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

ALLEN IVERSON

"TALKIN' 'BOUT PRACTICE"

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2008

Even though the weather was not good in Atlanta there were about 50 fans in attendance for today's practice. At some times during the practice there were more folks there than 50 because of the Jr hockey games which were scheduled at the Ice Forum today.

As a matter of fact, the Thrashers practice was late starting because of the lateness of the Jr games scheduled before the Thrashers were to practice. The team did not take the ice until 12:30 or so.

The Oilers practiced at the facility today at 1:30. I did not stay to watch them...wanted to get home and enjoy the snow day...plus it was pretty cold in the facility today and I'd had about enough cold for awhile.

Moose was first out of the locker room and his face spoke volumes. He was not happy at all. For those of you who have seen and talked to Moose this was a marked difference than every other time I've ever seen him. No way to say it other than he was most unhappy today. He was followed by the Swedes (Nic and Toby), Thorburn, and Boulton. They stayed on the ice and stretched while the zamboni was finishing the ice from the Jr game.

Once the full squad was on the ice they had a meeting over along the far boards with the coaches. I could not hear what was said but it was a fairly long meeting. Here's a video (not much to see action wise, but you'll get the idea of how long they stayed there to talk).

The first drill was a one man drill where they took the puck in on net and shot on goal. Then 2 D men in the zone would pass the puck out of the zone. Here are 2 videos: Clip #1, Clip #2.

Next was a skating drill where the puck would be passed from the corner to center ice. The puck was taken at center ice into the zone and a shot on net would be taken. The puck was cycled in the zone until a goal was scored or until the whistle was blown. Here's a video:

During this drill Kari was run into/hit by a skater. He skated over to the corner for a minute to gather himself and then went back in net. Here's a video of Kari after he got back in net. He looked like he was ok to me.

McCrimmon took a long time explaining the next drill. Basically it was a PP drill with 3 forwards at center ice and 2 D men in the zone. The puck was taken into the offensive zone by passing and then a shot would be taken. After the shot the puck was passed back out to the point where the D man would take a shot on net with the forwards posting in front of the net for a deflection attempt. Here's a video.

Last drill was a full squad drill where it was 5 on 5. One squad would try to score on the other then once the other squad got possession the action went to the other end of the ice. They did both 5 on 5 and 5 on 4 during this drill. Here's a video.

Practice lasted maybe 40 minutes. Most players went directly into the locker room and there were just a few guys who signed autographs (Larsen, Slava, Popovic). Moose was first off the ice and was asked for autographs. He simply said "Not today I am sorry" and went into the locker room. His facial expressions were serious and most unhappy as he came off the ice. Poor Moose, we all felt bad for him.

Overall it appeared to me that the team wanted to practice passing and maintaining possession of the puck. I'm not an expert although that seems to me what the main point of the drills were today.

Observations:

1. Nobody was happy today. No talking, no laughing. Dupuis was so unhappy after coming off the ice after the 2nd drill he smashed his stick into the bench and then took a full wind up and threw what was left of the stick at the wall at the end of the bench. He was very vocal and upset during the outburst.

2. X and McCarthy were not on the ice today. No word on where X was.

3. Apparently the flight home was very quiet. Not a lot of talking. After awhile many players just tried to rest.

4. DW was in the locker room but did not come onto the ice.
 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2008

Very light turnout for practice today which was a bit surprising given the big win last night in Hockeytown. I'd say there were 15 fans in attendance. Also in attendance was the CBS 46 sports crew who interviewed Kovy and Hoss. Here's a video of Kovy and Hoss preparing for the interview which was held at the end of the practice.

Today was an optional skate. Here are the players who were on the ice: Moose, Kari (for 25 minutes), Slater, Boulton, Thorburn, Perrin, Doell, Stuart, Popovic.

McCarthy skated very early with the strength coach. I was there at the tail end of his workout. Here's a video of him simply skating around the ice.

As usual, there were a few goalie warm-up drills before the official start of the optional practice. Here is some video. Clip #1, Clip #2. 

No Recchi Jr. I believe he may have gone back to the family home and has left Atlanta.

At the start of the optional skate Kari left the ice. He came out of the dressing room for a bit to prepare a few goal sticks. He was spraying some material on the handles of the sticks to, as he said, "make them more slippery." Here's a video.

First drill was a simple skate around the ice drill. No video needed of that...we've all seen the guys skate before.

Next was a passing drill where the player would skate around in a large circle at center ice doing touch passes along the way then he would accept a pass and skate in on the Moose and shoot. Here's a video.

Following that was a two person drill where the two players would enter the zone and shoot on net. Here's a video.

Next was a two on one drill where, again, players would take puck at center ice, enter the zone and shoot on net.

That drill was then changed to be a two on one and then shoot on net.

Last drill I took video of was a drill where a pass would come from the corner and player would take the pass and immediately shoot. Here's a video.

It was hard to gauge the mood of the players since not many were on the ice and it was almost an informal practice. Overall I would say the mood was good...much better than I've seen after a loss or a few losses in a row.


Observations:

1. CBS 46 was there in force to interview Kovy and Hoss. They had a whole area set up for Sam Crenshaw to sit and talk to the two players.

2. Craig Custance was also in attendance. I'll be interested to hear what scoop he comes up with about the TSN.ca blog where Hoss allegedly told Waddell that he wants to test the market and is not convinced about staying in Atlanta.

3. Dupuis was out between McCarthy skating and the rest of the team. He was skating around in shorts and a sweatshirt. I asked him if he was trying out new skates...I was half joking. and he said he was. He said he's gone through SIX pairs of skates already this season. He always gets the same brand/model but goes through them pretty quick apparently.

4. The Glads were there to practice after the Thrashers.


Sorry for the short entry but it was a 45 minute or so unofficial practice so there's not much to report.
 

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