Development Camp 2009: Gillies Day 3 Diary

Home: Development Camp 2009 Gillies Camp Diary: July 6 | July 7

Throughout Camp, Colton Gillies will provide his thoughts on the experience. Gillies, a 6-foot-4, 189-pound forward from White Rock, B.C., was Minnesota's first choice in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (No. 16 overall), and is attending his third such camp.

July 8, 2009

5:45 p.m. CDT

It's days like today that I roll over and tell myself how much it's going to hurt to be old! ... My hips, butt and legs are very sore from power skating yesterday. I woke up at 8:13 a.m. just so I could be the first person at the Downtowner for breakfast, (picture me walking like I just rode a horse for a week straight!), and I was able to get out before the rest of the players got there.

On days like today, when I'm sore, I take a lot of time to warm up. I start off by having a five-minute hot tub, to get the muscles warm, then continue on with a series of stretches and running drills. We all got into our gear, minus our skates, and bussed to the St. Thomas hockey rink because of an event happening at Xcel Energy Center. The day looked and felt a lot like yesterday, with 45 minutes of power skating and then 1.5 hours of practice. The practice was much better than yesterday's as everyone was more comfortable and relaxed.

I will not be attending the Twins game tonight with the rest of the guys, due to a prior commitment, but I hope Morneau hits at least a few out of the park for them!

Until tomorrow,
Colton Gillies