'He's Setting The Tone Right There From Day One': Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Immediately Implementing Team's Identity at Training Camp

Day one of Maple Leafs training camp has concluded and it was one of the more difficult opening days for some, if not, most of the team.

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Players went through countless skating drills before going up against each other in drills where they needed to bring physicality. It wasn't an easy start to training camp, by any means, and it usually never is.

"Today was in my top two and it probably wasn't two," Ryan Reaves said of how difficult the first day of camp was. "It was a good day though. I think it sends a message to the team right away of what our identity is gonna be and I think guys enjoyed that battle. And we got through it and we won the day two."

Identity was a big word used throughout media day and the opening of this camp. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube spoke about it on Wednesday, saying he wants Toronto to be a difficult team to play against and be aggressive on the forecheck.

And it was visibly clear on day one of camp that the style was being implemented immediately.

"I think, you know, a lot of work and compete out there, a lot of battles. Just learning that you're going to be uncomfortable a lot of times in games and you've got to work and compete under those circumstances," Berube said on Thursday.

"I was very happy with the first day overall. Guys really worked."

One player who hasn't had much of an opportunity to take part in a training camp throughout the last few years is Max Pacioretty. The 35-year-old veteran forward of over 900 NHL games has had back-to-back Achilles injuries, which have forced him to miss significant time over the last two years.

Now on a professional tryout with Toronto, Pacioretty has seen a lot of training camps throughout his career. But being out for so long, he hasn't had a proper camp. He definitely will remember this one, though.

"[Berube's] setting the tone right there from day one and this is a team that wants to come out of the gates and show that they have a whole new compete level and it's not going to be easy to come into this rink and play right from the first game," Pacioretty said.

"That's what's cool about when you have a new environment like this, you can kind of build a new identity right from the get-go and it certainly looks like that's what he wants to do and it's an exciting time to be here."

Berube has even attempted to raise the bar with the Toronto media.

"Don't be late!" Berube joked on both days as he was walking away after taking questions.

Nevertheless, opening day was difficult in a lot of ways. Even on Wednesday, when players had to do medicals, they admitted it was tough.

"My favorite fitness testing is probably the height and weight," Nick Robertson admitted with a smile. "The least favorite has got to be the assault bike test. That thing gets you. It's half a mile under, for me, I think it was 58 seconds. You're like a baby rolling around after that for 20 minutes, so I'm happy I got that done with."

It's a new season for the Maple Leafs, with a new head coach and fresh expectations. As training camp rolls along, and the pace ramps up, how the team plays will be a massive talking point.

Berube's goal is to instill that identity right off the hop.

"I mean, it's the game, isn't it? I mean, I get not every game is as intense as other games, but I want our team to have an identity about competing, playing hard, working, winning battles, winning one-on-one battles," he said.

"I was really impressed. It was a tough practice, but I didn't find that the pace dropped off that much from start to end, which is very important."

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