Preseason is always a crucial period in every season, despite it happening before the opening night puck drop. A contending team’s aspirations can only be measured by how seriously they have taken every step of the process, by judging the amount of effort the collective unit poured into drills, on-ice prep, off-ice prep and personal life hygiene. As the newly voted Captain of the Los Angeles Panthers, Derek Martin does not take this lightly, and as such feels more compelled than every to be an example of rigourous and disciplined training,. Its all about routine and making sure everything is done right, from personal life elements (diet, sleep, personal hygiene, mental balance) to hockey related elements (gym training, cardio drills, puckhandling drills, etc.) This said, he’s taken a few steps to also build team chemistry, namely paying for team meals, planning team outings to axe throwing places, mini-golf, team hikes, golf games and just generally providing ample opportunity for team bonding. Let’s hope this works well!