For blueliner PK Subban, playing in front of 21,273 fans at the Bell Centre as a rookie one day should be a nerve-racking experience.
Or perhaps not - at least not after taking the 'Jump of Fear.'
The Montreal Canadiens' blueline prospect took part with his teammates in a special team-building exercise at CFB Petawawa on Tuesday as Team Canada began preparations for the World Junior Hockey Championship.
And the key exercise of the day was something that could make any civilian a bit wobbly in the knees - a simulated parachute jump from more than 30 feet in the air.
"It's not something that you're used to doing," Subban told TSN. "I've done something like that before, but at 33 feet that say it's the Jump of Fear. When I first hooked up I was like, 'This is easy.' But once you get up there and look down, I kind of debated whether I should take my harness off and go back down. But it was too late when I got up there - Johnny T (John Tavares) and the boys were shouting, 'You gotta go! You gotta go!' and I had to jump."
Of course, there was also pressure on the Belleville Bulls defenceman as a returning player from last year's roster.
"I had to show the young guys what I'm capable of doing and that I had the heart and the grit," he said with an ear-to-ear grin. "I'm just glad I'm in one piece, though."
The off-day exercise was organized by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, who pushed to have Team Canada spend a couple days in Petawawa not only bring the team together, but to help boost morale of the troops during the holiday season.
Even head coach Pat Quinn set an example for the squad, literally jumping into the event with both feet.
"You get put in a circumstance that's normally out of your realm, but that's where you've got to function," he said. "We're going into a situation here - it's just a hockey game - but it's in front of our crowd, we're supposed to be the gold medal winners with all sorts of pressure, but we still have to function."
The team will practice in Petawawa on Wednesday afternoon and then fly on a Canadian Forces plane to Orangeville, Ontario for the rest of training camp.
Canada's first exhibition game is Friday against Sweden at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto (TSN, TSNHD, 7pm et/4pm pt).
