New-look Pirates hoping to bust out in 2010-11

Portland Pirates assistant coach Kent Hulst emphasized that, on Sept. 11 when the puck drops to start the regular season, his players will be ready to go.

Heading into the new season, Portland will only have five players returning from last year’s squad, which finished with a 10- 31-0-1 record.

“We’re going to have 10 local players from Maine and four from Virginia and a few from California,” Hulst said, of the 2010-11 roster. “I’m getting a lot of phone calls from players, especially those from Maine who are really excited and want to talk about the upcoming season.”

Besides evaluating the on-ice skills of the players during tryouts, Portland management also put lots of emphasis on interviews they held with those trying out so they can find out about the players’ education, goals and reasons for why they want to play for the Pirates.

“Education is a No. 1 priority. Our program is high on the academic side,” Hulst said. “We emphasize getting good grades.”

Looking ahead, Hulst believes that the rookies will need a few games to adjust to the speed of junior hockey. Another adjustment will come from being on the ice everyday and playing away from home.

“Every player has different skills,” Hulst said, about this year’s rookies. “Some have Exceptional hands, others play great defense. I think we’re going to have a solid team.”

Portland is not involved in any showcases this summer, but management doesn’t think that will be a disadvantage, since the team put together workout programs and sent them to the players.

Obviously, the coaches aren’t there to see that they are following the program, but as Hulst emphasized come Aug. 29 when camp starts, it will become evident who put in the rigorous work.

“Fitness is something we stress,” Hulst said, about the structure of the upcoming camp. “We do a lot of skating, systems and fundamentals. We haven’t sat down and talked about goals, but helping the kids improve, along with making the playoffs, are definitely high priorities.”

Currently, the local players are involved once a week in an informal league to stay in shape but besides that, there are no formal Pirates practices going on during the off-season.

Hulst believes that having so many intown players can be an advantage for the team going forward – not just now, but in the future as well.

“Younger kids will see how well players have done in their community and will want to follow,” Hulst said.

New England Huskies

Returning defenseman Fleming is physical, goal is improvement all around

Any coach that welcomes Branson Fleming onto their roster won’t have to worry about his commitment to off-ice training.

After all, being a personal trainer himself helps cement the fact that Fleming will be just fine in the weight room.

“I have my own training company called BoxxLV for youth hockey players, and that’s out of Allentown, Pa.,” said the 1990-born New England Jr. Huskies defenseman from Hellertown, Pa. “I run group training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, usually five to six players going through resistance, cardio, flexibility and reactive training. It’s all very hockey-specific. I just started this summer after getting my certification towards the end of last year.”

Fleming, who stood 6-feet-2-inches and weighed 195 pounds last season, is all about physicality and that’s what Huskies head coach/general manager Paul Jenkins wants from him.

“He’s not pretty on the ice – he’s a big, physical defenseman who can win a puck and make an outlet pass. He’s more of a pro-style defenseman, I would say,” said Jenkins. “I’m going to reward him this year [with a regular lineup spot], because he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do.”

One major request on the part of the Huskies in 2009-10 was that Fleming improve his skating. Jenkins first heard of Fleming from Michel Petit, a coach who works one-on-one with players in the Pennsylvania area after retiring from an 18-year NHL playing career.

“[Petit] told me that Branson is a big body and you just have to work him and give him a chance to play,” said Jenkins. “When he came to us last May, he couldn’t skate well. We told him, ‘Go back to Michel and work on your skating.’ By the time I saw him last July at the EJHL Showcase, he was looking like a whole new person.

“Now, I get to tell college coaches that I just had to tell him what to do, and he did it,” Jenkins added.

Fleming appreciates that Jenkins gave him a chance at the Jr. A level, so he “wouldn’t go anywhere else” to close out his junior career. He knows what his role will be.

“I like to play as a big, stay-at-home defenseman who plays the body,” he added. “I’m willing to throw the gloves down and hit people on the boards as much as possible.

“I’ve done a lot of training over the summer and improved my strength, my passing, my stickhandling and my shooting,” he added.