The way Ricky Koivu likes to prepare before a new season is simply by unwinding and having some time for fun and self reflection. The Forge seasons are always hard battled and long due to a tight divisional race against several other strong teams, but then on top of that they have to kick it up a notch for several weeks for their playoff pushes. As such, Koivu as he gets older in his career likes to spend his break time going back to see family in Montreal, as well as hang out with his brothers across the league. As for what he is working on for his on ice product, Koivu is very set on working on his conditioning. As he gets older, Ricky's stamina and ability to log big minutes is not quite at a level he is satisfied with, so he is spending a lot of time this offseason making sure he still has the legs to be an effective contributor at both even strength and on the penalty kill. (173 words)