PAUL BUCZKOWSKI       Bio       Setting Goals       Respect       Back to School       Professionalism       Those in the know       Turn It Positive       Finding a Job       Eye Protection       Playing Injured       Gearing Up       WCHL vs. CHL       Europe v. N.A.       Specific Training       Training Camps       Road to Success       Dedication       Life in the WHL SANDY LAMARRE       Bio       Season to Forget       College vs. Junior       Sportsmanship       Game Prep       Conditioning FORBES MACPHERSON       Making the Jump BRIAN PATAFIE       Bio       Stretching       ICE PATRICK POWERS       Is Hockey Just a Sport? ANDREW ZOPPO       Be Tenacious
	PlayYourGame.com is proud to welcome Paul Buczkowski as a feature writer. From the WHL to the NHL, Paul will bring insight to every aspect of the game, as a sport and as a career. Training Camps By Paul Buczkowski October 11, 2000 This is the time of the year when training camps are finally over and the regular season is about to begin. I have just completed my twelfth professional camp, and I am happy it is over. This season I am playing for the San Antonio Iguanas of the Central Hockey League in Texas. This is my first year in this league, and I am looking forward to it. Having experienced three NHL, four AHL, one ECHL, three professional camps in Germany, and now one CHL camp in my career, I have noticed a few different things. First of all, the caliber: The caliber of these five different types of camps varies in different ways. The NHL camps are obviously the best hockey in the world, and the players know that if they want to stay there they will do whatever is necessary. I have found out that the intensity in ALL the camps is roughly the same, but the biggest thing that separates the best from the worst is "hockey smarts". Throughout all of these camps, I have noticed superior athletes in prime condition with all the tools to be successful, and at the end of training camp, their names are off the list of the players that make the team. The probable cause: Not enough hockey smarts. I have played with a player who had over 75 goals in the WHL and was released each year, because he couldn't play his position and was a defensive liability. He knew how to score but did not acquire the skill to play without the puck. (By this I mean getting open for a pass, playing the defensive side of a player in the defensive end, etc.) A lot of players are generally in the same physical condition with few exceptions, but it is the thoughts, actions without the puck, the players who study the best players in the world, and the team guys that usually end up with their names carved in stone for the team that they are trying out for. Sure size, strength, timing, and personality play a role as well, but if I was a coach and had two identical players with different types of games, I would choose the one with the hockey smarts 100% of the time, because I know he will be able to adapt to any given situation at any given time. My advice is pick a player that suits the type of player that you want to play like and watch him play a game. Watch him not only with the puck but also when he doesn't have it as well. Watch the way he checks and angles in the defensive zone and how he drives to the net without the puck in the offensive end. "I found out that if you are going to win games, you had better be ready to adapt." - Detroit Red Wings Coach Scotty Bowman Paul Buczkowski 1 Year ECHL 3 Years Europe 6 Years WHL
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