Vancouver Canucks are back! Which means every other club from around the NHL are back as well! Hockey is back!

After the UBC Thunderbirds left the ice the Zamboni driver came out and cleaned the ice for the Vancouver Canucks!

I took a picture on September 14th, the day before the lockout began. It showed full water bottles prepared by Vancouver Canuck training staff. Throughout the lockout players were bringing there own drinks and sometimes the UBC trainers would leave extra bottles for players. I took these full water bottles prepared for the players by Canuck staff a sign of relief. Everyone is getting back to work!

And so practice begins...................

Wow!  How exciting it this!  Nearly the entire Vancouver Canuck Club was back in Vancouver Thursday.  That means nearly the entire rosters from other clubs around the NHL are back to work!  

The energy at practice yesterday all fun, smiles and work work work.  I won't go on about the entire practice but here are the important parts:

!) The coach to start practice was Manny Malhotra.  After skating with his team for about 20 minutes and yelling out drills, Coach Dragicevic made an appearance.  After spending an hour on the ice with UBC, Coach D was back on the ice 30 minutes later with the Canucks

2) Who know Keith Ballard was so funny?  This was my first time seeing Ballard skate and he was having a good time.  Ballard was high fiving the trainers and chatting their ears off.  Whenever I saw him on the ice he was poking his stick at some teammate making a comment and getting his buddies to laugh

3) After practice ended everyone  got into their street clothes except Daniel and Henrik Sedin.  They got into workout clothes and left the building.  I am guessing they were either going on a jog or back to the gym?

4) Zack Kassian skated but not with the team.  He skated on a rink across the hallway.  Other Canucks skating at practice were Volpatti, Burrows, Raymond, Tanev and Ebbett

5) I believe no matter what NHL team you cheer for it is going to be a great season!  This season is called a sprint.  Instead of the usual 82 games, teams will be playing 48.  Which means 4 games a week and no room for injury or error.  If I could I would travel all over North America taking pictures of other teams. Since I can't right now enjoy these photos and video.  Don't miss the funny funny Keith Ballard video below!  Again, who knew he had such great comedic timing!  Enjoy X

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Jannik Hansen and Chris Tanev talk on the bench during practice. Both are favourites of mine. I love Jannik's work ethic and Chirs is a hard worker. Last year he was between the AHL and NHL but this year that full time spot is in arms reach for him.

I didn't see this during the lockout. Here Manny Malhotra skated to the trainers and had his skates maintained. I will be doing research on skates. It is crazy how technical it gets. Soon after Manny left Chris Higgins had his skates maintained.

Two of these things are not like the other? The trainers who you can thank for the water bottles, sticks, skates and everything else the players may need during practice are sitting on the bench. Jon Sanderson is on the left and he is an assistant Athletic Trainer and Brian Hamilton is on the right and he is an equipment assistant.

Yesterday I was saying Coach Dragicevic was running drills with Canucks when he could be prepping games for the Thunderbirds or taking a break. Case in point yesterday. Coach D was skating on the ice with his Thunderbirds for an hour. I watched him walk off the ice and then 30 minutes later he was getting a recap of practice from Manny Malhotra and stepped onto the ice and coached the Canucks for an hour! Can we say work ethic?

Players get instruction......

Players take their positions......

The puck is dropped and they are off!

I am pretty sure I have mention this before but I love love love Aaron Volpatti. Ladies listen up he is so handsome the camera does not do this man justice. Volpatti is the only Canuck to ever sport the #54. He is a 4th liner which means he isn't scared to chuck nuckles. Besides his extreme good looks Volpatti also gives the best answers during interviews. It never fails he always makes me laugh with his answers.

When I said Coach D makes his players do tons of push ups I wasn't lying. Case in point.................and this was only half of it!

In one drill the players got very physical. Here Kevin Bieksa gets thrown against the boards. The players were working on digging the puck out of the corners. The sound of the players hitting glass was a sound I missed. The glasses rattles, the skates cut the ice and the players are yelling. It is full of action!

Chris Higgins is one Canuck who has remained in Vancouver for the most part throughout the lockout. Here Higgins takes a breather while watching the play unfold during a drill.

Cory Schneider has a focus I feel only goalies have. The fans are always so so so excited to see him and Schneider seems to be one of the nicest guys on the team.

Getting physical. Dan Hamhuis digs the puck out of the corner while Aaron Volpatti keeps his eyes on the puck.

Alex Burrows was back in town. Burrows is a fan favourite here in Vancouver. Fans were asking for autographs and pictures. Burrows also took time out to talk to the press on a more personal level. After watching Lapierre and Hansen get grilled by the press eariler this week, yesterday it was Burrows turn.

Fans, fans and more fans. There was no shortage of fans at practice Thursday!

Group Water Break!

A few guys had to switch jerseys during practice. Dale Weise opted to get on the ice for a period of time without one. I am guessing he was "Team Dark" He put his white jersey back on a while later.

New sticks for the players to try. The 1st player I saw Thursday was David Booth looking at the sticks. He ended up using a stick, gloves and skated during the practice. The rep for the company was kind enough to answer all the questions I had about the equipment. Who knew there were different styles of gloves, so many different skate blades and ways to sharpen a skate?!?!

David Booth was the last player off the ice. Here he is testing skates, gloves and a stick.

Press was all over David Booth. Booth was asked every question from his gym routine, hiking, hunting, Ohio and Michigan. It was nutty!

Ladies! This was as far in the locker room that I got Thursday. The sticks were lined up against the wall. I watched a bunch of players leave after practice and also watched players find towels and what I think was shampoo for showering. Mason Raymond was not shy about walking through the crown in only a towel. That gave me a laugh. I know there are some huge Raymond fans in town and yes he looks great in just a towel!

The beloved puck bag! Still at practice! And that is a wrap on practice! See you next time