I had a hard time sleeping last night I was so excited,? said Keith Primeau. ?I was actually looking forward to one of Hitch?s practices, so you know it?s been a long time when you forget how difficult the practices are. It was a great feeling to be back out there, and I am just really excited about the year.?
?It felt good; there is no doubt about it,? added Desjardins. ?I was looking forward to that moment for a long time now, but now we?ve started and we?re happy to be back.?
The turnover in the Flyers? locker room was a significant one, as was commonplace among most teams in the league. Because of that, this training camp will be extra important to build chemistry on and off the ice.
Among the new players is Mike Knuble, who signed with the club in the summer of 2004 after five productive seasons in Boston, is just now getting to know his new teammates.
?The guys who have been around, we may not know each other personally, but we all know of each other,? said Knuble. ?You kind of get together quick, and the onus will be on the team, the players and the coaches to try and bring us together as quickly as possible.
?There are a lot of older faces, and there are a lot of younger faces, too, and that?s the way the cap works,? he said. ?It?s a whole new dynamic in the league in how you create a team, so it?s going to be the teams that figure that out and gel the quickest that will get off to the best start.?
Primeau also realizes the new landscape of how to build an NHL team, and is amazed at the talent level in the Flyers locker room despite the fact that the payroll has decreased by almost half from the 2003-04 season. Tuesday was of course the first day that he could see everyone in person together in one room.
?I don?t envy the general managers at this point in time,? he said. ?With the group that we?ve assembled here, it?s really exciting. To still be able to have this number of quality players, and to be able to play at a level which we should be able to attain is exciting. Cutting your payroll almost literally in half, to be able to bring the quality of people that we have in this locker room here, for the franchise and the fans in the city is great.?
As usual, Flyers practices at the Sovereign Bank Flyers Skate Zone are open to the public. There was a good crowd on hand to see the players in action, as the teams were split up among Flyers and Phantoms regulars for a hard practice and then a scrimmage. After the scrimmage portion, the fans gave the players a standing ovation as they headed to the locker room after the first of many days to come in what promises to be an exciting 2005-06 season.
The ovation was not lost on the players.
?The people just love their Flyers. They always have, and they always will,? said Primeau. ?That?s not saying they are pleased with what transpired. There?s still some disappointment, but ultimately they are just glad we?re back and we are glad to be back where we belong.?
For Flyers ticket information, please click here or call (215) 218-PUCK (7825)!
Flyers (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/trainingCamp/archive/2123.asp)
Complete training camp coverage (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/trainingCamp/stories.asp)
Richards 1st entry:
Entry Date: 9/13/2005 12:20 PM
?Today was interesting. I think everybody was really anxious to get it going today. It was fun. It was kind of a wake up call for myself, personally, just to see how intense it was. It?s nice to get it underway.
?This morning, we had video and then a stretch. We went on the ice for about an hour and worked on the penalty kill and the power play, and now we have a workout. It?s a pretty full day. It was a nice start to training camp, and was certainly nice and intense.?
Hitch's quotes for today
9/13/2005
What stuck about practice today?
?The thing that sticks out the most to me is the competitiveness of the players that were with the Phantoms last year. They kept the tempo of the combination of our players who were excited to get back out there and their work ethic especially coming back from that championship team, is what stuck out to me more than anything.?
How did it feel coaching today?
?I?ve been with the Olympic team for two weeks so it feels normal. But now this is our own team and our own players. I feel prepared and ahead of the curve as for teaching on the ice because I had a chance to do it at a high level and I think with the coaching staff, we have been working on this for almost a month now so I feel very prepared. The thing for the players was that the tempo was so high today that you?d be hard pressed to keep up to this tempo for four straight days, but we?ll see.?
Is everyone getting ready physically for the season?
?I think that a lot of that work is going to get done off of the ice, getting people to do things that we want them to do, the way we want them to do it. I don?t think that?s going to be a big issue. The only issue is for Derian [Hatcher], because he?s missing three games. And if he doesn?t get exhibition games in, then there?s a big gap here between when he?s going to be able to play in a game because he didn?t play much obviously in the last year or so and that?s a big thing. We hope Derian can get some exhibition games in before he has to sit out again.?
Are the players excited because they got to see and play alongside their teammates again?
?That?s why you play and keep playing because you don?t want to lose that feeling of camaraderie-that feeling of togetherness. That?s why people play old timers hockey, that?s why they play slow pitch-you don?t ever want to lose that. You don?t ever want to leave the dressing room until someone rips the sweater off of you. That?s why players play longer than they should and that?s why coaches coach longer than they should and we don?t ever wan to leave this atmosphere. It?s a comfortable atmosphere, it?s an atmosphere that you get in where you love the ability to sacrifice for the person sitting next to you and when you are on your own, and you?re not in the team sport, it?s a poor feeling everyday and these guys and including myself have had to go through it.?
Coach's report (http://www.philadelphiaflyers.com/pressbox/CoachsReport/default.asp)