Adam Gilmour blogs from Wild development camp

Lumberjacks center Adam Gilmour is attending Minnesota Wild development camp this week after the NHL club made him their fourth-round draft pick in June. Here the Boston College recruit writes about his first couple of days at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.:

Adam Gilmour gets a taste of the NHL
lifestyle at Wild development camp.

Like most kids who grow up playing hockey, my dream is to play in the NHL. The reality that I was one step closer to my dream still hadn't set in until yesterday when I walked into the Xcel Energy Center for the first time to start Minnesota Wild Development Camp. 

I was immediately put at ease when I found out that my roommate for the week was (St. John Sea Dogs forward) Charlie Coyle.  He and I were teammates at Thayer Academy a few years ago and we have been working out lately at the gym in Foxboro, Mass.  He has been through the camp before and it was great to be able to ask him questions about his experiences.

The beginning of the camp was at 6:45 Monday morning, when we all took a bus to a hospital to get medical exams. After that we went to the rink for physical testing. The hardest (and last) test was definitely the two 300-yard shuttles. I didn't feel well after that, but it didn't take too long to recover.

After that, we all went downstairs into a locker room and picked out the helmet, gloves, and pants we'll be wearing for the week.  The whole atmosphere in the locker room is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. Everything's laid out for us and the room itself is amazing, and for the “first timers” like me it gives us a great taste of what being a pro is like.

Dinner that night was held at a family's house on the lake. Playing games near the lake was a great way to get to know some of the guys that could be my future teammates. When we finally got back to the hotel, falling asleep was easy. It was a long day but a fun one and it made me look forward to the rest of the week.

A trip to one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes was part of
Gilmour's first day in the Twin Cities.

Tuesday we got an early start and my team went right into the gym for a workout. It was good but pretty intense, and after our workout we went on the ice for practice. In the afternoon, we attended a seminar led by a man who used to be in the Army.  It was all about mental toughness and the way we should view our lives and handle the opportunities we have in front of us. It was great to have the chance to hear him speak and he told a few stories that really inspired me.

Our second on-ice session was all power skating. We worked on technique and little tricks to improve our speed. It was a huge help to me, and with just a few tweaks my sprint time improved significantly.

Dinner was at a restaurant close to the rink. The fans’ excitement about the Wild, especially with the recent free-agent signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, is unbelievable.  It makes me want to continue to work hard so I will have the opportunity to play in such a great city.

(Look for further updates from Adam Gilmour right here at MuskegonLumberjacks.com!)