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Forward Jonathan Drouin chats with the media following his first practice after returning to the Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday in the War Memorial.

(Lindsay Kramer | LKramer@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Jonathan Drouin hit the streets of Syracuse early on Tuesday morning.

Shortly before 8 a.m., he wandered around the Syracuse University area with his teammates as they sought spare coins for "Change for change,'' captain Mike Angelidis' fundraiser to fight children's cancer.

"Some of these guys haven't been up at 7:30,'' Angelidis said of Drouin's commitment. "It's like pulling teeth.''

About three hours later, Drouin was the last player off the ice at an optional skate in the War Memorial. Drouin claims to have beaten goalie Kristers Gudlevskis in a game of 1-on-1, and then fired a few shots at an empty net before assuming the rookie chore of picking up the loose pucks and hauling them off the ice.

"I think that's a good start for him,'' Angelidis laughed. "I don't think he's a rookie but maybe he's an AHL rookie. Maybe we'll treat him that way. I think he was out there last, trying to get better. He's been off for awhile. If you're the last guy, you pick up those pucks.''

Clearly, Drouin, 20, is glad to be back in hockey mode.

Drouin, the No. 3 overall pick in 2013, rejoined the Syracuse and the Tampa Bay organizations after walking out on the Crunch in Toronto on Jan. 20 after the Lightning wouldn't honor his trade request.

Here are 10 takeaways from his post-practice press conference:



He's back because he missed hockey

"Sitting at home is not what I wanted to do. I want to play hockey, help the Crunch,'' he said. "I missed hockey sitting at home. Watching hockey on TV and all that stuff is not what you want to do. I'm happy to be back here and playing hockey.''

"I'm a hockey player. You love hockey. You want to be part of a team.''

His relationship with Tampa Bay is salvageable



"I think our relationship's fine. We've talked to make the decision to come back here,'' he said. "I think we're going to fix this in the summer and see how it goes from there.''

There are no guarantees of a callup this season



"It's going to be up to me to put in the work. I'm not just going to get called up to get called up,'' he said. "I have to put in the work here, and that's what I plan to do.''

He is philosophical about not being traded at the deadline

"Anything can happen. It wasn't my decision,'' he said. "(GM Steve Yzerman) decided to hold on and that's the way it went and we're going to go from there,'' he said. "I couldn't really control it, so I didn't want to get too excited, get traded or not. I was pretty neutral about all that stuff.''

Regrets are there, but buried

"Obviously, I wish it maybe went the other way. But it (the holdout) happened that way, and it's going to be fixed in the summer in the summer and we'll figure it out. But right now I'm just playing for the Crunch. I'm happy to be here.''

There will be a little rust

Drouin said he worked out at Concordia University in Montreal during his layoff.

"I was skating on my own a little bit. I thought (practice) today was pretty good. I'm definitely going be a little rusty, but it's part of it,'' he said. "It's going to take some time.''

Jonathan Drouin of the Syracuse Crunch collects spare change as part of a team fund-raiser on Tuesday morning near Syracuse University.

His teammates have been welcoming

"It's been great. I've said this many times when I came back here (in January), this team is great. It's a great group of guys, veterans and young guys. So far, so great.

"I haven't done that (talked to them as a group), but it's probably going to come soon. They treated me well when I came here last year and this year. And they still do. We're friends here, too.''

But he was concerned about their initial reaction



"Yeah, definitely. You don't know what to expect,'' he said. "But this group is so great, so I didn't expect that stuff (criticism) to come. I came in yesterday, hung out with the guys, went for supper, so it was pretty good.''

Angelidis said as long as Drouin works hard and tries to fit back in, he should be OK.

"I think it's a unique situation for the team and the organization. But he's a good guy,'' Angelidis said. "It wasn't awkward at all in the dressing room. He fit right in.

"I think he's going to have to earn his respect from guys as well. It's not something (where) you just come back in. I think he's going to come in and work hard and that's how everything's going to be fine. He's going to have to come in and play, and he's going to play hard. He can't just come through and go through the motions. I don't think he's got that kind of character. I think he's got a good head on his shoulders where he'll come in and work hard. If he comes in and doesn't work hard, then, obviously, there's entitlement there. But I don't think it's going to go that way. I think he realized the guys in the dressing room won't allow that to happen.''

There was no group intervention urging his return

Drouin said he kept in touch with Lightning and Crunch teammates, but there was no organized push from them asking him to reconsider and come back.

"Obviously guys, we talked, we're friends in Tampa, and guys from here,'' he said. "But I wasn't trying to listen to all that stuff (outside influences). I was trying to make sure I wasn't making a bad decision on that stuff.''

He does worry about his image and how people see him

"You definitely care how people see you. It's going to be up to my play on the ice to show that I was ready to come back and play hockey,'' he said. "You definitely want to make sure you're perceived the right way.''

Contact Lindsay Kramer anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2151

