The two Utah forwards spoke about getting to be back on the ice and practicing with Stanley Cup-winning veterans for the first time Thursday.
One day of Utah Hockey Club training camp in the books, and already there was blood on the ice Thursday.
"Just an unfortunate stick that caught me in a 2-on-2 game; that stuff's going to happen," forward Clayton Keller said. "Thank God I didn't lose any teeth, that's all I care about."
Keller had much more to be happy about Thursday as well as Utah HC opened their full training camp at the Olympic Oval, as he and teammate Josh Doan skated along with new acquisitions Mikhail Sergachev and Ian Cole in the opening practice of camp.
"Feels good to be back out there playing hockey again," Doan said. "It makes it feel normal and it felt real for the first time."
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It certainly got real when Keller took a stick to the mouth, cutting open his lower lip just before the session ended. He was back out on the ice after briefly being attended to.
Aside from the brief injury scare, Keller and Doan both spoke about how Sergachev, Cole, and fellow new signee Kevin Stenlund all had an impact, with Doan adding it's an opportunity for him to "be a sponge" around them.
"We added some great players on the back end and they know how to play in big games," Keller said. "Those are guys that going to help our group take that next step."
Keller added Doan and fellow forward Logan Cooley are already showing signs of what they can produce, saying he's excited for what they can do this year.
"Speed is our big factor," Doan said. "When you put that together with the physicality we brought in, it makes for something special."