7 Things We Learned from Keith Yandle's Territory Talk Appearance

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Keith Yandle can't wait to get back to work.
With the start of training camp still a few weeks away, the 31-year-old defenseman is already back skating at the Panthers IceDen, part of a small group that has recently returned to South Florida to get a head start on settling back into a regular-season routine - on and off the ice.

"You're just itching for camp to start," he said. You want it to start tomorrow."
In one of his most recent trips to the practice rink, Yandle also made his return to the Territory Talk podcast, sitting down with hosts Doug Plagens and Jameson Olive to discuss everything from his expectations for the upcoming campaign to Nick Bjugstad's wedding.
Here are just seven of the things we learned from Yandle's interview…

1. HE CAN'T DO HAIR

With his two daughters, Mila and Lola, both heading back to school last week, Yandle has had no shortage of dad-related duties since arriving back to South Florida. From getting the kids packed up to dropping them off and picking them up, Yandle can do it all -- expect one thing.
"The only thing I can't do this their hair, so my wife has to do that," he said.

2. THE CATS ARE EAGER TO COME BACK

The Panthers were without question one of the best teams in the league during the second half of last season, winning their final five games to cap off an incredible 25-8-2 stretch following the All-Star break that propelled the team to 96 points - the third-best campaign in franchise history.
Unfortunately, that late-season surge fell one point short, as Florida became just the second team since the league adopted the shootout in 2005 to miss the playoffs with that many points.
Still, coming off a strong finish, Yandle said the team is eager to pick up right where they left off.
"The feeling, especially going into summer, is that we just wanted the season to start," he said. "It's usually the end of the year and you're looking forward to summer, but I just got the feeling, with myself and everybody else on the team, that we wanted to get the season started.
"Obviously, [it was tough] not having a great start, new coach and new systems, but once we got a hang of that and once we bought into Boog's [coach Bob Boughner] system, we showed what we can do. We hope we can start off as strong as last year."

3. KISELEVICH IS ALREADY FITTING IN

The Panthers made only one addition to their blue line this offseason, signing Russian import Bogdan Kiselevich to a one-year deal in June. After spending the past several seasons in the KHL the 28-year-old is expected to add a veteran physical presence to the Panthers backend.
As the elder statesmen of Florida's defensive corps, Yandle said he's already been able to get to know his new teammate quite a bit after spending the past week on the ice with Kiselevich.
"It was fun to learn that he'd never been to the US before," said Yandle, who added that he'd happily show Kiselevich around Disney World. "He'd never stepped foot here. That caught me by surprise. He said he'd been to Canada, but never the US. It's good that he's down here getting acclimated and getting used to his surroundings."
So how long will it take before Yandle gets a good feel for what Kiselevich brings to the table?
"One day," he said confidently. "You can tell what kind of player he is. You can tell he's a smart player and really good defensively. It'll be fun to see him in preseason games."

4. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DANCERS ON THE TEAM

With nine of his teammates in attendance, including Yandle, Nick Bjugstad tied the knot in Wisconsin earlier this summer. When asked to review the wedding, Yandle said it was a great time, although the boys didn't venture onto the dance floor too often.
"We hadn't really seen each other in a little bit, so we were more talking and just kind of letting Nick's friends make a fool of themselves on the dance floor," Yandle said. "It was more of the wives that were dancing, I think."

5. FINLAND WILL BE ABOUT BONDING AND BARKOV

As part of the 2018 NHL Global Series, the Panthers will play back-to-back games against the Winnipeg Jets in Helsinki, Finland this season. With the team spending almost a week together overseas, Yandle said he believes the trip will provide a perfect opportunity for team bonding.
"I think that'll be a good time for our team to come together and have a few days or a week or whatever where we're together and there's nothing else but to hang out with each other," he said. "We'll be on long flights and kind of jell together as a team. I think that'll really get us in the right groove."
As Aleksander Barkov's self-described No. 1 fan -- a title he might have to fight Vincent Trocheck for - Yandle said he's also eager to see the Finnish center in his natural habitat.
"I can't wait," Yandle said. "He's not really the guy that goes out of his way to show anyone around [in America]… It'll be fun to have him show us around, meet his family and see what he legend of Barky is like in Finland."

6. HE'S FEELING THE BUZZ

With the Panthers being arguably the sports team closest to championship contention in South Florida, Yandle said he's already beginning to feel a strong local buzz surround this year's team.
"Someone sent me a text the other day of a cool mural that was painted downtown of a panther and a hockey player," he said. "You can just feel the buzz within my group of friends outside of hockey that are just excited for the season to start. They've all got their season tickets. That's exciting. I think continuing to grow the sport down here -- obviously that comes with winning -- but I think we have a good opportunity to do that."

7. HE'S GOT A GOOD FEELING

Yandle has been a part of five playoff teams in his career, but he's only felt this good heading into a season once before.
"I think besides getting ready for my first-ever training camp, I think this is the most excited I've been," Yandle said. "With the group that we have, how we all get along, how we have such good players, too. It's kind of one of those things where I'm just excited to see everyone and get going."
You can check out Yandle's full interview below!