bogosian_zach

Through the first week of Tampa Bay's restart training camp, Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman had paired on defense with Jan Rutta, his partner for long stretches of the season and, in particular, when the Lightning went on their incredible 23-2-1 run from late-December to mid-February.

But during Thursday's camp session, Hedman had a new running mate among the Bolts' top pair in Zach Bogosian, who the Lightning signed to a one-year deal February 23 when they were hemorrhaging bodies on the blue line and needed reinforcements. Bogosian offered a quick fix at the time. It was a no-lose situation for the Lightning, who gained a veteran in an area of need at a relatively inexpensive price.

Bogosian paired with Hedman primarily during his eight-game stint with the Lightning before the pause and played pretty well, particularly for a defenseman whose contract was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the season.

But the time away from the rink during the four-month pause has allowed him to reset and recover from the injuries that derailed his final season in Buffalo. And he entered training camp with a renewed vigor, impressing the coaching staff and his teammates alike.

Now, he's getting a shot to play the right side alongside Hedman. While it remains to be seen if the combination sticks or if a healthy Rutta ultimately recaptures his spot. But if nothing else, Bogosian's emergence in camp has given the Lightning another option on the blue line, and a sizable one too with Bogosian checking in at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and unafraid to use his body to his advantage.

"I think he started getting comfortable with his game prior to the pause, and when you think back on that, it was not only him getting comfortable with a new team, he just hadn't played a lot of hockey up until that time," Lightning assistant coach Derek Lalonde said on a Zoom video call with media following Thursday's camp session. "I think he came into camp with an attack-it mentality. We ask the guys not to ever look into when the lineup is posted or where they're going to fit in that lineup. We've tried to purposely move that around because it is a process and it's going to be changing daily, but he comes into camp and I think he sees himself on the original board listed lower and he went about his business. I know a bunch of guys have mentioned how strong his camp has been so far, and it has been. I think he came in here with an attitude to control the things he can control, work on his game and it's led to some good play right now. He's gotten some reps with Hedman the last couple days as we try to look at a lot of different combinations. He's had a really good approach, and I think he's been rewarded for it with his play so far."

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      Zach Bogosian on Training Camp and his reading list

      Bogosian trained in his home gym during the pause and started skating in June. He said the time off was good for his recovery after a long season beset with injuries. The break also allowed him to get to know his teammates a bit better, particularly the ones he didn't come into contact with all that much over the course of his 12-year NHL career.

      "We all as a team stayed in contact throughout this entire process. Fortunately for me, I knew a few guys before I came down here and obviously getting to know the guys I didn't, it's a pretty easy locker room to walk into, a lot of really nice people, accepting people," Bogosian said. "Me being around a few years, you build connections throughout even just playing against guys, just knowing how they play and what type of person they are. The hockey world's a pretty small world. Wasn't too hard walking in the locker room, but it's nice to be able to build those relationships over a pretty hard time we've been through over the last few months."

      Bogosian said pairing with Hedman is pretty simple: You get him the puck and let him do his thing, which isn't that difficult as big a target as Hedman presents. The two have shown good chemistry in camp, and that figures to work in Bogosian's favor when the coaching staff sits down to figure out their starting lineup for the postseason.

      "What I've found over my career is you either gel with someone or you don't," Bogosian said. "You find out pretty quick. He doesn't really seem like a hard guy to read off of. I'm just looking forward to watching him play up close. He's a special player, and I'm just looking forward to the opportunity."

      ROUND ROBIN APPOACH: Lalonde offered some insight into his team's approach to the three round robin games the Bolts will play before entering the best-of-seven portion of the playoffs.

      The Lightning begin the postseason against the Washington Capitals on August 3 followed by a contest against Atlantic Division rival Boston two days later on August 5. The Bolts cap the round-robin portion of the playoff schedule August 8 versus the Philadelphia Flyers.

      Although the round robin games aren't a do-or-die scenario like the qualifying, best-of-five series seeds five through 12 in both conferences will play concurrently, the games will determine the order of the top four seeds in the East and West for the remainder of the playoffs.

      "We've talked about as a staff taking those games very, very seriously," Lalonde said. "I think you can even see it as our scrimmages here have amped, and I think that will lead into the exhibition game versus Florida and then those games in the round robin. I'm not going to call them must wins by any means. I don't think that's going to be the approach, but it's going to be about getting our game in order and playing at a very high level and part of that is getting our compete at a high level. I think those games are going to be highly contested and very important. That's going to be our approach."

      Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said each round robin game will take on a life of its own depending on each team's situation entering the contest.

      "My feeling is the way the first round robin game is played will be different than the way the last one is played," Cooper said. "And I don't know if it's going to be the first one's going to be a lot of physical contact and the last one won't or the reverse. So, I haven't figured that one, but they will be two different games, I guarantee you that. I think maybe a team that's gone 2-0 in the first two games will play a little differently than a team going 0-2. There will be urgency as these games go on, especially if a team hasn't performed as well on the scoreboard as maybe they'd like."

      SEEING DOUBLE: Greeting the Lightning as they took to the ice for Thursday's camp session was a giant cutout of forward Patrick Maroon's head behind the north net.

      Cooper wasn't sure why it was there or who put it there but found it amusing nonetheless.

      "Every time something went poorly in practice, I just looked at that and it made me feel better," he said.
      Bogosian was more brutal in his assessment of the cardboard Maroon.

      "It's the same size as his normal head," he joked. "It does feel nice to be back in the room with the guys and obviously things like that happen. That's part of being part of a team. Anytime you can loosen up the mood a little bit, yeah, that was fun."

      INSIDE THE BUBBLE: Lalonde said there's already been talk around the coaches' room about different competitions amongst the staff during their downtime in Toronto: squash, pickleball, Katan and board games being the main ones, Lalonde saying someone in the office called the bubble a "giant longtime hockey frat party for two-and-a-half months."

      Lalonde claims to hold a pickleball title from his time in the Minnesota Wild organization.

      Cooper said he wants the first crack at Lalonde on the court, however.

      "I just learned how to play pickleball, but did Newsy tell you about his pickl ball accident," Cooper asked the media? "He didn't tell you he blew his knee out and was on crutches for six months because of pickleball? Oh, he left that one out? Right away, I'm playing him at that one."