from Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun,

John Tortorella promised a tough training camp, and Vancouver Canucks players will tell you their new coach is a man of his word.

“It was pretty simple,” said defenceman Dan Hamhuis. “We skated in circles.”

Yes, they did, and without pucks. Round and round they went until there was no air left in their lungs and their legs absolutely burned from the lactic acid buildup. And then Tortorella asked them to skate some more.

Tortorella thinks he can learn a lot about a player who is physically exhausted and asked to push just a little bit harder. He likes to test the limits of his players and that basically was what happened Thursday at UBC.

Thursday’s session wasn’t just about determining what kind of shape his players are in, but how they react to adversity. Call it Willpower 101.

continued