BRIGHTON, MA -- After a long summer, filled with moves and notable shakeups, the Boston Bruins are back at practice for the first time.
The entirety of the Bruins' training camp roster enters with a clean bill of health, so everyone from camp hit the ice in either Group A or Group B.
Boston's roster includes 27 forwards, 16 defensemen, and 6 goaltenders. The Bruins do not have anyone attending camp on a PTO, nor did they make any last-minute acquisitions, aside from inking RFA forward Matthew Poitras to a one-year deal worth $850,000 at the NHL Level.
Here's how the groups shook out for Thursday's day one skate:
Here's how Group A lined up for practice:
Morgan Geekie - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak
Alex Steeves - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic
Attilio Biasca - Matthew Poitras - Lukas Reichel
Wyatt Bongiovanni - Brendan Gaunce - Brian Halonen
Ivan Ivan and Navrin Mutter rotated in on the third line.
Defensively, things got interesting:
Frederic Brunet - Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov - Connor Clifton
Jonathan Aspirot - Mason Lohrei
Max Wanner - Ty Gallagher
Brunet immediately receiving an opportunity alongside McAvoy shows how big of a chance the youngster's getting. His speed and positioning looked incredible, and he looks every bit a potential NHL defenseman.
Brunet loved the opportunity put in front of him.
“I found out probably 30 minutes before practice" Brunet said. "It was a pretty good feeling, honestly. Especially on the first day, you’re pretty nervous, and then you see you’re playing with McAvoy, one of the top three defensemen in the NHL.
“We had some good chemistry out there … He’s really good to me, he’s a good leader, he shows me the way. And I think if we keep practicing together it’s just going to get better. He’s been really nice, and I think I can just learn so much from him. He’s awesome. I think just try to be around him and be a sponge.”
It's also worth noting that Zadorov and Clifton were a pairing. Lookout, NHL. That pairing might shatter any records for hits thrown by one pairing. What a ferocious duo that could be.
Then it came time for Group B's skate, where they had some interesting lines of their own:
Casey Mittelstadt - Pavel Zacha - JJ Peterka
James Hagens - Fraser Minten - Marat Khusnutdinov
Tanner Jeannot - Dans Locmelis - Mikey Eyssimont
Joey Abate - Jake Schmaltz - Riley Duran
Kalle Vaisanen rotated in on the fourth line.
Defensively, Boston looked like this:
Hampus Lindholm - Will Borgen
Jordan Harris - Henri Jokiharju
Loke Johansson - Max Guennette
Tobie Paquette-Bisson - Billy Sweezey
Again, the most notable set up here is the top nine forwards, along with the top four defensemen.
The newly-minted "kid line" is back for Boston, with Hagens, Minten, and Khusnutdinov all splitting the ice. That could very well be Boston's opening night third-line as things stand.
Peterka starts off exactly where Viktor Arvidsson left off, which makes sense given the similar profile of player while Boston prioritizes keeping the chemistry between Mittelstadt and Zacha going.
Locmelis looks every bit like a player who will be right at the top of the list for a potential call up in the event of injuries this year. You'd never know he had a major surgery missed the last three months of the season after an injury at the Olympics.
With the full lines put together, it's pretty easy to paint a picture of what opening night may look like, with the major caveat being McAvoy will be suspended for six games to start the season:
Forwards:
Geekie - Lindholm - Pastrnak
Mittelstadt - Zacha - Peterka
Hagens - Minten - Khusnutdinov
Jeannot - Kuraly - Kastelic
Extras: Battle between Steeves, Poitras, and Eyssimont.
Defense (no McAvoy):
Lindholm - Borgen
Zadorov - Clifton
Aspirot - Lohrei
Extras: McAvoy (suspended), one or two of Brunet, Jokiharju, and Harris.
Goalies:
Jeremy Swayman
Michael DiPietro
