Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – During the one week quarantine period the Buffalo Sabres' players and staff went through, the team kept the players busy in many ways.
There were, of course, Zoom meetings and film study, but Eric Staal said the team dropped off exercise bikes and synthetic ice for the guys to use.
Staal did not bring his family from Minnesota to Buffalo, because he didn’t want to uproot his kids during a shortened season.
Staal set up the synthetic ice on the second floor of his apartment and found a unique way to use it while connecting with his children.
“I did some FaceTime with my kids and would stickhandle on the plastic ice, come up with a drill and they would do it themselves at our house," Staal said on Thursday following practice. "It made me use the ice quite a bit, so it was pretty fun to do that.”
That, of course, wasn’t all Staal did to stay in shape. He was able to add more to his routine.
“I was on the bike, there were home workouts trying to make sure that you stay on top of that, because a week is a week and if you’re doing nothing, that can catch up to you,” Staal said.
After a full week off the ice, Tuesday’s practice wasn’t the best, but after three days at practice, Staal said he’s feeling back to normal.
“I actually feel pretty good," he said. "I didn’t feel very good the first day, but after the last two, my energy’s up. I did what I could to make sure I stayed sharp and watched a lot of hockey and made sure I’m ready to go.”
Staal isn’t going to complain, because there are people in this world that are struggling a lot more than athletes are. The 36-year-old realizes that, and said they just need to do whatever they can.
“At this point, it just is what it is," he explained. "It’s difficult for numerous different fields and numerous different people, and we’re navigating as best we can.
“We’re trying to play a contact sport in an arena where we’re breathing hard and competing. It’s a possibility. That’s just the reality of it, and it’s a risk.”
Of course, Staal misses his family and wishes they could be in Buffalo with him. He did say that now that he’s gotten to know his new teammates, if he had to be away from home, he’s glad it’s here.
“Coming here has been a lot of fun," Staal said. "This is a good group of young guys, there’s a great energy coming here.”
With Ralph Krueger out with COVID-19, assistant coach Steve Smith has run the three practices this week. Smith said he has no idea if Krueger will be able to coach Monday against the New York Islanders.
He also doesn’t know if they’ll get any of the nine players on the NHL's COVID-19 Protocols list back. Smith did say that after taking Friday off, they will have more bodies on Saturday, because players will be called up from the Rochester Americans.
The Sabres practiced on Thursday with 10 forwards, five defensemen and three goalies. One of the forwards, C.J. Smith, practiced on defense to make everything even.
Forwards:
Sheahan – Staal – Reinhart
Skinner – Eakin – Okposo
Olofsson – Eichel – Thompson
Defense:
Davidson – Miller
Smith – Borgen
Irwin – Jokiharju
