Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 lakes.”

So no wonder Belleville Senators head coach Kurt Kleinendorst says he likes what he sees so far in The Friendly City — and environs.

"There’s lots of water here and lots of bridges,” said the Minnesota native, following the first-ever training camp session for the B-Sens Sunday at Mackay Arena at the Sports Centre. “I like it.”

Twenty-four B-Sens players hit the ice Sunday, with a handful more expected this week as the parent NHL Ottawa Senators make more cuts from their main camp.

Kleinendorst said he was happy with Sunday’s first full-on B-Sens workout in Belleville, but he understands the psychology involved with players being here who would prefer to still be attached to the parent club in Ottawa.

"This time of year is tough,” said Kleinendorst. “You still have guys coming down, so my approach is to deal with the guys you have here. We’re really dependant on Ottawa and we have to wait on Ottawa and that’s just how it is.

"Today is a tough day. Most of these players just got reassigned and they’re a little bit disappointed but I thought the guys’ spirit was pretty good.”

Among the high-spirited was towering 21-year-old defenceman Andreas Englund. Like all the B-Sens, the six-foot-three native of Sweden would prefer to remain in Ottawa, but he also knows what it takes to get back.

"So far so good,” he said. “The practice rink here in Belleville is nice and hopefully our new rink (Yardmen Arena) is done soon and we’ll have a good time there. We have a lot of good guys here who can do a lot of good things and we’ll just continue to work hard and develop.”

When it was home to the OHL Belleville Bulls from 1981-2015, Yardmen Arena boasted the lone Olympic-sized ice surface in the league. Raised on that kind of expansive pond in Europe, Englund says he actually prefers the new, whittled-down NHL-sized pad that will be home to the B-Sens when multi-million dollar renos are finished at Yardmen Arena in November.

"I like to play a tough, physical game,” said Englund. “So the smaller ice suits my style better.”

During Sunday’s high-tempo, 90-minute workout, there was at least one skater who smiled almost throughout the entire session — former Bulls goaltender, Kory Cooper, now a netminding consultant with the Senators.

"First of all,” he said, surveying the local media at the post-workout interview area, “it’s been about 20 years since you guys interviewed me, so that’s just awesome. It feels like a homecoming for me. It’s almost like (Ottawa) moved their farm team here for me, and that’s exciting.”

Living and working out of Kingston, Cooper said he’ll be a familiar face in Belleville this season, especially early in the 2017-18 AHL campaign as the B-Sens prepare for the regular season.

"I will primarily be here helping us to get off to a successful start to the season,” said the PEI native.

Kooper, 40, was one of the most outstanding goalies in Bulls franchise history, stopping pucks for Belleville in the OHL from 1994-97. He likes the three netminders who are currently in camp with the B-Sens — Chris Driedger, Marcus Hoberg and Danny Taylor of Kingston.

"We’ve got a little bit of everything with them,” said Cooper. “Ultimately, the competition here will help them all.”

The drive from Kingston isn’t all bad either.

"Danny and I commuted into Belleville today,” said Cooper, smiling. “It only took 38 minutes.”

• ON DECK: B-Sens training camp continues this week, Monday through Friday, with daily workouts scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. (subject to change). Spectators can watch from the lobby but are not permitted in the rink. B-Sens officials told The Intelligencer that unlike the OHL, closed workouts and training camps are standard practice in the AHL.