JEN:

The Ducks have two games remaining in their preseason. One game against the Kings on Friday, and an exhibition game against Teemu Selanne's former club, Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland. Usually final roster cuts come after the last game, but considering the last game is on a whole other continent, Carlyle will need to finalize his regular season roster by the time the plane leaves on Saturday. I think Andrew (Commissioner) Gordon put it best when he tweeted:

Looks like I have one more game to earn a seat on that plane to Finland on Saturday. #cantwait

For the players on the bubble, their performance in the game versus Los Angeles means the difference between a plane ticket in coach or a ticket on a chartered jet (do you need tickets?). Lets take a look at the bubble players left looking to be a motha effing Duck, on a motha effing plane...to Finland, and not Syracuse.

Continue reading this post »

JEN:

As we reported yesterday, Bobby Ryan pulled his groin during practice. Bobby was optimistic that he'd be able to take the ice today after receiving some ice and Advil post-practice. (I could not confirm reports that my mom was offering medical advice as part of the Ducks training staff.) Alas, Ryan's optimism was not shared by the trainers and he was kept off the ice for both the team scrimmage and his group's practice session. According to the Ducks, Ryan will be skating tomorrow. I wouldn't look any further into this than Bobby is skating during the morning skate to see how things feel. I'd be willing to bet my negative net worth that he will not play in the game versus the Coyotes on Tuesday. Too valuable an asset to take a chance on.

Moving on from today's Groin Watch 2011 update. Both practice sessions were pretty much the same as the previous two days only with less exciting drills (read: no breakaway races). The focus of today was the first scrimmage of training camp, pitting the speedy, talented Group B (6 goals) versus the um...well...special people of Group A (1 goal). (Still need a reminder of the groups? Go back to Saturday's post.)

Continue reading this post »

DANIEL:

If you missed the explanation of mine and Jen's approach to looking at camp yesterday, go back to the front page and see what read it, and then reread her post by way of an apology. I'd like to say that it's nice to finally be excited about hockey. No matter what I think of the moves Murray made, I love hockey season and I want my team to do well. Having said that, the Ducks have a bevy of young talent and no space for all of it. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. Analysis on individual players after the jump

Continue reading this post »

JEN:

Daniel and I went to Training Camp on Sunday. We decided to split the coverage into two categories - returners and rookies. I decided to cover the familiar faces coming back to Ducks camp. Daniel's post covering the rookies will go up a little bit later.

We can all agree that the big news of the day was Bobby Ryan and his strained groin. Normally, I'm not one to freak out about minor injuries, but this one is a bit disconcerting. Groin injuries tend nag a player until he has a chance to fully rest it and allow the groin to heal. And when does that healing happen? In the off-season. What time is it now? The pre-season. I doubt Bobby will don the red "no contact" jersey (he is waaay too stubborn to do that), and I look for his shifts to be cut short during the scrimmage tomorrow.

Beyond the injury, other things happened at camp (gasp)! After the jump are your Day 2 updates on returning players. I'm kind of tired, so there are a lot of videos.

Continue reading this post »

JEN:

As I originally posted in the FanShot (and on my Twitter account @WhatWouldJNDo), Bobby Ryan injured his groin during a drill at training camp today. You could tell he was injured by the sound he made while running the drill. I could tell it wasn't a knee because he wasn't favoring either leg, but instead was doubled over as he made his way to the bench.

Birthday Boy and resident Bobby Ryan Fanboy Robby, confirmed (via the Ducks official twitter account) that Ryan would not be missing any time with the groin injury, and is expected to compete in tomorrow's scrimmage.

Here are pictures of Ryan after injuring his groin and skating to the bench:

Groin injuries are not to be taken lightly, especially when it happens to a player of Ryan's caliber. Even if Ryan does feel that Advil and ice will do the trick, expect the coaching and training staff not to push Ryan beyond his normal limits. I believe that tomorrow's team scrimmage will be a good indicator of just how hurt Ryan actually is. If he only takes a few shifts, I'd count him as doubtful for the Ducks first scrimmage versus the Coyotes on Tuesday. For a team that's doing everything it can to have a strong start, healing Ryan's aggravated groin should be one of the top priorities.

JEN:

I was excited and couldn't sleep. I woke up before my alarm went off. I had more than enough energy - without caffeine - to churn out a post in the early hours of the morning (a feat during the work week I would be hard pressed to do). I used act this way before the first day of a new school year, but why would I feel this way now? I certainly wasn't like this last training camp after the Ducks missed the playoffs.

Perhaps it was the feeling that the 2010-11 team had so much more to offer, only to have it cut short by a stellar defensive effort (and at times, monster goaltending) from the Nashville Predators. Maybe it was the MVP season from "The Little Pest That Could" in Corey Perry. Or the decision by the White Knight (Teemu Selanne) to ride back into Anaheim and save the team from utter chaos, just one more time. Something about this team felt different, yet comfortably the same.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, training camp was held at Honda Center instead of the usual Anaheim Ice. Bob Murray wanted to move more practices to Honda Center in order to utilize the updated dressing rooms and weight rooms. The move seems to have paid off for the fans, as approximately 1200 fans (according to the Ducks) loaded into Honda Center to watch the team practice. I liked being able to sit in an actual seat, but I was slightly bummed by the move away from AI. I always thought it was cool to watch the players walk through the stands and down to the ice in the practice rink. You were much closer to the action, but no big deal. At least camp is open to the public, right?

(One thing before I get into the analysis, if any of you see people in other teams jerseys at camp, shut up. Don't be an idiot and start yelling thing at them. I saw this several times today and I was annoyed. We're already disliked across the league. Don't give them ammo by being a jerk.)

Moving on. With the expanded roster for camp, the team was split into two groups. First up after the jump is Group A.

Continue reading this post »

JEN:

It's. Finally. Here. YES, people! Training Camp has arrived. We've got all the coverage you asked for and some you didn't. After practice each day, we'll bring you a recap of the day's events. (If you happen to see any of us around the rink, come up and introduce yourself. We don't bit...well, Daniel...nevermind.)

Before I set off for Honda Center, let's take a look at the official 2011 Training Camp Roster, and some of the big stories going into the first day of organized activities.

Continue reading this post »

ARTHUR:
Yesterday, the Ducks released the final part of their 2010-11 Ducks Training Camp All Access series, and we've collected all three parts for you after the jump.

It's an impressive effort by the Ducks' video crew and announcer/narrator Phil Hulett, but I think it ultimately feels scattered. There were just too many plots that they set out to cover and imbue with HBO's dramatic style, far too many to present and frame in their 20 minute running time. Still, I'm glad they did it, very glad, and I hope it opens the door for more series like it.

Editor's Note: Jen alerted me last night that she, Sleek and I are actually in the background of the third video at the 3:00 mark.

Continue reading this post »