Predators' Disney World thing

Hockey players and teams have their 'things'. You know - superstitions, rules of conduct one needs to adhere to, playoff beards and the like. The Nashville Predators though have taken 'the thing' to a whole new level - what they do is visit the Disney World in Orlando, FL as a team. It's done every couple of years in hope of finding a family-like bond that would strengthen them and help create bonds capable of taking Preds to the ultimate hockey plaground - the Stanley Cup. And it works - at least it did back in 2003 , when Nashville claimed their first-ever playoff birth. With high hopes to to recent regular success and acquisition of cornerstone players like Jason Arnott and JP Dumont, there was enough reason to revisit the Florida panhandle. Says Arnott:

"I think you'll see a lot of team-bonding kind of things, guys getting together in groups and hanging out. When you're part of a winning team, the group tends to be really tight. So this is an opportunity for us to get away from Nashville for a little bit and just really focus on ourselves.''

Head coach Barry Trotz is there to ensure that the escape to Disney World is not all fun and no work:

"We'll be looking at line combinations and defensive pairings, that kind of thing. Obviously we'll be working on some facets of our game, such as forechecking, neutral-zone play, special teams and defensive coverage.''

"We're going to have a sense of purpose. We want to come out of Orlando having that focus and having that approach to our goals for the season.''

Rangers and Panthers sunbathing in the Caribbean, Predators wheeling around in Orlando, Kings and Avalanche betting their wages in Las Vegas' casinos... Picture-perfect off-season bliss. Enjoy it, guys, while you can. By the beginning of October it's back to bone-crunching and frost bite (well, up there in Canada, anyway). You'll need all the Micky Mouse memories of late summer you can get.