OTTAWA — Guy Boucher took in his first on-ice sessions as head coach of the Ottawa Senators from a balcony, preferring to get a bird's eye view of the action.

Friday may have only been the first day of the Senators' training camp, but Boucher wasted no time making sure the players knew they would be under his watchful eye.

"After the practice I thought we had a group that had practised real hard and the other group not as hard, good, but not as hard so we had a talk and they came out and played a real hard game," Boucher said. "They responded."

Hired in May, Boucher had been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to see some of his proposed line combinations in action.

"It was time, I'll be honest with you," said Boucher. "Rookie camp was nice, but you want to see the big boys. This camp is not about the rookies; it's about the guys that are ready. It's about the guys that are going to make our team.

"This is not a development league, it is a performance league and you've got to be ready. We want to go fast. We have to keep in mind the season starts Oct. 12 and it looks far away, but it ain't. There's not too many exhibition games and we're going to play against teams that have the same coach, the same system, the same players so they're ahead of us right now."

Players seemed impressed with Boucher's intensity and his message of accountability.

"I think Guy's mentality is nothing is given here," said goaltender Craig Anderson. "If you don't deserve it, if you don't earn it, you're not going to get the ice time. That's kind of the message that's been sent and I think that showed today as guys we're going pretty hard and I don't see it changing, at least not for the first little bit and as soon as you see a little drop off I think you're going to see an angry coach."

Forward Mike Hoffman, who played for Boucher as a junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, knows Boucher expects players to bring their best every day.

"I think he's going to be great for us," said Hoffman. "Everything that I hear from the guys and being around everyone's looking forward to it and really excited that he's going to be the one behind the bench."

There were no real surprises as far as line combinations as Kyle Turris centred Hoffman and Mark Stone, while newly acquired Derick Brassard was between Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur. Jean-Gabriel Pageau found himself between Zack Smith and Tom Pyatt, while Chris Neil, Chris Kelly and Matt Puempel were together.

Curtis Lazar was not on the ice as he has mononucleosis. The team will monitor Lazar closely, but it remains to be seen when he will be able to participate in the on-ice sessions.

On defence Dion Phaneuf and Cody Ceci were reunited while Marc Methot was paired with Matt Bartkowski as Erik Karlsson is at the World Cup. Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman were also paired.

With so few spots open there will be a good battle for what appears to be one opening up front and one on defence.

"We've got to make decisions," said Boucher. "Decisions will not just be on hard work or where you were drafted. It will be on are you ready, can you absorb the information fast because that's what the NHL is and can you show the results right away and then we will make decisions very quick.

"The message was clear - we're not giving anybody anything."

Boucher says the group will be split Wednesday and he will then join the main group on the ice.

Notes: RW Mark Stone left the ice early, but an update won't be given until Saturday. The Senators signed Gabriel Gagne to a three-year entry level contract Friday.