MELBOURNE, Australia -- With all the pomp of the past week, the 15-hour flight and the excursion to an Australian Football League game and the golf outings, it would be easy to forget that the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne constituted the start of training camp for the Los Angeles Kings and the Arizona Coyotes.
An unusual training camp, to be sure, but training camp nonetheless.
Which was why, after the two games at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia were over, the coaches were left pondering what it had done for their clubs, and what it would do going forward as the teams head back to the United States and back into their regular training camp routines.
"We know we would be probably further into camp as far as structure and work and everything goes if we were at home," Kings coach Todd McLellan said after his team defeated the Coyotes 3-2 on Sunday. "We wouldn't have had a mandatory day off, we wouldn't have lost some practice time due to ice. But that's OK because with this trip comes other benefits."
Bonding, for one.
For both teams, that was one of the biggest reasons to make the journey to Australia, the ability to tighten their teams, to provide time for them to get to know each other, to like each other, to become one singular group.
"It was a good experience for our team, I think," said Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who scored twice Sunday. "I think everybody was pretty excited to be here, to come to a completely new country and play. Got some good team bonding together."
Kempe, Kings win 3-2 in Global Series game
There were organized team activities, like when the Coyotes were assigned to groups and tasked with coming up with an Australian-themed costume to later present to the team while playing darts and corn hole at a game-themed event space. There was the golf, at Huntingdale Golf Course for the Coyotes and Kingston Heath Golf Club for the Kings. There were the dinners and the little moments.
"I think the opportunity to hang out together, to have team builders, team activities, to have fun, to laugh, to go through the grind together, I think that will pay off," Coyotes coach Andre Tourigny said.
But it wasn't just the bonding. There were tangible hockey benefits.
"It was a great opportunity for us to be here as a team, having a chance to play against an NHL team with a full roster," Tourigny said. "I think it was a real opportunity to speed up a little bit our tempo, our comprehension of what we're trying to do in a lot of situations, neutral zone, forecheck, breakout, whatever. A lot of system stuff. As well, learning to know each other and being in a competitive environment."
The challenge won't end, however, when the two teams walk onto their charter flights on Monday morning. They will face a second 15-hour flight, a 17-hour time difference, and a set of mandatory days off when they get back to Phoenix and L.A. for recovery.
So, it starts with the rest.
But then it will ramp up quickly. There will be video on the games in Melbourne, a review of what they got out of practices and right back into preseason hockey. Both teams will have their full squads back together for the first time Friday when the Coyotes meet the Vegas Golden Knights and the Kings see the Anaheim Ducks.
"We will touch the ice and just get back a little bit of rhythm," Tourigny said. "The guys will be rusty after a few days off. But for us, there's a lot to learn from those games about ourselves, little details we need to be better, our battles along the boards, the pace on the rush where we're out of sync a little bit.
"Which is not negative, in a sense. It's early and it's fine."
And that's what it comes back down to: Tourigny and McLellan and their teams are getting ready for the regular season, they're getting ready for the 2023-24 campaign. They will leave Australia, filled with memories and bonds, and head back to the business at hand.
"Now, when we get on the plane tomorrow, we have the sports science department, we have very qualified people that are going to offer the help to us to get us back on our feet real quick," McLellan said. "It's up to each individual to use it or to do whatever they think is appropriate to get up and running real quick.
"We're counting on that. We can't have people falling behind."
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