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SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2008
Ben, the website administrator
for the Atlanta Thrashers, and Rob the PR manager for the
organization invited 5 to 6 bloggers to the facility yesterday to
have a meting with the new coach John Anderson. We also were
treated to a tour of the practice facility by Rob the PR guy which
was great. With all the practices I've been to I have never had the
opportunity to get behind “the velvet rope” known in Thrashers
practice terms as the locker room doors.
Since my blog directly pertains to practices I really only asked
questions about practice. The other bloggers who were present will
likely post more comments and observations than I will simply
because they tend to write about the team and I just write about
practice. So, here goes.
We met with John in a conference room near the front of the
facility. They had soft drinks out for us which was nice. The walls
of the conference room were filled with jerseys and pictures. In the
center of the main wall was a picture of Dan Snyder.
John came in and we got started right away.
I asked John what his opinion was about optional skates given that
last season, in particular, there was some concern about the team
having optional skates in the midst of a losing streak. John simply
and clearly stated that he believes in optional skates although they
will be scheduled based upon how the team is feeling and now how
they are performing. He went on to say that he does not inflict on
ice punishment for bad play but rather punishes bad play by reducing
or eliminating ice time.
Next I asked if Sundays were still going to be off days for the
team. He said that would be based upon our game schedule. He
followed up that comment by saying that if a system which is being
used is not working he will change it the very next shift. Being
able to change on the fly like that requires that each of the
players have a very good knowledge and comfort level with the
systems being used. And, it requires a lot of practice to get to
that point. So, reading between the lines, I expect to see a lot of
practices at the beginning of season so that the guys can get
comfortable with the various systems that John wants to use.
The tour of the facility was great. We got to see all of the various
parts of the facility except for the parts where the players were
working out (weight room) and the shower area. In the player lounge
there were mail slots for all the players and there were LOTS of
letters and packages in the slots. Kari had 4 slots and
Kovy had a whole box/crate in which his mail resides. Holik
had a bunch of mail waiting for him...wonder if he provided a
forwarding address...
That's about it for the practice related questions and answers. John
seems to be very comfortable speaking to fans and the media (if you
want to call us non paid bloggers media) and I expect him to be very
open and honest about the team and our play during the season. (if
we are not playing good I don't expect all that much sugar coating).
Thanks again to Ben and Rob for the opportunity to attend the
session yesterday.
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