CARLTON defender Lachie Henderson has spoken about the new energy at the club as the Mick Malthouse era gets underway.

Speaking from the club's training camp in northern Arizona, Henderson said the early signs coming out of the club bode well for next season.

"There's a new energy at the place," he told Melbourne radio station SEN on Thursday morning.

"It is very early; we've only been here for a couple of days and the boys have only been training for a couple of weeks, but there's a real positivity about where we're going and what's going to happen in the next couple of years."

The 22-year-old said that in addition to the fitness benefits of training at altitude, the Blues were also reaping the benefit of having the entire playing list together with the coaches and fitness staff.

"It is just a great trip for that," he said.

The Blues will take part in their first climb up Mount Humphreys on Thursday (US time) and Henderson, whose season was curtailed early last season because of a groin injury, will be taking part.

"It's been a fair while now," he said of his recuperation after surgery in the middle of July. "I've done a lot of work and I'm actually pretty fit at the moment.

"I'm just taking things carefully through to January and then ramping it up after that. But I'm feeling good about things, which is nice."

Henderson has played at both ends of the ground for the Blues, and while he has yet to discuss his role with Malthouse, he expects to be a defender by the start of next season.

"I haven’t sat down and talked to him yet about footy. We'll get to that when it comes but I think I'll still be down in defence.

"I think we're going to build a really strong core six," he said.