Boston Bruins
“We now have to come back collectively as a group. I do not care who’s on the market or not, that is how we will begin.”
Marco Sturm and the 2025-26 Bruins took to the ice at Warrior Ice Enviornment for the primary time as a gaggle on Thursday — with Boston holding two on-ice session as a part of their first day of practices throughout coaching camp.
For Boston’s new bench boss, Thursday represented a possibility for a reshaped Boston roster to start out constructing some chemistry, in addition to the primary probability to map out a number of the modifications that Sturm is trying to implement for a group in transition.
Listed below are six takeaways from Boston’s first training-camp follow:
Preaching velocity, simplicity
If there have been one or two overarching themes from Sturm’s first follow as Boston’s coach, it was tempo and clear-cut messaging.
Each of Boston’s practices on Thursday — cut up between two teams of the membership’s 50-plus gamers on the camp roster — primarily targeted on breakouts, zone entries, and forechecking, with Sturm and his teaching workers putting a premium on straight-line skating and a simplified strategy with the puck.
Whereas Sturm acknowledged that the Bruins will focus extra on the D-zone and the essentially tweaks required in that space on Friday, Thursday’s session was all about mapping out a black-and-white strategy to Boston’s revamped offensive strategy.
“It was direct. It was fairly straightforward, I’d say, on your mind to get again on observe,” Nikita Zadorov mentioned of Boston’s first follow. “Get again to figuring out your routes, touches, the place you need to be position-wise, system-wise, not considering an excessive amount of on the market. Enjoying quick.
“I imply, if you happen to have a look at the Stanley Cup champion prior to now two years — they’re the quickest group within the league, they play a super-aggressive model, and I believe a variety of groups attempt to copy that. And that’s our purpose as effectively.”
The 2025-26 Bruins don’t have the scoring depth that the Florida Panthers boast.
However, as Boston tries to seek out methods to generate offense past counting on David Pastrnak’s one-timer, Sturm’s focus on higher shot volumes and a heavy forechecking game might be the prescription wanted for this roster to constantly generate scoring possibilities.
“He had a smile on his face explaining it to us,” ahead Mikey Eyssimont mentioned of Sturm’s message to date. “As a result of the model of play it appears to be like like we’re gonna be enjoying — it’s a quick one, an offensive minded one, a ‘odor blood within the water and go play offense’ one.
“Clearly, all of it begins with construction, and that’s one thing that we’re all gonna have to purchase in and be taught right here at camp. However from there, there’s a variety of velocity right here, and I believe it’s going to be a extremely enjoyable, thrilling model of hockey to play.”
Meshing the roster collectively
Given the variety of gamers in place on Boston’s camp roster, every of the group’s two teams have their very own dressing rooms inside Warrior Ice Enviornment over the primary week-plus of practices.
This 12 months, “Group A” holds court docket throughout the group’s typical dressing room at Warrior — whereas “Group B” is relegated to one of many auxiliary locker rooms in the interim.
That set-up isn’t completely different from earlier camps. However, the personnel in every room has modified when in comparison with final fall.
Even with each teams that includes a mix of established veterans and youthful prospects, Nikita Zadorov famous that final 12 months’s camp had a majority of the group’s high gamers staying of their typical digs in the primary dressing room, whereas most of the rookies and different unproven gamers had been pushed to the smaller room, no matter whether or not they had been in Group A or B.
That isn’t the case this 12 months, with Group A — no matter seniority or different accolades — getting the primary dressing room.
“This 12 months we made an adjustment. We didn’t hold all of the older guys in the primary room,” Zadorov mentioned. “So Group A is on this room and group B is in that room. So that you form of get to see the younger guys. You realize them, as a result of final 12 months you had been happening the ice, and you’ve got some younger guys you will have by no means seen earlier than.
“You don’t even understand how they appear, what their names are, however now you’re in the identical room with them. … I prefer it.”
Sturm mentioned that the change was his determination, noting that camp is the opportune time for veterans to start out constructing a great rapport and chemistry with younger gamers — a few of whom might be primed for better roles on this group shifting ahead.
“No, that’s my name. And I made that decision as a result of I’ve at all times accomplished it that method,” Sturm mentioned. “I don’t care who’s during which group and which locker room. I informed Group A, although — I’ve obtained to say — they’ve to purchase a beer for Group B, as a result of they’re in a [expletive] locker room, I’d say. In order that they have to purchase them a beer.
“However we need to be a group. We need to come collectively and Group A, it’s, for me, one group. Group B, it’s one other group. And it makes completely no sense to separate them up, proper? And once more, now we have to come back collectively as a group. I don’t care who’s on the market or not, that’s how we’re going to start out.”
Pastrnak the lone absence
It was almost a full-squad follow on Thursday, with Pastrnak standing as the one absence attributable to tendinitis.
Talking on Thursday, Sturm confirmed that Pastrnak is coping with tendinitis in his knee — however pressured that he isn’t involved about it being an ongoing challenge.
“You guys noticed him round right here final week too. He may have skated right this moment, tomorrow, no matter it’s,” Sturm mentioned of Pastrnak, including: “We simply need to watch out. That’s all. And that’s why I’m not nervous in any respect.
“He’s knocking on my door already day by day. He needs to skate. We simply have to drag him again somewhat bit, however we simply need to ensure he’s going to be able to go subsequent week.”
Whereas Pastrnak wasn’t a participant throughout Thursday’s practices, he was noticed on the ice almost an hour earlier than these periods started.
An early have a look at traces
Right here’s a have a look at how Boston’s traces shook out throughout Thursday’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
Sturm famous that Arvidsson was skating instead of Pastrnak on Boston’s projected high line with Lindholm and Geekie, with Boston’s coach noting that the group’s traces is likely to be in a state of flux over the subsequent few practices as he tries to seek out “pairs” that click on collectively.
A possible fourth-line unit of Eyssimont-Kuraly-Kastelic makes loads of sense as a trio, whereas pairing Zacha alongside a fellow Czech ahead in Matej Blumel can be price following as camp progresses.
Andrew Peeke appears to be the primary man as much as exchange Brandon Carlo as Hampus Lindholm’s new D accomplice on the correct facet, whereas it ought to come as little shock that Zadorov opened camp alongside Jokiharju.
Within the 273:39 of 5-on-5 ice time that Zadorov and Jokiharju logged collectively final season throughout Boston’s depressing stretch run, the team actually held a 12-5 edge on goals scored.
A serving to hand
After scoring an AHL-leading 39 targets this previous season with the Texas Stars, Blumel is getting into Bruins camp together with his greatest shot but of cracking an NHL roster.
Past the chance afforded to him with a number of roster spots up for grabs, the 25-year-old winger famous that he already feels at residence together with his new group given the presence of different Czech gamers on the roster.
“I stayed for every week with Pav,” Blumel mentioned of Zacha. “He confirmed me round, confirmed me virtually each district right here, and I actually like the town. It’s very near European cities. So it feels very nice to be right here, and feels very good to have some guys round me who can present me round.”
One of many elder statesmen
This isn’t be Sean Kuraly’s first stint with the Bruins.
However, the veteran heart is discovering himself in some new environment inside Boston’s management hierarchy.
The 32-year-old pivot enters camp because the second-oldest participant on Boston’s coaching camp roster — with solely 33-year-old Patrick Brown passing him in journeys across the solar.
Whereas each Charlie McAvoy and Pastrnak are anticipated to prepared the ground as Boston’s high authorities within the dressing room, Kuraly believes that he can function a dependable useful resource — particularly as one of many gamers who as soon as shared a room with the likes of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and others.
“I got here into a extremely lucky scenario round some actually skilled and simply actually savvy veteran gamers and good folks,” Kuraly mentioned of his earlier tenure in Boston from 2016-21. “And I used to be actually lucky to be round that.
“I believe as you go on, you simply form of need to try to present some related issues for those that are coming in behind you — and a number of the advantages that I used to be simply fortunate and happenstance to be part of. And also you simply try to present that for teammates which are coming in with you. And I’m not saying I can present that to the extent that I used to be afforded, however simply attempting to be a small piece of it.”
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