Brandon Astle

Ty Mueller really stands out.

Sawyer Mineo, a young defenseman.

Someone like Kirill Kudryatsev, he went through a difficult year injuries-wise, but that didn't bother him.

When he was in the lineup, he was just his typical self.

There are some great stories of development that I think are going to help this team going forward.

And a lot of that has to do with the mentorship and teaching of Manny Malhotra.

Practice, pure and simple.

You hear RJ say it already.

It starts Monday morning at 8 a.m.

Everybody looks to the game, but what are you doing in the morning getting ready for practice while practicing in the gym?

I'll tell you what, it's going to be hard to beat RJ and Manny into the gym.

That's got to be quite motivating for these players.

They are in tremendous shape, those two.

And so in a situation like Abbotsford Beck, it's a team that doesn't get to practice like others because the travel is pretty bad.

And so when those players are on the ice, when they step out there, they know what they need to do.

They know what drills are coming.

And it's going to be about consistency.

Like if you're lagging in practice, Nanny's going to let you know about it.

And there's probably a good chance you're not going to get playing time and you might not even play.

Um, everything they do within the dressing room and on the practice sheet is intentional.