Legs burning after Maple Leafs coach’s annual skating marathon

Legs burning after Maple Leafs coach’s annual skating marathon

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Yes, Toronto is a great place to play hockey, except on the first workday of a Sheldon Keefe training camp.

After a leisurely Wednesday, including a photo shoot for team promotion, both groups of 20-odd players were subjected to Keefe’s traditional skating marathon, end-to-end, stops and starts for about 20 minutes, leaving many hanging over the boards.

“It’s not easy, it’s built to be miserable and it is,” the coach said. “We like to lead with the hard things. Playing and winning in the NHL is not an easy thing to do as we know very well. But each year we’ve done it, I’ve been impressed how the guys got through. Then we re-group, have a meeting and get to practice. I’m impressed with the pace that follows such a grueling experience.

“We had a lot of new guys go through it for the first time. You’re watching how they handle it, a mental test more than anything.”

Excused from Thursday’s skating exercise was defenceman TJ Brodie. Keefe noted the passing of his father Jay a few weeks ago in Dresden, Ont., meant he was behind in pre-camp conditioning and it would’ve been unfair to drive him too hard on Day One.

lhornby@postmedia.com

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