CALGARY -- Sidney Crosby would like to be on the ice this week at Hockey Canadas Olympic orientation camp. Jim McIlvaine Jersey . So would Roberto Luongo. Instead, the high cost of insurance will limit them to some optional off-ice workouts and maybe some golf on the side. But Hockey Canada figures that no skating is no problem for the players who travelled to Calgary for a few days of meetings, bonding and information-sharing in preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. "It would be nice, but its not the case and I still think we can get a lot out of these few days without skating," said Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain who scored the gold-medal-winning goal in Vancouver in 2010. "There will be a lot of information being thrown out there and well have to learn a lot in a short period of time, but I think everyone is kind of excited for that." Those who went through this experience four years ago before the Vancouver Olympics remember it fondly. They were able to skate then, something that allowed coach Mike Babcock to at least get a rough idea of line combinations. General manager Steve Yzerman would have liked that extra preparation, but as assistant coach Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins pointed out, not having the luxury of skating gives the staff a "great opportunity to do something different." "What you do in the next three days, weve learned over time really matters," said assistant Ken Hitchcock, who coaches the St. Louis Blues. "The terminology that Mike talks about that we put in the next two days, the systems, the walk-throughs, are really, really important because all of us at the end of this event, we get onto our own teams and we dont think about it until we get on the plane. Having that information that the players can draw from, we can go back and hit familiar ground right away." Creating some familiar ground is one of the main goals in the next couple of days. Many of the players at least know each other, but as Kevin Lowe, president of the Edmonton Oilers, noted, theres no way to underestimate "camaraderie and relationships" going into the Olympics. Spending time together is one thing players said theyre trying to get out of this experience. "I know a lot of them are going to be my opponents during the season; some of them are pretty close friends that I havent seen in while, so its a plus," said Ottawa Senators defenceman Marc Methot. "And being around some great hockey people, theres always an opportunity to learn a lot of cool new things. And were still getting a couple workouts in. Theyre optional workouts, but we are working out, so its not a complete loss, physically." Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf emphasized the need to stay in a workout routine, which also might be the biggest downside of not skating at this camp. "I dont think it matters from a standpoint of preparing for the Olympics. I think that were all professional players here, were all playing relatively the same game. Theres no big hockey secret out there," Getzlaf said. "I think that the only thing that would be nice to keep on skating because were getting prepared for our own (NHL training) camps. This is a big chunk, this is almost a whole week where were not going to get our skates in." San Jose Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle, 37, was "thrilled" not to be skating because he hadnt ramped up his off-season regimen too much before going to Calgary. Oilers left wing Taylor Hall would love the opportunity to skate with a lot of talented potential teammates, but he was relieved because hes not yet in peak shape to do so. Players generally didnt protest the lack of on-ice activities because the insurance issue was out of their hands. Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson estimated that with contracts totalling about $1.5 billion, it just got too expensive to insure them and allow players to lace up their skates. "I dont think its anything major," said Luongo, who won gold in Vancouver in 2010. "Its always fun to go on the ice with the countrys best players and it kind of kicks off your season a little bit one you do that. Its going to be a good time here even though were not skating. But it wouldve been nice to maybe stop a few pucks." These players will get their chances to skate with teammates soon enough, when NHL camps open next month. "Guys have been working out and guys have been skating a lot recently," Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. "Maybe a little break is going to be nice before you really go hard for two weeks heading into (training) camp. ... Its not like even if we were going on the ice were going to be doing a lot of tough, tough situation things. Were probably going to get the same results by going over things with coaches, watching video and things like that." Thats where Babcocks coaching comes in. He said theres "no sense worrying" about not skating, simply adjusting to the situation on the fly. The Detroit Red Wings coach singled out everyone getting to know each other and implementing the details of how Canada is going to play in Sochi as two important pieces of camp. The third element is far more wide-ranging. "Being an Olympian to me is much bigger than just being part of a regular hockey team," Babcock said. "Youre part of a bigger team: the Canadian team. Thats not just the Canadian hockey team, thats the Canadian Olympic team. I think its a special, special thing. When you get special opportunities, your preparation should be the same. Our preparation this week has to be gold-medal preparation." Supersonics Jerseys China . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Nate McMillan Jersey .During the week, McCoy told reporters he respected Hoyer for his intelligence, athleticism and how he conducts himself on and off the field. This wasnt an act, some attempt at psyching out Hoyer. https://www.supersonicsjerseys.com/520s-jack-sikma-jersey-supersonics.html . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose.MOOSE JAW, Sask. -- The Moose Jaw Generals scored twice in 57 seconds in the third period to come from behind and earn a 2-2 tie against the Halifax McDonalds on Monday in preliminary action at the Telus Cup mens triple-A hockey championship. Dawson Davidson and Ben Verrall supplied the scoring for the Generals (0-0-1), who outshot their opponent 15-1 in the final period and 40-14 overall. Jordan Yochoff opened the scoring for Halifax (0-0-1) in the first period and Luc Poirier made it 2-0 early in the second. Moose Jaws Grant Naherniak only had to make 12 saves while Halifaxs Justin Ritcey kicked out 38-of-40 shots. In other preliminary play, the Grenadiers de Chateauguay and Okanagan Rockets battled to a 3-3 tie. Liam Finlay tied the game at 12:04 of the third period to earn the Rockets (0-0-1) the draw while Brettt Young and Tanner Wishnowski had the others. Gary Payton Jersey. Tyler Hylland had a goal and an assist for the Grenadiers (0-0-1) and Mikael Sabourin and Jean-Sebastien Taillefer added a goal apiece. Okanagans Brendan Barry made 22 saves while Chateauguay netminder Etienne Montpetit turned aside 27-of-30 shots. In the opening game of the tournament, Connor Ingram made 30 saves and Dakota Boutin had a goal and an assist as the Prince Albert Mintos beat the Toronto Young Nationals 4-1. Lance Yaremchuk, Keegan Kjargaard and Teal Sobkowicz also scored for Prince Albert (1-0-0). Mackenzie Graham had the only goal for Toronto (0-1-0), while Izzy Benigno stopped 35 shots. Preliminary round action continues on Tuesday with Prince Albert versus Chateauguay, Toronto against Halifax and Moose Jaw facing Okanagan. ' ' '