Phantoms bonding in first week of training camp

YOUNGSTOWN PHANTOMS

Team bonding big part of camp

By RYAN JONES

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BOARDMAN — For the Youngstown Phantoms and coach Bob Mainhardt, training camp has been more than a set of conditioning drills.

With a roster that features 23 newcomers and only two returning veterans, the Phantoms have spent much their first week at camp building team camaraderie.

“It’s kind of been a crash course team builder,” said Mainhardt about the training camp. “We’ve kept the guys here at the Ice Zone all week. They’ve been eating, sleeping and practicing here.”

The Youngstown Phantoms, who replace the Mahoning Valley Phantoms (2005-2009) of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), will make their debut in Tier I of the United States Hockey League (USHL) this fall.

The USHL is America’s only Tier I hockey league and considered a premier developer of National Hockey League talent.

Mainhardt said training camp has focused on finding ways to make the new players feel at home.

“We’ve got 23 players that are brand new to the organization and it’s been an exciting training camp getting those guys together for the first time,” he said. “Typically we have 10 to 12 returning players, but this week has really been about the new guys getting to know each other and opening up. It can be especially tough for someone coming into a competitive situation to let their guard down. However, I think this week has been really valuable in that regard.”

Mainhardt said his squad has had two on-ice practices each day and numerous off-ice sessions this week.

“They work with speed trainers during off-ice training,” he said. “It’s a lot of agility, plyometrics and working with muscle groups that are specific for hockey — a lot of cutting edge type stuff as far as training goes.”

Newcomer Jefferson Dahl, who played last season in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers, was selected by the Phantoms in this year’s expansion draft. He said the competition during training has been fun.

“Everyone is competing for a spot out here,” he said. “It’s been a good time getting to know everyone and learning where they are from and what their backgrounds are.”

Dahl said spending all their time at the Ice Zone has brought the players closer.

“It’s a different training camp experience,” he said. “Everyone is tired by the end of the day and to sleep on a sleeping bag or air mattress isn’t the thing you want to be doing, but it’s a lot of fun hanging out with the guys at night and playing soccer or X-Box.”

For returning player Cole Schneider, camp has been about introducing his new teammates to their surroundings.

“I’ve been telling them what the coaches like to see and what they don’t like,” he said. “I’ve shown them around a little bit. I’ve just passed on everything that I was shown last year as a rookie.”

Even though the Phantoms are entering their first year in the USHL they plan on being successful.

“We’ve had a pretty hard training camp, but Coach has beaten it into our heads that we’re going to find a way to win,” Schneider said. “It’s looking like we’re going to be better team … bigger and faster at every position.”

Added Mainhardt, “We feel through the draft that we’ve gotten the talent we need to succeed. We need to gel and then we need them to buy into the game plan and to learn our systems. We don’t plan on being a typical expansion team; we plan on being a competitor right out of the gate.”

Standard practice begins next Monday and lasts four weeks. The Phantoms will play in the Fall Classic the last weekend of September in Sioux City, Iowa. The classic features three preseason games that are attended by many NHL scouts.

The Phantoms open regular season play against the Indiana Ice on Oct. 3, at the Covelli Centre.