Critchlow ready for first pre-season test

Manchester Storm head coach Cameron Critchlow says he’s enjoyed seeing his team come together again as the first week of training camp comes to an end.

The Storm players are currently putting in the hours before the start of the Elite League season in two weeks, but get to test themselves against Coventry Blaze at the Skydome on Saturday night first in pre-season.

And for Critchlow, he couldn’t be happier at the progression of his group over the last few days before the trip to fave Kevin Moore’s side.

It’s going very well,

Manchester Storm Head Coach, Cam Critchlow

Watching the group progress throughout the week, they’re getting better and better each day, which is the expectation.

The guys all had their fitness tests last week and it was clear they had worked hard over the summer.  It showed and it’s something you can’t really fake so I was pleased at that.

It’s also been good to get some eyes on the new guys and they’ve been impressive so far, with that mix of the returning nucleus of our team, it’s been fun to watch develop.

As a coach, you can see the on-ice product when new guys come into things and off-ice, it’s all them.

We’ve brought in some good pros and good people and you see that progression naturally.  Good people attracts more good people and good things and you want that positivity flowing.  It’s an exciting time of the year for sure.

While fans continue to count the days until the return to the AO Arena next Sunday, the game against the Blaze will be the first opportunity to see the team in action - the first time since the play-off finals weekend in April.

Critchlow has his eyes on a confidence-boosting victory, but admits there are other things he wants to see in Coventry.

Saturday is about getting the rust off to be honest,

he added

I think if you ask any player - and as someone who was playing not too long ago myself - I remember those games as the ones where you can test yourself and see where you’re at.

It’s about getting the guys out there, get the blood pumping, get moving again, build some chemistry within themselves, see how they’ve adapted in a game situation and fine tune it from there.

With our roster, it’s extremely deep and it’s a good time for the guys to showcase themselves, show what they can do and how they play within a team format.

There are lot of guys with a lot of opportunities.  You look at the young group just now, I thought Rais Francis and Connor Lee showed some big steps.  There’s been some exponential growth there and not just with them.

That’s our next wave and we need those to keep growing and working.  There’s a reason we have them around the group and it’s exciting to see that mix of the young and the old, the vets with the rookies, the new guys and the returning guys. It’s fun to see how that’s going to progress.

But we always expect to win.  No matter what you’re playing, you hate to lose and that’s what we’re looking to develop here.

We already have that culture so we’re looking to fine tune it.  The lines have to be thinner and the margins smaller and that has to be our mentality.

You don’t just show up to go through it.  You want to go in there and make your mark.  That’s what good teams are capable of.  There will be mistakes made, but that’s what these games are for.  It’s more about development, seeing where we’re at and going from there.

Tickets available for our pre-season #Homecoming game on Sunday 6th September are available here. You can watch our pre-season game in Coventry on Saturday 29th August here.