Your source for the latest news, views and observations from the Atlanta Thrashers practice arena.

ALLEN IVERSON

"TALKIN' 'BOUT PRACTICE"

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Today was the longest practice I have ever seen. The players came onto the ice, skated for an hour, went off the ice for 30 minutes while the ice was resurfaced, and then came back out for another 75 minutes. I'd say there were 15 people in attendance in addition to Dan Kamal (pictured at left), Darren Elliot, and 2 TV crews.

The Swedish contingent was first on the ice. Moose is back to an older set of pads.

Junior Lessard came out to say goodbye to the players as, I assume, he was sent out of camp. Havelid told him "work hard and you will be back". I also did not see LaVallee on the ice although I can't say if he left camp or not.

Lots of different colored jerseys out there today...green, orange, blue, light blue, yellow, and red. Here are the players who had the same colored jerseys on:

• Slater, Boulton, and Stuart
• White, Hoffman, Crabb
• Thorburn, Reasoner, Sterling
• Perrin, Stevenson
• Slava, Little, Army
• Kovy, Christensen, and Williams

D men were paired in various groups and all had dark blue jerseys on.

Mathieu Schneider (pictured at right) was very friendly with on the ice talking to the other players and appeared to lead the stretching at the beginning of practice. He is going to wear #18 apparently.

The players seem to be skating with more speed and urgency (and effort) than I have seen before.

Slava shot on Kari and hit the post and then skated by and said "lucky"...same old Slava and Kari competition.

First main drill was a passing drill at center ice and then the player would take the puck in and shoot on net. Here is a video.

After that was a 3 on 3 drill at the far end of the ice. Here is a video.

Here is a short video of a 5 man drill. I caught it at the end of the drill....I liked how Hainsey hit the glass with his stick when he skated by me.

Next was a 5 man drill where the group took the puck into the offensive zone and shoot on net. Here is a video.

There was a definite tendency to practice passing the puck off the boards...they did it at the very beginning of the day and then during the 5 man drill above.

It appears to me that the coaches are trying to see what lines may have chemistry. The Kovy line did not appear to have any chemistry yet nor did the Slater line. The only one which, to me, appeared to have any chemistry was Slava and Little.

After the ice was cut the players came back out on the ice. Another 3 on 3 drill started with working the puck down low and shooting on net. Bogy was able to handle big Hoffman which, to me, is a good sign. However, Bogy could barely keep up with Kovy when Kovy really turned it on to get to the net. Here is a video.

The last main drill was a 5 on 4 drill similar to the 3 on 3 drill above. Lots of urgency by the players and some light hitting on the boards. Here is a video.

Players ended practice by skating lines to cool down. Moose blew away the other goalies (Kari and PAVELEC) in terms of skating speed and ability.

Observations

1. Little is impressive. He is good handling the puck, driving to the net, maintaining possession of the puck, and seems to work well on the same line as Slava.

2. Army continues to have a good camp and is exhibiting great skating speed and shooting skill.

3. Today was the first day I have been able to see Bogy on the ice with the big boys. He drove to the net and passed the puck and handled Hoffman physically. If you have seen Hoffman you can appreciate how big of a deal it is that Bogy could handle him.

4. Pavelec continues to be, in my opinion, the most impressive goalie on the ice.

5. Hoffman (or Hummer as my wife named him in Nashville this weekend when a Predator bounced off of him) skates well, has reasonable skill, and is huge. Maybe we can use a big body with some skill like him in the lineup (?) Hint, hint...

6. Not sure what is going on with Bobo. He skated ok today although nothing remarkable or memorable.

7. Christensen appears to be unsure about how to center Kovy. Hope the two of them get it figured out quickly.

8. This coaching staff is all business. No more smiles, laughing, etc. It is all business and I am glad to see it.

9. Stuart looked a bit lost on the line he was on. Not sure where he fits in with the team although I really like him as a player and prospect.

10. Schneider is a wonderful skater. Smooth, fast, and talented. I can now see why he's been able to play successfully in the league for 19 years.

11. Toby and Havelid appear to have picked up right where they left off last season. They are very comfortable together.
 

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