Neither rain, nor thunder and lightning nor dark of night could keep three generations of hockey fans away from the Seven Bridges Arena for the U.S. Olympic Team orientation camp.

Katie Creagh, Leila Dushane and Kelly Dushane arrived at the rink at 5:30 Monday morning to be the first in a line that snaked around the building in the midst of a steady rain.
Mother, daughter and granddaughter actually stayed in a nearby hotel to ensure they could make it to the rink in plenty of time to attend the orientation camp, which began at 9 a.m.

“We’re big fans of Patrick Kane. We love hockey and we love the Chicago Blackhawks. We’d like to see Zach Parise but mostly we’re here for Patrick Kane,” said Kelly, who was wearing a red Kane jersey.

And Kane didn’t disappoint. After addressing the media early in the day, Kane hit the ice with the first group of players. Afterward he spent hours signing autographs for the scores of fans who crowded around a table in the rink lobby.

“I’m not leaving until every one of these fans is taken care of,” said Kane who joined several other Team USA players on the autograph line.

Brent Meyers took the day off of work to bring his son and several other Peewees from Rockford, Ill., to the practice. Standing in the rain couldn’t dampen their spirits or that of the hundreds of other fans who lined up early for a chance to see their Olympic heroes.

"My son plays hockey and we’re all hockey fans,” said Meyers. “We came here to see our players and see what’s going on. We brought some jerseys and pucks and hopefully we’ll get some autographs.”

“I want to see Brian Rafalski and Tim Thomas,” added Kevin Ward, who plays on the Rockford team. “We’ve already met Patrick Kane, but it would be good to see him again.”

By the time the first group of players hit the ice, the security at the Seven Bridges was turning people away. According to Kevin Mann, who runs the rink, more than 200 were turned away and asked to return tomorrow for the second session.

Meyers, a registered USA Hockey coach who was sporting a USA Hockey Pond Hockey jersey, said he was more interested in the X’s and O’s of Ron Wilson’s practice.

"I’d like to see, from a coach’s point, how they spread out on the ice and how they pass the puck and the format of a practice,” he said.

From a fans’ perspective, the first day of the camp provided little in the way of the thrills and excitement that some were expecting. There were no crunching Mike Komisarek hits in the corner. There were no one-on-one battles between Ryan Suter and Mike Modano in front of the net.

What there was on the ice was few conditioning and passing drills, mixed in with some small area games. And that’s just the way that coach Ron Wilson wanted it.

With the word coming down from on high, the coaching staff is concerned about seeing any players getting injured only three weeks before the start of their respective NHL training camps.

“I’m kind of limited by what we can do for insurance reasons,” said Wilson, the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. “I sure don’t want to get anybody hurt here.”

For Wilson and the rest of the U.S. brain trust, the off-ice component of this camp could be more important than the on-ice practices. Wilson wants the 34 players attending the camp to get to know each other, and to know their coach.

“Three practices in August are not going to win the Olympic Games. This is about a mindset, a philosophy of how we’re going to play the games,” said Wilson. “I want them to hear that in the back of their heads throughout the year.”

The three days are about team building, which began on the bus ride through rush hour traffic where players had to introduce their roommates and tell the rest of the bus something about that person. The team will also hear from several decorated American veterans who will stress the importance of working together for a common cause.

“I want to build a team and some camaraderie. I’m trying to put in a mindset into our team of how we want to play and compete,” said Wilson.

“The most important thing is that the players get to know each other. You can never become a team unless you can trust the guys to the left, right, front and center.”

That trust is being established, not only among the players but between the players and their fans as well.