RECAPPING THE FIRST WEEK OF AMERKS TRAINING CAMP
Oct 7, 2022By Suzie Cool
We’re exactly one week away from the Rochester Americans opening their 67th season in the American Hockey League and there is so much to look forward to.
If the first week of Training Camp has taught us anything, it’s just that. From the newcomers impressing the coaching staff to the competitiveness of practices and two preseason games that lie ahead, it’ll be fun to watch this team open up the 2022-23 campaign at The Blue Cross Arena on Oct. 14 against the Toronto Marlies.
Heading into a weekend full of preseason action, we caught up with Amerks head coach Seth Appert to get his thoughts on camp, first impressions and how the team will be lining up when they hit the ice on Saturday and Sunday. Here’s what Appert had to say:
ON HIS OVERALL IMPRESSIONS ON TRAINING CAMP THUS FAR:
It’s been good. The work ethic and the competitiveness of the group has been real strong at camp. They seem to be getting a little more organized. I mean, the guys that were in Buffalo – we play basically the same systems and style – so they had a little bit of a head start on that. The guys that we have here from Cincinnati are now getting a little more accustomed to how we practice, how we want to play and the style of our game. You know, becoming more organized is a work in progress. It's going to take time. It'll take a few weeks to get really structured enough, but we want to give them enough so they can play freely this weekend and show what they're about individually and collectively.
ON WHO HAS BEEN IMPRESSIVE SO FAR IN CAMP:
We have an 18-year-old, three 19-year-old’s and then (Filip) Cederqvist who is only 22 and this is his first year in North America. That’s a lot. You're living away from home. You're in another country. For most of them, you're on a smaller ice sheet for the first time because the European ice sheets are bigger. So, they've all handled this week really well. They handled (Buffalo) camp really well. I think (Aleksandr) Kisakov has been really exceptional this week in practice, even in some of the battle areas, which has been great to see because that's a big adjustment for the European players
ON HOW THE LINEUPS WILL LOOK IN PRESEASON MATCHUPS:
Saturday, we'll probably have more of the invite guys in the lineup. They've been really good here. They deserve to have a game. They've earned that right to show what they have. A lot of these guys have played games in the American League before, so we want to take a look at them because we're going to need a lot of these guys at some point this year, as we learned last year with how many players we had. Sunday at home, probably be more of what our lineup looks like, more of the veterans, etc. So, that's kind of the thought process heading into the weekend.
The first full week of Training Camp practices are over, however, the Amerks have two preseason games on deck this weekend. This weekend’s matchups and opponents are as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 8
Morning skate at 10:20 a.m. – Blue Cross Arena
Preseason Game at Syracuse at 5 p.m. – Upstate Medical University Arena
Sunday, Oct. 9
Preseason Game vs. Utica at 5 p.m. – Blue Cross Arena
The Amerks final preseason matchup at home is open to the public. Tickets start at $12 and are on sale now, while Season Ticket Members can claim up to four free tickets, as an exclusive Season Ticket Member benefit.
Rochester opens its 67th American Hockey League season – and 41st as the primary affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres – on Friday, Oct. 14 at The Blue Cross Arena against the Toronto. Amerks Season Ticket Memberships for the 2022-23 season are on sale now. Season Ticket Memberships start as low as $15 per game and come with a number of Members-only perks and benefits. Full Season, Half Season and Quarter Season Membership options are all available. For more information on Amerks Season Tickets or to sign up today, visit www.amerks.com/memberships.