When the 39 Sabres prospects learned late Sunday night that they will be training with the Navy SEALs the following day, mixed reactions wafted in the air. Some players like Marcus Foligno turned to Google and Youtube to check what the Navy SEALs do to ease his worries. Still, when the players were roused from their sleep in the ungodly hour of Monday, 4:30 a.m., they knew right at that moment it’s going to be a real intense SEALs training workout.

Prior heading to the beach for the 5:00 a.m. workout, the players made their beds. Center Luke Adam aptly puts it, “It’s almost like mom, make your bed properly, clean the bedroom, clean up after yourself.  It’s a lot of mental training.”

The scenes that followed included a swim in Lake Erie and a series of squats, push-ups, crunches, and sit-ups. Right Wing Corey Tropp described the Navy SEALs training as something that would help the team in more than one way. “It was a tough morning, but its also a good opportunity to push yourself and the type of stuff that brings teams together,”  Tropp said. Adam adds that the Navy SEALs promise is to train them not from the neck down, but from the neck up.

The Navy SEALs tried to show the Sabres how their military skills could relate to hockey. “Right away you could tell they were pretty intense and probably the toughest in the business,” Tropp shares.

Aside from the mental benefits and physical exercises that the training will provide, it will also change the way the Sabres’ view the Navy SEALs. “We have a lot of respect for them, but even more appreciation for them now,” Center Cody Hodgson said.

The Buffalo Sabres’ development camp will come close on Thursday night with a Blue and Gold Scrimmage game at First Niagara Center.