from Stephen Whyno of the CP at CityNews,

Teams have physicals and other off-ice activities scheduled for Wednesday and the first on-ice sessions Thursday.

For teams featuring new coaches — John Tortorella with the Vancouver Canucks, Alain Vigneault with the New York Rangers, Lindy Ruff with the Dallas Stars and Dallas Eakins with the Edmonton Oilers — training camp is the first taste of change. As he did when in charge of the Rangers, Tortorella sent a letter to Canucks players detailing what fitness testing would be like, and strength trainers sent videos of what it looked like.

“I heard we need two ice sheets just for the tests,” centre Ryan Kesler said. “I heard it’s tough. It’s going to be rigorous, he even says that. I’ve been doing it this summer and, yeah, it’s not fun. I think that’s going to be the mindset though. We’re going to work hard, some days aren’t going to be fun, but it’s for the better of the team.”

One benefit of the new collective bargaining agreement being in place and an 82-game season on the horizon is that teams will get more than a cursory glance at players, which was the case in January. There are more mandatory off days and limits on ice time under this CBA, which changes a little bit from previous years.

Camps are limited to 20 days for veterans, and each player is required to have two days off.

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