Boston Bruins
“It is my job to deliver vitality, proper — on and off the ice.”
Sean Kuraly didn’t mince phrases when requested of the duties that fall on teammate Nikita Zadorov’s shoulders.
“It’s a tough job. I might not need it,” the Bruins veteran ahead acknowledged.
On the frozen sheet, the 6-foot-7 Zadorov serves as Boston’s battering ram — known as upon to police post-whistle shenanigans, eat up pucks on taxing PK reps, and dole out bone-crunching checks.
It’s a tricky process, however somebody’s obtained to do it on this Bruins roster.
“I wouldn’t need to do it myself,” Pavel Zacha added on Zadorov’s job description.
Granted, Zadorov’s teammates aren’t speaking in regards to the hits he delivers on the ice.
In Boston’s dressing room, the 30-year-old Zadorov has additionally assumed the function because the staff’s DJ — entrusted with the aux twine and the obligation to maintain his teammates fired up over the lengthy grind of an 82-game NHL season.
It’s an neglected — and oftentimes thankless — gig in an NHL dressing room.
However, for a participant like Zadorov who has established himself right into a vocal determine on a reworked Bruins staff, crafting playlists and holding tabs on his staff’s pulse comes as second nature.
“It’s my job to deliver vitality, proper — on and off the ice,” Zadorov stated. “So that is my half to do it off the ice as properly. To this point, so good.”
A longtime resume
Zadorov isn’t any stranger to setting the tone within the NHL ranks.
The Bruins signed Zadorov to a six-year contract in July 2024 with the expectation that he’d add some snarl and dimension to Boston’s D corps.
He’s been as marketed since donning a black-and-gold sweater. In 121 video games with Boston, Zadorov has racked up 242 penalty minutes, 324 hits, and 171 blocked photographs.
His bodily presence and vocal function has particularly been felt on a Bruins staff that has embraced a “piss and vinegar” identification in Marco Sturm’s first 12 months as bench boss.
“Generally you don’t need to hear it, however I believe it’s factor,” Sturm stated of Zadorov. “He’s not shy. So I believe it’s at all times good to have a man like him.”
It took little time for Zadorov to supply up his musical curation providers in Boston.
“I jumped in. I instructed [Brad Marchand] once I obtained right here — I’m gonna run the music, if it’s okay,” Zadorov stated. “As a result of they didn’t actually have a DJ.”
For years, Torey Krug served as Boston’s dressing-room maestro. In 2023-24, it was veteran journeyman Kevin Shattenkirk who took the helm of the staff’s iPad — synced as much as the booming JBL speaker propped up within the room.
This isn’t Zadorov’s first rodeo, having first began spinning tunes throughout his time with the Avalanche through the 2018-19. Since then, he has concocted mixes of top-40 hits and deep cuts for groups just like the Avs, Flames, and now the Bruins.
It’s an endeavor simpler stated than executed.
A thankless job
Past an aversion to nation music, Zadorov doesn’t take into account himself a gate-keeper in the case of his musical preferences.
“I can take heed to something — it depends upon the temper,” Zadorov stated. “Normally once I drive to the sport, it takes me like 30-35 minutes. I often placed on a pair songs. I hear by means of them earlier than I determine what to play within the room.”
The likes of Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs is probably not featured on Zadorov’s Spotify Wrapped. However, the veteran tries to hunt enter for his teammates to assist compile playlists that placate all events.
“It’s good to have suggestions from the fellows once they prefer it,” Zadorov stated. “Generally they request one thing. Generally you may have a tune that sort of matches the season or matches the timing.”
Granted, accounting for a number of musical tastes is a frightening mission — particularly on a Bruins roster at the moment that includes 10 People, 5 Canadians, three Swedes, and pairs of Russians, Czechs, and Finns.
Whereas Kuraly opts for old-school hits from Bruce Springsteen, Fraser Minten and Morgan Geekie are extra followers of EDM and home artists like John Summit. Zacha goes for extra of a “chilled” vibe earlier than video games, particularly artists like The Lumineers.
A really perfect playlist for Zadorov often includes an eclectic mixture of common rock licks just like the Crimson Sizzling Chili Peppers, EDM remixes, and hip-hop music catered to whichever metropolis the Bruins are taking part in in — selecting Nas’ “Illmatic” in New York or Eminem when Boston takes on the Crimson Wings.
There’s not one overarching playlist that Zadorov turns to, neither is there one mounted post-victory tune in Boston’s room — though Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” has been a well-liked decide because the finish of November.
“I like the range,” Minten stated. “Proper now he’s truly actually sizzling. He’s obtained some good songs going proper now.”
Past augmenting Boston’s set record to no matter metropolis they’re taking part in in, the self-described “superstitious” Zadorov often opts to vary up the playlist at any time when the staff loses.
Together with submitting a pair songs for the staff’s warmup combine on the TD Backyard ice, Zadorov additionally has to account for various music tones for various junctures throughout a each day hockey itinerary.
(Wish to take heed to the Bruins’ TD Backyard warmup combine? Right here’s each tune that they’ve performed up to now this 12 months.)
There’s the morning-skate combine, oftentimes suffering from basic hits to shake the cobwebs out earlier than the Bruins hit the ice for follow. Zadorov opts for a mellow strategy within the Bruins’ room when the staff arrives on the rink for pre-game conferences and video assessment.
And naturally, the hour main as much as puck drop is rife with heavy riffs and blistering rap beats to boost the guts charge earlier than Zadorov is tasked with tenderizing puck carriers and snuffing out scoring possibilities.
It’s a conflict of musical tastes that Zadorov should corral, one which has led to some chirps from his teammates.
“We’ve our essential assembly at 5:30. Something from then to gametime, I believe that he’s actually good — sort of adjustments the vibe,” Geekie stated of Zadorov’s music decisions. “Something earlier than that, he must be arrested. Like, it’s simply not good in any respect. … It’s home lounge, however like — Ibiza home lounge, such as you’re getting a cocktail.”
Geekie’s disdain of Mediterranean-based beats apart, Zadorov’s arduous endeavor has been appreciated by his teammates.
“I’ll say, he’s getting higher,” David Pastrnak stated. “He listens and he will get higher.”
“As a lot as I’d like to offer him a tough time, and there’s loads of issues to offer him a tough time about, I’ve to offer him credit score,” Kuraly acknowledged. “He has give you a pair actually good songs after our wins.”
A rising voice
The ever-candid Zadorov was fast to level out that “staff DJ” falls far down on his record of duties for this Bruins staff.
However, in a dressing room that noticed a number of key leaders exit by way of final spring’s fire-sale, Zadorov has taken it upon himself to be extra of an authority determine and useful resource on a franchise at the moment in transition.
Nonetheless, Zadorov shirks at a query rooted in his increasing function as one of many staff’s high leaders.
“It’s nice to see guys leaning on you and provide you with respect, and now we have a very shut group,” Zadorov stated. “However now we have 23 leaders right here.”
If Zadorov figures himself as only one piece of the puzzle, the match has been evident on this Bruins staff.
On the ice, Zadorov has been a foundational fixture on Boston’s uneven defensive corps — with the Bruins outscoring opponents, 31-23, within the defenseman’s 676 minutes of 5-on-5 reps this season, per Natural Stat Trick.
Be it delivering pies to those in need on Thanksgiving morning or chugging beers at Celtics games, Zadorov has ingratiated himself to a Boston neighborhood that has resonated together with his bruising play fashion, headline-grabbing feedback, and willingness to embrace the highlight.
And past the tunes he blares in Boston’s room, Zadorov has been a key conduit in cultivating the Bruins’ reworked identification.
“With identification, it’s not about this staff. It’s about this group. It’s taking part in Boston Bruins hockey. It’s been right here for means earlier than us for 100 years,” Zadorov stated. “So I believe we’re simply making an attempt to recreate it a bit of bit in our means.”
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