Utah Grizzlies coach Don Hay, center, instructs a few players during a skate-around at the Acord Ice Center last week. Camp begins today. (Photos by Steve Griffin/The Salt Lake Tribune)

By Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune

    As the Utah Grizzlies begin training camp today, expectations and enthusiasm of players and coaches are typically high, concluding with visions of holding the Calder Cup at season's end.
    Now in their 10th season, the Grizzlies last won the league championship cup in 1996.
    Then there are those hockey players whose dreams begin and end with just making the team.
    "Every position is not open," said third-year Utah coach Don Hay. "Who makes our team is dictated on who Dallas sends us. The players coming in know that. Some of the guys who were here last year will be pushed for jobs."
    Any open roster spots depend on how many players the parent club, Dallas Stars, send to Hay and his assistants, Bob Bassen and Brian Poile. If Dallas ships 21 players to Salt Lake City, then the pickings will be slim for those looking to catch on with the Grizzlies.
    Between now and the final cuts on Oct. 5, Hay and his assistants must trim the roster from 40 players to 21, 19 of whom are eligible to dress for American Hockey League games.
    Friday, Dallas gave seven players plane tickets to Salt Lake City, with at least four to five more expected to make the trip to Utah.
    "It's pretty obvious that I'm here to make the team," said 23-year-old defenseman Regan Darby, who played last year for Columbia of the East Coast Hockey League and Manitoba of the AHL. "I want to establish myself as an AHL player. I haven't thought past making the team."
    Hay expects to coach a younger team than the one that finished 37-34-5-4 last season and exited the playoffs in the first round. The training camp roster bears that out, with the majority of players born between 1978 and '83.
    Grizzly veterans and hopefuls will gather today before they take the ice Monday at 4 p.m. at the E Center in West Valley
   City. The Grizzlies will practice twice a day Tuesday and Wednesday.
    The Green-White intrasquad games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the West Valley Acord Ice Center.
    "We'll have an exciting team, a hard-working team," said Hay. "We'll make mistakes because of our inexperience. But we have good skaters. We'll be an efficient team that works hard."
    However, Hay admits that the Grizzlies need help on the defensive end of the ice. Much of the time in practice will be spent honing skill development, especially since there will be players whom Hay hasn't seen before.
    "He's the kind of guy with a strong work ethic, and I like that," said 23-year-old free agent forward Tim Verbeek, who played with Toledo of the ECHL last year and is the brother of former NHL player Pat Verbeek. "That's the way I was raised, on a farm in Ontario. And it is no different here. I'm here to prove to them that I can earn a spot."
    The players, though, aren't the only ones learning. This summer, Dallas sent players to Sweden and Finland to learn knew training techniques.
    Hay also spent 10 days learning the more free-flowing European tricks and tactics, normally practiced on larger ice rinks. Five of the 11 Dallas players sent to Europe are expected to play in Utah.
    "One thing that really stood out was their passing and receiving skills," he said. "We'll try to implement that here, which will be a challenge for players used to the North American style of hockey.
    "It's good for players to see how different countries practice, and as a coach, it helped give a good feel on how to relate to European players."
    Skilled players aside, Hay has one more reason to feel upbeat about the coming season, which begins Oct. 10 in Utah against San Antonio. The Grizzlies have a working relation with Boise of the ECHL. Last year, the Utah farm team was in Lexington, Ky.
    Now, with Boise only five hours away by car, the Grizzlies won't be caught short-handed by injuries or call-ups by the Stars.
    "More depth means more competition for jobs," said Hay. "The players are aware that someone will take their job if they're not motivated.
    "The American Hockey League is about organizing and developing players in a winning atmosphere. I enjoy the role of developing players, helping them get better. And the players want to get better and move to that next level, the NHL."