from Adrew Gross of The Record,

It is September.

Seriously....

With that in mind, here’s a list of things that make this sports writer giddy with the opening of NHL training camps in a little more than two weeks (and with a large chunk of the league’s players already skating informally at their respective teams’ practice facilities):

* Getting reacquainted to the wondrous speed of the game. It always takes a few practices or preseason games to retrain the eye to keep up with the on-ice action, no matter how long you’ve been watching the sport. The breakneck pace of the sport is what gets lost in translation on television. Seeing the sport played live by the best hockey players in the world is truly a privilege....

* Watching the notoriously overbearing Toronto media lose its collective mind trying to deal with new Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello as he shuts down any leaks of information from within the organization.

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