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Day 1 of on-ice work: fast, relentless, physical the theme of the year

September 16, 2018, 9:00 AM ET [42 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers began the practice component of training camp Saturday following physicals and on-ice testing the first two days. From all accounts, practice was spirited and upbeat with a few interesting components thrown into the mix. Today, the team will practice again and start their pre-season Monday against New Jersey.

The theme this year in camp is “Relentless, fast and physical."





The first two, relentless and fast doesn't surprise me, as they appear to be hallmarks of Quinn's style. He wants his squad to be relentless on the ice, giving no quarter and constantly engaged, on- and off-the puck. In addition, he wants to utilize a fast style of play, having defense create offense and using speed to generate chances. Physical as the third component surprised me a little. But using that word and having this philosophy may be an indication that Quinn, from watching video, and management felt the team was soft last year. That the battle level was far from what needed to exist and that mindset has to change.

Below is a snippet from Rick Carpinello of the Athletic and Larry Brooks of the NY Post that I found interesting and paints a good picture of practice and the need to be physical.

Quinn was extremely vocal Saturday, whistling stops in each of the three sessions at times to both correct and encourage. Quinn, for example, loudly barked out that just because an opponent is in front of you doesn’t mean you have to go around him. You can also go through him, he said.

“I coach enthusiastically,” he said with a smile. His players seemed to respond in a high-tempo, quite physical day loaded with drills focusing on defensive-zone coverage and hard one-on-one battles. For a lot of the players, especially the young ones trying to make an impression, that was right in their wheelhouses.

Everybody talks about systems and whatnot, but this game inevitably turns into a one-on-on battle and you have to win one-on-one battles.”

First, you would expect strong engagement the first day of practice, especially under a new coach. Notwithstanding that, you have to like Quinn stopping practice, which was three, 65-minute sessions for each of the three groups, and teaching/correcting immediately. Hopefully, this prevents bad habits from forming and enables everyone to be on the same page right from the start.

Second, telling players they can also go through someone is a bit different from the prior system, where it was more skill than substance. Under John Tortorella, the team had a lunch pail approach. This identity was lost under Alain Vigneault, partially or largely due to the changeover in the roster. A hybrid of skill with the ability to play physical when need be would be ideal and instilling that willingness to use their size looks to be what Quinn is espousing.

"You have to win one-on-one battles." The NHL has become more of a skill league but to utilize that skill, players need to also have the grit to win the puck on the boards or in scrums anywhere along the ice. Too often, especially in their own zone, New York failed to do that the past few seasons. Getting back to that mentality of me vs. you and I am going to win will go a long way to quickening the rebuild. Effort beats talent when talent lacks effort. For now, the effort may need to be on display until the talent catches up, then the combination of the two will propel this team forward.

NHL Network ranked the Rangers' prospects talent pipeline as seventh in the league:





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