Murray, on Day 2

Here are Terry Murray’s thoughts regarding the second day of training camp…

Question: Anything in particular stand out in your mind today?

MURRAY: “What really stands out in the first couple days is the tempo, the pace, the hard work that’s going on. We’re down to three groups here today, so you’ve got a lot of reps happening, and very demanding practices, and the guys are getting through it and finishing it off with a very hard skate. The bottom line is, I’m real pleased with the way the players have come to camp. The conditioning level has been outstanding.”

Question: Drew Doughty looks to be a little more slim than last season. Have you noticed an improvement in conditioning?

MURRAY: “He’s put a lot of time in, in the offseason, working out. He looks good. He’s maturing physically, and that’s a good thing for us. I’m looking for him to take a big bite of the minutes again, every night, and play at a high level on a consistent basis. It’s a good indication that he’s hungry to take more minutes.”

Question: How has Willie Mitchell looked in the first couple days?

MURRAY: “Willie Mitchell looks really good. He’s very competitive. He’s a big guy who does a lot of things very well out there for us. I take into consideration that he’s been off the ice for a long time. When you have the forecheck pressure coming at you, it’s happening quickly. I think he’s readjusting to that kind of look, to get back on the ice at a competitive level very well.”

Question: Do you have any thoughts on how you’d like the fourth line to look? It seems as though you have some options there…

MURRAY: “Our philosophy, as an organization, is that we’d like to have that gritty, heavy line as a fourth line. That, to me, is important to me in this game today, to have a comfort zone for our skill players to be able to do the things that they want to do. There’s a couple of different options that I’m looking at. Westgarth seems to me to be the guy that we’re looking for on the right side. In the middle and on the left side, there’s going to be a real competitive battle, throughout the training camp, to see who is going to get established in that look.”

Question: Do you consider Schenn and Loktionov to be part of that mix, or are they took young to be considered for a role like that?

MURRAY: “I don’t think Schenn and Loktionov are too young. They’re both really good players. Loktionov has got a year under his belt at the pro level. Schenn is one of those world-class young players. I feel very comfortable with him, coming into the training camp and putting him in exhibition games to play against top guys. I want to do that, to see how he’s going to respond to it. It’s something I’m going to watch closely.”

Question: Would you consider using a young guy like that in a fourth-line role?

MURRAY: “Younger players, I would put in a fourth-line role, just to get them acclimated to the league and playing minutes, to be kind of that puck-possession, grinding line, and still have the ability to make plays and put points on the board. I’ve done it in the past, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if it came down to that.”