Tortorella takes careful approach to this camp

There was no infamous 2-mile run to kick things off for the Blue Jackets on Monday morning. The number of bodies on hand, too, was a surefire sign that this wasn’t a typical opening to training camp.

But this is still coach John Tortorella we’re talking about.

So on the practice rink at the Ohiohealth Ice Haus on the first day they’ve all been together since midmarch, the Blue Jackets spent the final 20 minutes or so being put through their paces, with the idea to begin building some stamina for games that lie ahead.

“There’s no such thing as assuming anything but skating with Torts,” captain Nick Foligno said afterward. “We knew that was coming. I think all of us were good. I think we wanted it a little bit, to get in the swing of things.”

Known for his grueling preseason training camps that are heavy on skating and conditioning in the early going, coupled with a mandatory 2-mile timed run, Tortorella’s reputation as a camp constructor is well-earned. In a normal year, he would have the entire camp planned out a month or so in advance.

Now, as the Jackets eye a return to game action with a best-of-five playoff-qualifier series against Toronto, which begins Aug. 2 inside a quarantine bubble inside that city, Tortorella said he’s going to rely on what he

considers a healthy relationship with his players to determine how best to prepare for the series while keeping the bigger picture in mind.

“It’s not like when you come in September and you don’t want to hear any nonsense from them, (and) you just put them through their paces to see where they are condition-wise,” he said. “This is different. We’re going to try to get our team in the best shape possible, but we’ve got to be really careful not to injure them.

“One of the biggest points is I think we need coaches and players to collaborate after each day.”

That goes for the myriad players who are making their way back from injuryshortened seasons, but who have now been given a reprieve.

Much has been made about the number of games the Jackets have lost to injury during the pandemic-shortened season — a league-high 419 mangames, for those who might have forgotten — but as of Monday, all but two players were back and are full-go.

Only Josh Anderson (shoulder) and Brandon Dubinsky (wrist) weren’t with the team, and there remains hope that Anderson could yet return in time for the extended, 24-team Stanley Cup playoffs.

With essentially everyone healthy, Monday’s return to practice verged on a back-to-school feeling for the Jackets.

Foligno noted that it had been nearly six months since he had last skated with defenseman Seth Jones, who suffered an ankle injury on Feb. 8 that knocked him out for the remainder of the regular season. Tortorella said he could sense a renewed spirit of camaraderie as the players reported for a team meeting at noon that preceded practice.

“It’s a group that’s gone through a lot this year,” Tortorella said. “We are healthier. There’s going to be some healthy competition for some spots on our team. To be in a locker room setting again, although it’s different and you have to do some different things, it’s good to be back.”

Soon, though, the novelty will wear off and the grind will start to set in once again. Tortorella said the team’s only plan right now is to practice through Friday, take Saturday off, and formulate more plans along the way.

“We all know what to expect from Torts in his practices,” forward Cam Atkinson said. “We’ll all be getting back into hockey shape quickly in the next few days. Then I think we’ll really start focusing on systems and probably see some scrimmaging toward the end of the week to try to get that game-like mentality early on.” ajardy@dispatch.com @Adamjardy