Rick Bowness calls out two Blue Jackets players over their conditioning at training camp
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness said two unnamed players arrived at training camp with sub-par conditioning, and he's clearly still frustrated about it.
Rick Bowness isn't hiding how he feels about the start of Blue Jackets training camp.
The veteran coach told reporters this week that while most of his roster showed up in great shape, a couple of guys did not, and that's a problem he doesn't plan to let slide.
Bowness didn't name the players, but he made his frustration clear.
He pointed to the end-of-season exit meetings back in April, where he says he was direct with every player about what he expected heading into the summer.
For him, those face-to-face conversations carry far more weight than any text message or phone check-in that happened over the offseason months.
Protected by the three-hour rule
What's making this even more frustrating for Bowness right now is timing.
Under the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement, players are limited to three hours of on-ice work per day during the first four days of camp, with fitness testing banned entirely league wide.
That rule is giving the two conditioning holdouts a temporary shield from the kind of hard skating Bowness would otherwise be putting them through this week.
"They're saved by the (NHL's) three-hour (training camp) rules.”
- Rick Bowness
- Rick Bowness
Once that window closes, Bowness made it sound like accountability is coming for both players.
He didn't specify exactly what steps he'll take, but the message to his locker room was unmistakable and impossible to miss.
A pattern with this coaching staff
This isn't the first time Bowness has called out effort level in Columbus.
He was pointed about the team's compete level late last season too, so this feels like a continuation of a larger culture push as the Blue Jackets try to build consistency heading into a new campaign.
Fans online have already started speculating about who the players might be, though nothing is confirmed and Bowness was deliberate about keeping identities private for now.
Also read on House Of Hockey :
Connor Hellebuyck's leaked trade list creates a major problem for the Jets
Connor Hellebuyck's leaked trade list creates a major problem for the Jets