Yahoo Sports Forward Alex Kerfoot Credits Andre Tourigny For Intensity In Practice
At one point in Friday's training camp practice, forward Alex Kerfoot was sent to the ice by defenceman Sean Durzi in the far corner.
Both men got up smiling and laughing from the play, while Kerfoot simply said "it's just practice".
The reality is, Kerfoot added Friday, that intensity is just how everything is under head coach Andre Tourigny.
And it's also what left multiple players, including forwards Clayton Keller and Josh Doan, among others, left hunched over and gasping for air at the end of practice at the Olympic Oval.
"That's the goal, every year you want to push it a little bit further," Kerfoot said. "Bear's had hard work as a staple of his teams, and we want to keep building on that."
Related: Josh Doan And Clayton Keller Ready To Learn Again In Training Camp
The 30-year-old forward out of Harvard, who scored 13 goals and totaled 45 points last season, will certainly have a chance to do so with the new acquisitions of Mikhail Sergachev, Ian Cole, John Marino, and Kevin Stenlund alongside him.
Friday's practice also proved to be another indication of what's to come for opponents this season; Utah's defence has already shown signs of improvement and has a newfound tenacity and grit to it.
"You always want to ramp up the pace and intensity when you get to camp; that's what it's all about," Kerfoot said. "(Andre) preaches we want to be a fast team that plays hard, and that starts on day one."
