Wranglers off to a successful start at training camp

Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 | 4:22 p.m.

The Ryan Mougenel era has officially begun.

The 33-year-old rookie head coach and general manager kicked off his on-ice tenure with the Las Vegas Wranglers at the first practice of training camp Friday morning at the SoBe Ice Arena.

Practice was fairly standard, but it is clear that Mougenel intends to focus on conditioning and speed a lot this season.

"It was a good first day," Mougenel said. "I think it's important that the guys understand what I want and I want the best conditioned team in the ECHL. That starts today and the culture here starts today. It's important to have that influence all the time that the guys are going to work hard and there is going to be pace with everything. Pace with the drills, pace off the ice in the gym working out."

Although nobody seemed to struggle with the up-tempo practice Friday, waking up for the on-ice session was another issue.

With the Orleans Arena booked for a Disney show and a large adult tournament descending on the city this weekend, the Wranglers had to start practice at 6:30 a.m.

"The early morning certainly makes it interesting," said returning Wranglers veteran Chris Neiszner. "It's early, but it's good to get out there with the guys. I think everyone is going to gel well here. We have some young guys and everyone is going to come together real well."

Defenseman Mike Madill, who is rehabbing after off-season knee surgery, assisted Mougenel with running drills Friday. He is not expected to return to game action for three-to-six weeks.

While the Wranglers wait for some players to arrive from the American Hockey League and others, like forward Ryan Weston, to recover from injuries, the main position battle already appears to be between goalies Michael Ouzas and Joel Gistedt.

Ouzas, a 24-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, played for Mougenel in Fresno last season. He has also spent time in the Ontario Hockey League near Mougenel's hometown of Scarborough.

"Ouzas is extremely competitive which is I why I think I've gravitated to him," Mougenel said. "I feel extremely confident with him. He's a kid that battles and makes guys around him better. He's a smaller goalie, but he plays real big in there."

Gistedt, though, is the prized prospect in the Phoenix Coyotes' organization. The Coyotes selected the 22-year-old Sweden native with the 36th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

"I don't know him too well, but I know he's a competitor and that's what I love in my goaltenders," Mougenel said. "He's a young kid who wants to get better. Phoenix has extremely high plans for him. He came over last year and struggled with the North American game, but he is a kid that needs to play and play a lot. I think he is the type of person who will progress into an elite goalie."

Both goalies certainly seem poised to see significant playing time when the season starts.

The complete training camp roster is as follows:

Forwards (16): Brett Wilson, Greg Collins, Jerry Pollastrone, Matt Kang, Dan Riedel, Matt Watkins, Ryan Weston, Jeff Hazelwood, Mick Lawrence, Chris Neiszner, Andrew Orpik, Ned Lukacevic, Shay Stephenson, John Morea, Matt Whitehead, Adam Miller

Defensemen (8): Craig Switzer, Chris Frank, Gabe Andre, Nick Ross, Jason Krischuk, Sean Hurley, John Schwarz, Jason Fredricks

Goaltenders (2): Michael Ouzas, Joel Gistedt

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or steve.silver@lasvegassun.com.