Boston Bruins
The Bruins make clear the state of their heart depth throughout Friday’s apply.
The Boston Bruins continued their coaching camp on Friday with one other pair of practices at Warrior Ice Area.
After a fast-paced session honing in on breakouts and the forecheck on Thursday, new Bruins head coach Marco Sturm opted to alter issues up a bit on Friday as he continues to enhance Boston’s techniques forward of the 2025-26 season.
Listed here are 5 takeaways from Friday’s apply:
A slower, heavier session
Marco Sturm has been clear about his method over the primary few days of coaching camp.
Contemplating the variety of ways in which Sturm plans to tweak Boston’s methods and techniques this fall, the Bruins’ bench boss has opted to chart out a special, simplified goal for every new day of apply.
Whereas Thursday’s practices featured an emphasis on fast puck play, forechecking and zone entries, Sturm centered Friday’s apply round Boston’s work within the defensive zone and the steps required to shore up what was a porous staff construction in 2024-25.
“Right this moment was a special day, proper? Yesterday was every little thing with the puck,” Sturm mentioned. “It was a excessive tempo, good circulate, numerous vitality, and also you had been with the puck. Guys wish to play with the puck. Right this moment, it was completely different. We had been working our approach again with out the puck, and my message at present was how essential it’s to trace and play good protection, as a result of we wish that puck again as fast as we will.
“So it permits us to play extra offense. It permits them to have extra offensive time. It’s not at all times enjoyable, however I’ve obtained to verify it’s going to be enjoyable for our guys. … I’m simply going to call the Florida Panthers — as a result of these guys, they cowl, they usually observe so exhausting. And all the nice groups, they try this. And that’s one thing — I’m going to be on all of it 12 months lengthy as a result of I need to play offense.”
Past the deal with the D-zone, Sturm closed out each practices with an prolonged stretch of battle drills alongside the boards.
“I’ve accomplished it earlier than, however by no means for that lengthy,” heart Casey Mittelstadt mentioned. “So yeah, it’s robust, however I feel that’s most likely the toughest factor. I really feel like skating-wise, everybody’s skated a lot in the summertime now, everybody’s in form. It’s extra so the physicality and among the stuff that lacks in the summertime, and so I feel it’s sort of a special sort of conditioning once you get into the battle. So, I beloved it, and I feel it’s excellent.”
It ought to come as little shock that 6-foot-7, 255-pound Nikita Zadorov relished the chance to throw his weight round on the boards.
“He’s obtained 6 inches and 70 kilos on me, so it’s not enjoyable,” Mittelstadt mentioned of being matched up towards Zadorov. “If I see him on the market, I attempt to skate away from him and never let him get me towards the boards as a result of it’s normally over at that time.”
Might Zacha be Boston’s third-line heart?
On a Bruins middle-six grouping in flux, a Swiss Military Knife like Pavel Zacha might turn out to be useful for Sturm.
Past Zacha’s profile as a reliable two-way skater who has averaged 54 factors per season over his three years with Boston, his skill to play each heart and wing might turn out to be useful as Sturm tries to unravel the place the puzzle items match up entrance.
Zacha’s observe document of manufacturing made him a potential top-six candidate on the wing alongside a couple of different gifted forwards in heart Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson.
However talking on Friday, Zacha acknowledged that the Bruins intend to start out him at heart at first of camp.
“He mentioned he likes me as a middle, but when he wants me as a winger, he’s going to speak to me forward of time and inform me what my state of affairs goes to be,” Zacha mentioned of his conversations with Sturm. “However he mentioned at first of coaching camp, I’ll be at heart, and we’ll go from there.
“In order that’s one thing he mentioned he’s going to speak with me earlier than. So I do know the place I’m at, and that’s all I can actually ask for.”
By preserving Zacha down the center, the Bruins presumably have a four-man grouping in place at heart between Elias Lindholm, Mittelstadt, Zacha, and Sean Kuraly.
That lineup composition does increase some questions over the place precisely youthful pivots like Fraser Minten or Matt Poitras issue into the equation in the event that they make a authentic push for NHL reps out of camp.
Regardless that Minten does mission as extra of a bottom-six skater, giving him restricted shifts as a 4C additionally possible isn’t finest for his general improvement, neither is Poitras’ recreation indicative of a checking ahead.
If Sturm and the Bruins do opt to identify “pairs” of forwards as a option to construct out their middle-six grouping, a pair of duos in Mittelstadt + Arvidsson and Zacha + Matej Blumel might every anchor separate strains.
However it nonetheless stays to be seen who slots in on the wing to enrich every of these two strains — in addition to simply how a lot runway could be afforded to youthful gamers in that lineup composition.
For Zacha, his prime focus getting into camp is to place a disappointing 2024-25 season within the rearview. Past Boston’s slide down the underside of the Japanese Convention standings, Zacha was hindered down the stretch by a nagging lower-body ailment that minimize into his manufacturing.
He appeared in all 82 video games with Boston, however scored simply 14 objectives and 47 factors — his lowest scoring output for the reason that 2021-22 season with the Devils.
“Since January, I used to be battling a few lower-body accidents, and that wasn’t best for me … The second a part of the season, it’s been higher in my profession, largely,” Zacha mentioned. “And that was one thing I didn’t have, the leap and the step that I wanted to have. And we sort of labored on it for 3, 4 months this summer time to sort of get again to the place I should be.”
A pugnacious fourth line
As Sturm continues to evangelise straight-line hockey and punishing forecheck throughout camp, it ought to come as little shock {that a} trio of Sean Kuraly, Mikey Eyssimont, and Mark Kastelic have primarily skated collectively by the primary two days of camp.
If Sturm and the Bruins are attempting to determine a hard-nosed id up entrance, there’s so much to love about what that trio of fleet-footed bruisers might do collectively as a unit.
Final season, Kuraly, Eyssimont, and Kastelic mixed for 491 hits and 209 penalty minutes.
Eyssimont ought to turn into a fan favourite in Boston given his propensity for being the fly within the ointment on the ice, whereas Kuraly ought to present construction and stability down the center.
However Kastelic would be the straw that stirs the drink on that fourth-line group, as long as he can keep away from the concussion points that restricted him to 61 video games in his first 12 months with Boston.
“It’s been a blast enjoying with these two, and I feel we complement one another nicely on the market,” Kastelic mentioned of Kuraly and Eyssimont. “Once more, a bit little bit of expertise from these two guys — been round a bit bit. I feel they each play an sincere, exhausting recreation, and that’s one thing I actually respect and respect. So it’s been enjoyable enjoying with them and constructing chemistry.”
Foes turned mates
Depend Kastelic amongst these grateful that he not has to drop the gloves with Tanner Jeannot transferring ahead.
Jeannot, who has held court docket as one of many extra feared scrappers within the NHL because of his devastating proper uppercut, took on Kastelic through the heart’s tenure with the Senators in January 2023.
“Sturdy man. I noticed that firsthand this 12 months in health testing,” Kastelic mentioned of Jeannot. “Noticed some numbers on the bench press I’ve by no means seen earlier than, so wanting again, I’m completely satisfied that he didn’t join with me too exhausting. Simply completely satisfied to be his teammate now. And he’s an excellent man off the ice. So it’s all prior to now now.”
As for who was the victor in that earlier bout?
“In all probability him,” Kastelic mentioned of Jeannot. “I don’t suppose I ate any [punches], however he undoubtedly man-handled me a bit bit. However I used to be completely satisfied I stood in there. He’s not a simple man to go towards. So I used to be happy with myself.”
A take a look at the strains
Right here’s a take a look at how Boston’s strains shook out throughout Friday’s practices:
Group A
Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – Viktor Arvidsson
Marat Khusnutdinov / Joey Abate – Casey Mittelstadt – Alex Steeves
Johnny Beecher – Fraser Minten – Fabian Lysell
Georgii Merkulov – John Farinacci / Brett Harrison – Dans Locmelis
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov – Henri Jokiharju
Michael Callahan – Billy Sweezey
Loke Johansson – Ty Gallagher
Jeremy Swayman
Michael DiPietro
Ben Hrebik
Group B
Matej Blumel – Pavel Zacha – Tanner Jeannot
Mikey Eyssimont – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
Riley Tufte – Matt Poitras – Riley Duran
Jeffrey Viel – Patrick Brown – Dalton Bancroft / Jake Schmaltz
Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke
Jordan Harris – Victor Soderstrom
Frederic Brunet – Jonathan Aspirot
Jackson Edward – Colin Felix / Max Wanner
Joonas Korpisalo
Simon Zajicek
Luke Cavallin
David Pastrnak was as soon as once more the lone absence on Friday on account of knee tendinitis, though the star ahead was as soon as once more on the ice skating and taking pictures pucks forward of apply.
As Sturm tries to establish promising linemates and dependable D pairs, he’s been impressed with what he’s seen so removed from a D grouping of Hampus Lindholm and Andrew Peeke.
“I knew Hampus out of Anaheim. I knew how good he’s,” Sturm mentioned. “It’s actually thrilling for not simply me, however I feel for the entire staff that he’s again. … [Peeke], I didn’t know him.
“I heard a whole lot of good issues, particularly popping out of the World Championship, that he performed like a person. … He carried that over immediately yesterday and at present. I feel he’s an enormous, robust presence proper now. I actually like that pair.”
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