Heading into the final week of training camp, most players are eager to turn the page. They’ve done their summer workouts, they’ve moved past those Captain’s Skates, and in the case of Alex Turcotte, he’s already played in two preseason games. However, that sort of feels like a month ago for the 24-year-old native of Illinois. Practice is great and all, yet professional athletes want game action to quench their competitive spirit.
“I haven’t played in like a week now, so it feels weird.” said Turcotte. “With all the practices and stuff, I’m just excited to get back into a game. Until then, I keep building upon what I’ve been doing and gearing up for the regular season because those games really matter. I’m just working to keep my confidence up and keep doing the same things over and over again to be ready.”
At this time of the year, it’s also about getting back into habits and routines off the ice too. Over the weekend, several of his teammates went to SoFi Stadium to watch the Rams play, but not Turcotte. He stayed behind to check a few basic things off his Sunday to-do list, like going the grocery store.
For now, Turcotte’s attention is more geared toward what lies immediately ahead, a stretch where he’s anticipating quite a bit of action. Beginning Tuesday, LA will close out their exhibition schedule with games in Boise, Salt Lake City, and then back home in Southern California.
“I’m assuming I’ll probably play at least two out of three, maybe all three, who knows,’ he added. “I want to play. I want to get back in the games and feel really good for opening night.”
Even though coach Jim Hiller’s final roster hasn’t been officially determined, there’s already been plenty of talk about Turcotte slotting in at center to start the year. For most of the recent practices, he’s been skating on a line with Joel Armia and Jeff Malott.
“I’ve talked to him about it,” he said, when asked about Hiller’s comments that he’ll likely use him at center to start the season. “I kind of knew that was the plan coming into camp; from in the summer, so it’s good. I know they feel pretty comfortable with my play on the wing too. They know I can play anywhere. And I’m sure there are gonna be times where I might have to go play wing; we talked about that too, and I totally understand. So I kind of prepared for both scenarios coming into camp. I want to take advantage of it. I obviously played center my whole life, so I think it would be good for me in the long run to get meaningful games in that center spot. I played a little bit there last year, maybe seven or eight games. I feel comfortable with it and I think it will only help my game. Yet, if I have to go back to wing, it’s not a problem. I feel like now, it will be easier for me to adapt to it since I played wing most of the season last year. I’m just ready to go!”
In addition to his role on offense, Hiller sees Turcotte as one of the prime candidates to earn some penalty kill minutes this season, as well.
“Armia is a penalty killer too, so some of those minutes will be distributed differently,” Hiller noted. “That’s why we want to get those guys reps [in practice] now. Whether [Laferriere] and Turc are on there full time remains to be seen. We are transitioning though. Kopi and Juice will probably penalty kill less this year. They’ll still be there; different times for different reasons. But, probably a little bit less than they have in the past.”
Having versatility to play both center and wing gives Hiller even more options on how to deploy Turcotte once the regular season gets going next week.
“Guys that can play both [positions], obviously it’s an advantage,” said LA’s bench boss. “He primarily played wing last year, a little bit more at the end. We just want to get them in his natural position [more]. He knows he’s a Swiss Army knife for us. As you saw last year, Turc was up [in the lineup], down, middle, side… out unfortunately sometimes. He’ll just play wherever; we wanted to start him in the middle. He could end up there, he could end up on the wing.”
Any time, any situation, Turcotte just wants to play and feels all of his experience over the past few years are leading to this moment.
“I know what I can bring as a player,” he confidently stated, almost in a way we haven’t seen since he was first drafted by LA. “I have all the belief in the world in my game. I’m ready to go out and play my game and have fun. I think I add a lot of tenacity, work ethic, and skill to the team. I feel good at any position, any situation, and I’m ready for whatever comes my way.”
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