"I'm really optimistic," Predators Head Coach John Hynes, who oversaw his first normal training camp since joining the Preds in January of 2020, said. "We have good team chemistry, and I've been really impressed with the way the guys have worked every day… When you look at the pace of the practices, the execution, where we're working with the competitiveness and practices, it's the best since I've been here. It feels like it's where it needs to be to be a good team, to be a competitive team, to get better… We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish in training camp, and I give a lot of credit to the guys. You can push people, but when it's coming internally from them and they're showing up every day and putting the work in, [that's encouraging]."
"It's been a very positive training camp," Preds center Ryan Johansen said. "There's been a lot of good things we've seen from our guys, from our team. Just the chemistry, the steps we've taken and getting ready for the season; the biggest thing you want out of that is knowing, going into game one, that you've put in the work to set yourself up for success. I think we're all very proud of our efforts and our commitment to getting ready to be at a level where we're not thinking about anything else other than just going out there and playing."
Much has been made about the normalcy of this camp compared to the past 18 months, but there's something to it, according to Johansen. Not only were the Preds thrilled to be back under somewhat ordinary circumstances, but the opportunity to welcome and get to know a number of fresh faces was appreciated, especially from a veteran playmaker.
"I think it's an underappreciated or undervalued thing to go through a training camp," Johansen said. "With every season comes some little adjustments, some new faces where you can really compete against each other, work for each other and battle against each other, to prepare each other for the season… Going through this training camp, we've really enjoyed this time together, and the new faces, where we can come together and understand and learn about each other's games and their personalities, and I've had some time to take young guys out for dinners and things like that - it's been a lot of fun. It's been great getting to know our new boys, and they're all very special guys, great character guys that fit in right away."
Getting along is one thing, but something else struck Hynes as he looked back at the team's camp, a mentality that began last season when Nashville turned things around halfway through the campaign.
Compared to the start of the previous season, Hynes sees a different appreciation from his players on how the Preds have to operate to be successful - and that may be the best change of all.
"In talking with the players prior to camp, and just in the summer and getting ready, I think they really understood what needed to change," Hynes said. "What needed to change the second half of last year was how competitive we play and the work that it takes to win night in and night out. They have taken responsibility that we have to be a hard-working team, and that gives us a chance. Now, we have skill and we have some talent, we have all those things combined, but they've really taken ownership of how hard you have to practice, how hard you have to play, and I think that work is not a chore anymore. I think before, it was almost a little bit of a chore, where now [the players know] this is who we are, this is what we need to do, and it's being driven from them - expected from the coaches, but driven by the players."
