Which players have stepped up?

by Eric Welsh - Chilliwack Progress

August 28, 2007

For Chilliwack Bruins head coach Jim Hiller, the first day of training camp is a lot like Christmas morning.

The bench boss feels all the excitement and anticipation of a little kid running downstairs to see what’s under the tree — but instead of a new tricycle or baseball bat, he hopes to see players who have made significant strides during the off-season?

Has Colby Kulhanek improved his skating? Has Mark Santorelli added a little zip to his shot? Is Cody Smuk stronger than he was last season?

The first day of training camp is when new skills are unwrapped and Hiller can finally start thinking about who will fit where on the 2007-08 Bruins.

“We don’t know what will happen,” Hiller explains. “With some players the improvement is incremental and with others, it’s leaps and bounds. We don’t know until they get out on the ice.”

Hiller says there are two kinds of off-season development.

One is physical — gained by hitting the gym and participating in conditioning and skating camps. The other is mental, and that’s the development he most wants to see.

“That’s the key,” he says. “We’re looking for that maturity and mental development, and it happens at different times for different guys and it’s a variable we can’t control. But there comes a point when the game just slows down for them and they’re able to absorb it more. We’re looking to see who’s made strides in that area.”

Hiller keeps his troops busy during training camp, working them out twice a day. With body and mind rested from five months of off-season, he expects his players to have fresh legs and a hunger to get moving.

“We get them out there and unleash them,” Hiller says. “They’ve put in all this training over the summer and, as much as the coaches want to see where they’re at, they want to get out on the ice and gauge their own progress.”

The modern training camp differs greatly from those of year’s past. Back in the day, players used to slack off over the summer and play themselves into shape through camp and pre-season. That is no longer the case.

“Today’s players have a different mindset,” Hiller says. “They feel a responsibility to come back in August and show their teammates what they’ve done. They feel a responsibility to impress their teammates and there is a competition there. Every player wants to be the one who has done the most to get better. They’re pushing each other and trying to out-do each other. There’s a lot of pride involved.”

Hiller has two big advantages heading into his second Bruins training camp. Last year he was going from square one — new players, new dressing room, new video software systems.

One of his primary goals at last year’s camp was to establish the Chilliwack Bruins identity — that of a hard-working lunch-bucket crew willing to go through a wall to win.

“I think we did that pretty well,” he says. “We put a lot of focus into our practices and we did a good job of establishing that identity. Now, I think we’re in a position where we have to remind the players and maybe take it to another level.”

Hiller’s second advantage is that the systems are installed. Players coming to this year’s camp know how Hiller wants his team to play. Now, the coach is in a position to fine-tune.

“Providing the players don’t feel complacent, then there is a clear advantage in that,” Hiller says. “There’s a danger in seeing what your advantages are and relying on them over work and commitment. We have to make sure we’re constantly reminding ourselves that the success we had last year was because of the work we put into it.”

No player should feel complacent coming into this year’s camp. There will be battles aplenty from the net out as goaltenders, defencemen and forwards try to work their way up the depth chart.

“There’s going to be some pressure there,” Hiller explains. “And it will be interesting to see which players grab that pressure and embrace it and which players shy away from it. We just don’t know who will step up to those challenges.”

Hiller expects to be making tough decisions right through to the end of the pre-season schedule.

That means every minute of every practice and game will be crucial for players who are on the bubble.

“Beyond simply making or not making the team, I think there will be a real fight for ice time,” Hiller notes. “Almost all of the guys at our training camp are capable of playing in the Western Hockey League right now. It’s a matter of where they’re going to fit in and how much ice-time they’re going to get. Who’s going to take the bull by the horns and put an exclamation point beside their name?”