Ducks, fed up with postseason disappointments, put in work at training camp

Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler spoke softly, as he usually does, but his firm resolve came through loud and clear.

Asked whether the team has brought a different attitude into training camp than it carried into previous seasons — the last three of which ended in Game 7 playoff losses — Fowler made it clear he’s not willing to fall back into the same, old pattern of good regular seasons followed by postseason disappointments.

“The people that we brought in and the people that have been here and been through what we’ve gone through the last couple years, we’re kind of fed up with it,” he said Saturday at Anaheim Ice. “And we feel like if we put the work in now, and even if it’s so early, but what we’re doing right now will prepare us for the rest of the season. That’s the mind-set that we have.”

Fowler was noticeably sharp in Saturday’s scrimmages, as were forwards Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. For Fowler, at his sixth Ducks training camp, trying to get a quick jump is a deliberate change. It’s significant, too, that he’s leading by example and willing to be a strong if soft voice on the ice and off.

“This year I worked extremely hard in the summer to make sure I was ready for these first days of camp,” he said. “In the past years I would kind of take camp to slowly work my way into things, but I didn’t want to do that this year. I wanted to come in right from the start and feel like I was in midseason form.

“There’s obviously things I can continue to do to improve, but I feel good right now and the group as a whole looks good. The pace is really fast out there and guys are competing and you need that attitude right away, right now, if we want to get to where we want to be late in the playoffs.”

Fowler played well last spring, collecting two goals, 10 points and a plus-5 defensive rating in 16 games, and he hopes to build on that this season.

“I gained a lot of confidence from my play in the playoffs last year. I kind of proved to myself that when it came down to crunch time and the team needed something to happen I felt like I was there. I just felt like my game elevated a little bit in the playoffs,” he said.

“These last few seasons I’ve had a lot to learn, but I always feel like I have more to give, and so I came in this season really ready to just try and be the best I can be for my teammates. I just have a little different attitude than I’ve had the last couple years. It’s hard to explain but I feel like it’s my time to show what I can do and be one of the leaders, especially on the back end. That’s all I’m focused on doing right now.”

Easy as three-on-three

The scrimmage included three-on-three play, part of the team’s preparation for the new overtime format that will be in effect this season. It was fast and exciting -- and strange to see when they skated on the Olympic-size ice surface, which is 15 feet wider than NHL specifications.

Fowler, an excellent skater, looked comfortable in the three-on-three format but said everyone will need time to adjust.

“You’re going to see teams focused on puck possession as the main thing. There were times out there where you maybe didn’t have a play when you got into the offensive zone and at those times, even if you have to bring it back all the way to your own end or pass it to the goalie, you don’t want to give up the puck possession three-on-three because it’s hard to get the puck back if it gets turned over,” he said. “Then you can see if you go down and take a shot and miss the net there could be a three-on-one, two-on-one the other way. So there’s a lot of things that come into play and I’m sure we’ll get some more practice on it so we can learn what to do and what not to do in that situation.”

Silfverberg said he enjoys the new format, which was adopted in hopes of resolving games before they went to a shootout.

“It’s a lot of space but I like it. I think it opens up to finish in overtime,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure you play man-on-man. You can’t let your guy go because that opens up a lot. I think the players are going to enjoy it. I think the fans are going to enjoy it. I think it’s a good change.”

Coach Bruce Boudreau said he and his staff are formulating how they will approach three-on-three play and said every team likely is determining its best three-man combinations.

“On Olympic ice, it was pretty wide open. You can see that goals are going to happen,” he said. “If some team gets a break, the other team is getting a break. If you don’t score on our chances, you’re going to be in trouble... We think we’ve got some guys that are really good skaters and are going to really like the open ice and they can handle the puck so it might be fun.”

Notes

Defenseman Clayton Stoner (upper-body injury) sat out for the second straight day. Boudreau said Stoner is about three or four days away from being able to participate in camp.

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen