"Pretty terrible" - Senators' Linus Ullmark delivers unfiltered take on his start to training camp

Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark didn’t sugarcoat things when asked about his first couple of days at training camp. After back-to-back sessions on the ice, he admitted unhappiness with how he’s played so far.

Heading into his second full season with Ottawa, expectations are higher than ever after the Senators reached the playoffs last spring, only to fall to the Maple Leafs in the first round. Ullmark said that he holds himself to a high standard, and right now, he hasn’t reached it.

“I thought that was a pretty terrible showing. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes you’re the best one out there, and sometimes you’re not, but you’ve got to come in and have a little bit better one tomorrow,” Linus Ullmark said (per ottawacitizen.com).

He stressed that it’s still very early, with only two practices in the books, so there’s no reason for concern.

Ullmark spent the offseason at home in northern Sweden and returned to the ice in early August. Senators goalie coach Justin Peters flew over for the second summer in a row to work with Ullmark for a week, focusing on fine-tuning details and mindset ahead of camp.

“(Peters) came over, and we did a full week of trying to get a head start to work on different details. … Ullmark said. It was pretty good. But then I also think we’re going to have to do some little changes for next summer that might improve. You live as you learn, and that’s exciting as well.”

The Senators kick off preseason Sunday afternoon against the Maple Leafs at Canadian Tire Centre.

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Senators HC Travis Green on Linus Ullmark's "terrible" comment to start the training camp

Senators coach Travis Green downplayed Linus Ullmark’s self-criticism about his start to training camp. He felt Ullmark had a good first day, and although he didn’t watch him too closely on the second, he was fairly sure that Ullmark didn’t allow a goal in the scrimmage.

“He’s been fine,” Green said. “Linus can be tough on himself.”

Green made it clear that he has full confidence in his starting goalie.

“Linus is a good goalie, and I still project him to play a lot of games, and a lot of that will come down to how he feels, and we definitely don’t want to tax him too much,” he added.

The Senators open their regular season Oct. 9 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.