StocktonThunder

Try imagining putting yourself through a Matt Thomas led practice. I dare you.

The skating, grunting, panting and groans are justified by the look of players who just stepped out of a five hour trip to the sauna while wearing a sweatshirt and parka.

Matt Foy knows what to expect from the demands of training camp, whether at the NHL, AHL or ECHL level. (photo by Sean Blair)

Welcome to Thunder training camp.

There’s still a long way to go until we find out who skates out of the tunnel during Opening Night ceremonies on October 14. The talent is plenty and the bodies are chiseled as if in midseason form.

No longer can players hide behind the lifestyle of summer slacking and visions of sipping a beverage and indulging in a greasy plate of food on a beach.

If you could compare practice to going through a workout routine, the first few days could be categorized as a “warm up.”

“You’ve got basically seven to ten days to prove to me that you belong,” Thomas, the fourth year Thunder head coach, told me after practice. “It’s not a long time to take three, four or five days to work the kinks out from the summer. Otherwise, you could almost be written off by then.”

Message sent: you better come prepared and in shape. Or, you better get out.

“It’s been awhile,” said Matt Foy, formerly of the Minnesota Wild, when I asked him about the last time he had been through a practice as long as today’s (two hours). “But it feels good when you’re done.”

During the first few days of practices at Oak Park Ice Arena, coordination tests rule the day. Basic passing and skating skills are put to the test with breakout and regroup drills – or, as you could say – the building blocks for a team’s ability to move the puck and generate lights-out scoring opportunities.

Oh yeah – you better be in shape too. Because you’ll skate. And skate more. And skate even more.

It’s easy to pass off the player’s ability to skate like it is second nature, just like walking. But remember when you played on any sports team as a kid and how huffed and puffed you felt after running laps? You feel the same way here.

It’s enough to make your legs feel like Jell-O. It’s no wonder what the most important muscle group is for a player, in preparations for training camp.

“The lower body,” said Jordan Foreman, in his second season with the Thunder. “With the skating and tempo out here, it’s important to get your legs going everyday and make sure they’re warm. Otherwise, you’ll be blowing muscles left, right and center.”

We’ll often hear coaches speak about “compete factor.” That comes into play the next few days, when the skills and brain comprehension are put to the test in game-like situations with scrimmages at Stockton Arena.

No more can you hide behind the fact that you completed a drill flawlessly. The challenge is out there: do it just like you had 9,737 people watching your every move.

“The important thing we’ll go into starting (Monday) is pure battle level,” said Thomas. “Compete, compete, and compete. There will be a lot of down low stuff – there’s no conditioner like it. It’s the only thing that gets a guy into shape for being game ready. I think it’s important for the process to build up to it, so our guys’ timing is there, they can keep tempo high and keep puck movement at a good level.”

It’s pretty logical to say what’s on a player’s mind once he hits home after the ultimate preseason test of endurance.

“Food,” said Foy with a grin. “And, a nap.”

SEPARATED AT BIRTH

We’ll be examining these throughout the year – one is the new Thunder equipment manager (Brennan Cody). The other is a country music artist (Zac Brown). You decide.

Mike Benton has served the Thunder as television and radio play-by-play announcer since the team’s inception. Got a question or comment? Follow Mike on twitter at twitter.com/Benton_mike