The Pirates were on the ice for the first time this season as 34 players took part in the first day of training camp at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Immediately, one could begin to pick out the differences between the past affiliation with the Buffalo Sabres and the new guys in town in the Phoenix Coyotes.

But, before anyone begins with the “He’s bashing Buffalo” bit, allow me to explain.

The number of players in camp is a good place to start. Portland will see as many as 40 players in training camp over the next week, unlike with Buffalo when they barely fielded a team until a few days before opening night. Remember, it was only last season when the Pirates had to postpone a preseason game because there was a lack of players in camp. That won’t be an issue this year.

There is also a difference in how the operation is run from the Pirates having it’s own general manager in Brad Treliving down to the support staff on the ice working with Pirates head coach Ray Edwards, and off the ice as well.

It felt like the first day at a brand new school… Might I suggest name tags?

That wasn’t the case with former head coach Kevin Dineen as he primarily ran the show in town. He was the de facto GM, head coach and guidance counselor all in one. It made for some interesting discussions along the way.

Now, I’m sure those things will change with Buffalo in Rochester, but this is the new normal in Portland and the differences were certain noticeable.

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Today was a day for Ray Edwards to begin his evaluation of eight or nine players who may fill one to two open slots on the roster including former Pirates Igor Gongalsky, who is trying to land one of those positions.

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Here is a list of the 34 players attending training camp:

Goaltenders:
Marc Cheverie; Justin Pogge

Defensemen:
Dean Arsene; Mathieu Brodeur; Tyler Eckford; Dylan King; Nick Ross; Shane Sims; Garrett Stafford; Michael Stone

Forwards:
Mathieu Beaudoin; Spencer Bennett; Hans Benson; Alex Berry; Evan Bloodoff; Chris Clackson; Ryan Duncan; Darian Dziurzynski; Scott Fleming; Igor Gongalsky; Joey Haddad; Kevin Henderson; Brett Hextall; Ryan Hollweg; Colin Long; Donny Maloney; Tyler Murovich; Blair Riley ; Ashton Rome; Davis Rutherford; Jordan Szwarz; Matt Watkins; Ethan Werek.