Swung by captain’s practice for the first time Monday night and — maybe it’s just because I’ve been away from the rink for the summer — I was surprised by how much bigger CC looks this year. Former CC defenseman Brandon Straub, who is 6-foot-4 without skates, used to tower over everyone. Now, he’s not alone out there (he’s skating with the team while still in town). Freshman David Civitarese, a rangy forward from Calgary, joins junior Mike Testwuide and sophomore Stephen Schultz in giving the Tigers serious height around the net. The defensive corps simply looks giant to me with Jake Gannon, Nate Prosser, Kris Fredheim and new addition Ted Behrend (listed as  6-foot-1).

CC, which has a reputation from smaller, quick skaters, has certainly placed greater emphasis on the physical side of the game since I’ve been covering them. It got me thinking: How much do you think size could help CC compete down the stretch, especially in the NCAA tournament, which is played primarily on NHL-sized sheets? Is that the missing ingredient in March and April?

*Speaking of Schultz: The sophomore said he has recovered from concussions that shortened his freshman season.

*No contact: Hitting was fairly limited on Monday, but freshman Nick Dineen sported a non-contact jersey nonetheless. He’s recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, which trainer Jason Bushie said is progressing nicely.

*No sign of slump: From the saves goaltender Richard Bachman was making, it’s pretty clear the sophomore took his summer seriously (no big surprise there). The one moment that sticks out in my mind was when he made a quality three-man rush look pathetic, making an initial save and then coming all the way across the net to save another shot to the upper left corner with his glove.

My last casual observation was how many faces on the ice were familiar. Sure, it helps that I’ve been doing this for a while now. But the truth is that the Tigers return quite a bit, including their All-American goaltender, eight of their top 10 scorers and five experienced defensemen (Brett Wysopal left the program in the off-season). Their main losses are defenseman Jack Hillen, who ranks as one of CC’s top offensive-defensemen in program history, and Jimmy Kilpatrick, who ranked third in team scoring last year.

So that brings me to another question, what do you see as CC’s biggest question mark this season? And just how optimistic are you allowing yourself to be?

Where are they now?
Jimmy Kilpatrick, who this time last year was thinking he might miss two months of the season recovering from hip surgery, is taking part in the Anaheim Ducks’ rookie camp with hopes of catching on. In the rookies’ second scrimmage, held in Las Vegas against the San Jose Sharks’ rookies, Kilpatrick got credit for a goaltender screen from his linemate. The organization has stocked up on ex-WCHA players, including former CC defenseman Brian Salcido, Denver’s Ryan Dingle and Minnesota’s Stu Bickel. At rookie camp, there’s even more: St. Cloud’s Nate Dey, Alaska-Anchorage’s Charlie Kronschnabel, Denver’s Adrian Veideman and Andrew Thomas.

On the East Coast, Jack Hillen started rookie camp with the New York Islanders on Monday. Having signed a two-year deal in the spring, Hillen will try to land an Islanders roster spot. Also at Islanders rookie camp is former Denver goaltender Peter Mannino.