Hanchuck ready for year three
BRAMPTON, Ont. – Tyler Hanchuck may have just finished playing several weeks of intense, high level hockey at the Montreal Canadiens training camp, but the veteran defenceman is now ready to play some more intense, high level hockey, this time at the OHL level.
“With all of our guys back we´re starting to click as a team,” says the outgoing Sault Ste. Marie native who was selected by the Habs in the third round (76th overall) of the 2000 NHL Draft. “We´ve had some good practices but we´re still so busy we haven´t been able to settle down and get into a routine yet. But we are so lucky to have so many guys get a chance to go to camps. It helps everybody.”
Hanchuck, who upon his arrival in Brampton, found that most of his luggage was still in Montreal, describes his time with the Canadiens as “the best thing for me. I learned a lot and met a lot of great guys there. I played with a lot of pros and learned that hockey is all about speed. It´s like hockey anywhere else except it´s five times faster and it’s a lot tougher.”
The rugged blueliner says the feedback he got from the Montreal brass was positive.
“They want me to keep getting stronger and work on my skating. They want me to play more physically and keep on taking care of my own end. Basically they want me to continue doing what I´m doing.
“When I get on the ice I just try to focus on what I´m supposed to be doing,” he continues. “I´m trying to keep things at a high tempo, and I´ll keep going hard and things will work out for me. I´m not going to try and be something I´m not but I´m going to try and improve my offensive skills but I´m going to keep doing what the team needs me to do.”
Hanchuck hasn´t had much of an opportunity to play with the latest crop of Battalion rookies but he has been impressed with what he has seen so far.
“I see a lot of talent in those guys,” he says. “They are so mature they won´t be considered rookies for long. On the ice they are working really hard. Guys will have to earn their icetime and there will be competition for spots all year long.”
The defensive-minded Hanchuck, who is still looking for his first OHL goal, has been paired with rookie Cory LeClair in practice and Hanchuck feels that it might be the beginning of a productive partnership.
“We get along really well on the ice,” notes Hanchuck. “I was with Jason Maleyko in my first year and he taught me so much and I hope I can do the same for Cory.”
