CBJ Training Camp - Day 1

Went down for the first day of training camp this morning, and was joined by several hundred friends and fellow Bluejackets fans. The Ice Haus was packed, standing room only, by the time I walked in right at 9:00. As I was walking in, and the crowd gave a nice little roar/applause, so of course I waved and took a bow. Then I realized that the players were starting practice and the applause wasn't for me. Honest mistake, right?

Anyways, I was only able to stick around for the first session due to other commitments. The first group included Nash, Carter, Wiz, Calvert, Methot, Vermette, and Dex, among many others. Not too much stood out (it was the first practice after all), but here are some random thoughts.

• Oh the hair! Mike Thomas (83) had the power mullet going. Should make the first cut on the hair alone.
• Calvert had a couple of nice shots.
• Bloomqvist looks huge on the ice. However, I didn't see him out on the ice for very long. Looks like he was in for the first drill and I didn't see him afterwards. Anybody know if he got hurt?
• Carter and Nash were just average together. Figure they need a couple of weeks and some games to get it together, so no worries there.
• Methot got dumped a couple of times, but looked real good in the defensive drill when they had to push people out of the crease area.
• Dex took a shot right off the dome. Looks a little shook up at first but quickly recovered.
• Good on the fans for showing up this morning. I would estimate 600-700 people funneled in and out of the stands and around the glass while I was there. Expect the owners tourney to be packed tomorrow.

Really looking forward to the tournament on Sunday, should be a great time and I am really looking forward to seeing what Atkinson and Johannsen do. And no injuries.