Admirals, Lightning mix it up

By Jim Hodges

Special to the Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK

At no time during the upcoming season will Admirals coach Darren Rumble do what he was able to do Friday at Scope.

That's reach over, tap Vincent Lecavalier on the shoulder and tell him, Alex Tanguay and Steve Downie, "Go get 'em, guys."

Rumble won't be able to send in defenseman Mattias Ohlund either.

Lecavalier, Tanguay, Downie and Ohlund will take the first faceoff when the Lightning opens its season at Atlanta next Saturday, but they were turncoats of a sort Friday night when Tampa Bay came to town for what was billed in some quarters as an exhibition, in other quarters as a practice.

The accounting: guys in Tampa Bay sweaters, 5; guys called Admirals for a night, 4.

Lecavalier, Tanguay, Ohlund and a few other Lightning veterans played a period, then signed autographs.

It was an odd evening for Lecavalier, who wore a minor league sweater for the first time. He went straight from junior hockey to the NHL as an 18-year old.

"The first couple of times I passed to the wrong guys because I was used to (Tampa Bay colors)," he said, laughing. "Then I settled in. It was a good workout, and the fans seemed to enjoy it."

There were 2,479 on hand, and nearly that many lined up to get autographs from Lecavalier, Tanguay and Ohlund, who sat together at a concourse table. Scheduled to leave after the second intermission, they signed until three minutes were left in the game and the line was exhausted.

The game-winning goal was scored by James Wright, a 19-year-old who could be back in junior hockey in a week. He also could be in the NHL, but he can't be with the Admirals because of his birth certificate. With a few exceptions, players must be 20 to play in the American Hockey League.

"But you can see that he has talent," said Rumble, who greeted about a dozen new Admirals for real.

About five more cuts are expected before Wednesday's deadline for Tampa Bay to get down to 23 players.

"It's something I've never had to face," Lecavalier said. "But you have to feel for these guys after playing with them."

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet sat in the stands and watched his charges with Brian Lawton, the team's general manager, and other members of the staff.

"I thought the guys looked pretty good for having played the last four nights," Tocchet said. "The passing concerns me, but overall..."

Rumble was behind the bench, working, albeit with strange players. He was particularly enamored with goalie Dustin Tokarski, who played for Tampa Bay but is destined for the Admirals.

Tokarski faced 19 shots and gave up goals by Brett McLean and Mitch Fadden. But Tokarski had some acrobatic saves among the 17 he turned in.

And now things accelerate for the Admirals, even if they slow down for some of the players.

After jetting around North America for the past five days, the new Admirals will get a quick dose of AHL reality today when they practice, then get on a bus for a Sunday night exhibition at Hershey.

"Today is really the first day of our training camp," said Rumble. "It's the first time we have most of our guys here."