Sidney Crosby looked different Monday.
When he held court with media after the first day of practice in training camp, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain wasn’t wearing a tattered, worn-out team-issued hat bleached with salty sweat stains that he dons, out of obsessive habit, before each and every session with reporters.
No, he sported a seemingly fresh Team Canada hat that barely had a bend in the bill as he answered queries about everything under the sun regarding his team as it prepares for the 2020-21 season.
That change actually offered a little bit of normalcy for Crosby, who typically offers a subtle bit of support to his home country during this time of the year as it competes in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship tournament.
That might have been the only consistent part of the team’s practice at PPG Paints Arena.
From coaches wearing masks on the ice to players speaking to media through video conferences to all of this taking place during a January snowstorm, there were plenty of reminders the Penguins were opening camp in the midst of a global pandemic.
“I’d say almost everything feels different,” Crosby said. “It’s just something that’s constantly there as far as just making sure you have a mask, socially distancing, seeing all the coaches with masks. Things like that. It’s become somewhat normal. Whether you’re at the rink or you’re out and about, it’s something that you get used to having to be aware of.”
One other reality the Penguins are aware of is they don’t have much time to refine their games before they play actual games.
They will have seven practices over 10 days before they open a 56-game regular season Jan. 13 in Philadelphia.
By comparison, the training camp they orchestrated in July for the NHL’s postseason tournament to complete the 2019-20 campaign lasted 13 days and involved eight practices.
So this camp will be staged at an efficient pace.
“We understand that this is going to be a real short camp, and we’re going to prioritize what we do,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We accomplished what we set out to accomplish today. From that standpoint, it’s exciting to be back with these guys and to have the opportunity to do what we love to do. There was a certain level of enthusiasm in the air today, both on the ice and off the ice.”
The Penguins plan on holding scrimmages in five of the next six days, including one at night to simulate a game environment.
“The coaches have done a good job of putting a schedule together where they try to put you in some game situations,” defenseman Kris Letang said. “At the same time, they want to make sure that you’re ready to go with battle drills and the physical play that you don’t really experience in the (offseason). The pace is going to ramp up pretty quick, and they’re going to put us in situations where we can play a collective game.”
The goal in that pursuit is physical and mental.
“We’re trying to condition our players and get them in game condition,” Sullivan said. “The only way that happens is if we’ve got them in five-on-five scenarios. We’re going to try to do that. That’s going to be one of the priorities of the camp. There’s going to be a fair amount of intrasquad scrimmages.
“We can establish the foundation of our team concept as far as how we want to play and some of the details associated with that. And then we’ll build on that team concept as we go.”
So this training camp will share almost no common traits with the previous 50-plus this franchise has staged.
Except one.
“Just as far as the excitement and the anticipation and all that stuff, that’s all the same with the (start of a new season) and getting excited to play,” Crosby said.
“That feeling never gets old. You’re excited at anticipating starting. Everyone put the hard work in the offseason to get ready. It’s probably a little bit more serious than normal I think just knowing that it’s a shortened (camp) and you’ve got to make the most of each day here. You don’t have quite as much time to kind of feel your way into it. There’s a lot that needs to be covered on and off the ice. Everyone is just making sure they’re focused for the time that they’re here and making sure we’re ready for Game 1.”
Follow the Penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
Categories: Penguins/NHL | Sports
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