Stars Open House

I was going to share a shot of center ice with you folks, as I took one with my camera phone while I was skating at the American Airlines Center today. But, the forces that negotiate transfers via Bluetooth from phone to Mac are not being cooperative today. So phooey.

But, I did attend the Open House the Stars held this morning, and watched Dave Tippett run the players through their workouts. Also, snagged two tickets for an upcoming game (Oct. 29th - Dallas faces Minnesota). AND, got to skate on the ice at the AAC. Altogether a pretty productive Saturday morning!

The attendance at the event looked pretty good. I don't know if there were a thousand people there, but if you counted the kids that were in attendance as full-sized individuals, then I think you could make an argument for it. I didn't make it in until 10:30, by which time the players had all taken the ice and run a few drills. I was hoping for a small scrimmage, but no such luck. Everyone seemed pretty loose, and it was a lot of fun watching the younger players really enjoy the camp. In particular, I noticed James Neal, B.J. Crombeen and Chris Conner all picking at one another about missed goals and one-timers on one particular goal. I mention this because I think it's a good sign. When the young players are at ease enough to let loose and joke around a bit, but still really work and put 100% effort into the practices, it shows that the veterans have done a good job in making them feel welcome, and allowing them to put nerves aside more than usual. At least, that's my take on it.

Another note - the ice in the AAC in September is every bit as bad as the ice in the AAC in June. The surface was really carved up, and the Zamboni did what it could between the practice and the public skate, but it just wasn't cold enough to refreeze the surface completely. Hopefully it will improve in the next couple of weeks!