Hey Steel fans! Hope you are having a great afternoon! We found some time in our busy day to see how the players are progressing since the beginning of practices.
The players are skating hard and trying to improve their individual skills to establish a strong foundation as a team. They have started to learn how each teammate responds on the ice so that they are able to know where they will be when it’s game time.
Observing the players off the ice, there has already been a bond that has been formed, which you can see when the boys are on the ice. A large part of being on a team are the relationships and trust in your teammates. In the short time since they have been together, the players have become a support system to one another, encouraging each other to be the best they can be during practices on and off the ice and during workouts.
Besides working on skills, the boys have also been practicing a variety of different drills, with a majority of them focusing on passing the puck and breaking out of their defensive zone. Sakellaropolous and Nell look strong in the net, sliding and diving to stop shots from players. The forwards and defensemen have been working on a variety of lines to ensure that all the players are ready to work with anyone who they might be put on the ice with.
We were able to catch Coach McConnell as he was coming off the ice to ask him what he feels is his team’s main focus these next few days leading up to the pre-season games later this week…
“Going into this weekend, we want to see what we can bring against the opponent. We’ve spent just over a week and a half playing against each other…our focus is to see what our effort level is going to be and where we stand as of now.” – Coach Scott McConnell
Coaches and players all look to be anticipating an exciting season. Attitudes are positive and energy is high. This team looks determined to reach a goal, that goal initially being the playoffs and then the Clarks Cup.
Good Luck to the Chicago Steel this Thursday and Friday as they travel to Indiana to play two preseason games! Bring home a couple wins boys!
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