LEWISTON – There are plenty of cliches that surround first impressions, and they’re all true. At least, they are to the scouts observing Day 1 of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ training camp on Wednesday.
“This is their dream, their passion, their life,” said Maineiacs head coach and general manager Clem Jodoin. “I told them before everything started that they have to sell themselves.
“They have to be selling something, because we are buying, and we have to want to buy what they are selling. We want them to make it hard for us to make a decision at the end. It’s important that we know about them. Don’t look for excuses, make us want to keep you.”
After one set of practices Wednesday morning and one intrasquad game Wednesday night, Jodoin and his staff liked what they saw.
“I was impressed by the intensity in practice this morning,” said Jodoin. “I was impressed by the execution tonight. Our young players from last year, let me tell you, what a difference in them already.”
And for those worried that one bad game, one bad first impression may have soured the scouts, not to worry.
“I told them that they have all five games to show us what they have,” said Jodoin. “It’s not just one game, so we have enough time.”
Some players will indeed pack their bags after just 48 hours to protect any remaining college eligibility, but that number is likely to be small – maybe four or five players.
“It’s just starting,” said Jodoin, “but so far, we like what we are seeing.”
Eyes in the sky
The spies were out in force at the Colisee on Wednesday night.
With some of the team’s scouts manning the benches for the intrasquad game, the rest of the staff fanned out across the arena to get unique looks at the players.
Jodoin set up shop in the far left corner of the building, near the Zamboni’s entrance to the ice. Assistant coaches Ed Harding and Jeff Guay occupied the press box for a center ice view, and team owner and president Mark Just sat behind the far goal. Other scouts fanned out, too, making sure to get different views.
Welcome back
A casual walk through the Colisee during the afternoon hours this week is enough to make any Maineiacs fan a bit nostalgic. On the ice, helping out with the Lewiston Maineiacs’ hockey camp this week are several team alumni.
Sheldon Wenzel, who spent the summer in Maine and who will suit up this season with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the ECHL, skated back and forth, showing off a newfound speed and a chiseled abdomen. At 214 pounds, Wenzel has dropped 10 pounds since the end of last season, and a total of 25 pounds since arriving at camp two years ago.
Joining Wenzel on the ice this week are Francis Trudel, the first and still only, captain the team has ever had in Lewiston, and Gabriel Balasescu, who was an alternate captain in 2003-04.
Other local players teaching this week include Jamie Gilbert, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Joe Dumais, a senior at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
The school, in its second year, integrates off-ice training and games with on-ice drills and practices for a group of local youth hockey players.
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