BRIGHTON - Day 2 of Bruins training camp looked a lot like Day 1, with Marco Sturm and his staff keeping the same basic setup and resisting the urge to shake things up too quickly.
That was by design. Sturm said after Thursday’s session that he wanted to keep Pavel Zacha in place for a little longer, and Friday brought the same look again. Zacha stayed with Casey Mittelstadt and JJ Peterka for a second straight day as the Bruins continued working through their early camp evaluations.
“It’s so hard in practices because today was more [of] a battle day anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what kind of combos I had out there. Every day is a little bit different,” head coach Marco Sturm said.
“We feel like we should go for another day or two with the same lineup. I could change again day one or first preseason game.
We take it day by day.”
The only notable shuffle came in the group assignments. Ty Gallagher moved from Group A to Group B, while Dylan Mackinnon, a right-shot defenseman under contract with Providence, went the other way into Group A.
There was also a change on the injury front. Billy Sweezey did not skate Friday after suffering an upper-body injury Thursday, and Sturm said afterward that he will miss a few days.
A pair of young forwards kept making noise in the right places. James Hagens was back on the kids’ line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov, and he kept showing off his ability to jump into the rush. The trio stayed on the ice well after the 10:00 AM session ended and wound up collecting all of the pucks.
Dans Locmelis, who was again grouped with Tanner Jeannot and Mikey Eyssimont, also continued to put pressure on the coaching staff as cuts get closer.
Frederic Brunet was another name worth watching. He skated on the left side of Charlie McAvoy, and McAvoy came away impressed.
“He’s a great kid,” McAvoy said about Brunet. “He’s got a really good skill set, I think.
He can skate, and he can make plays. From what I’ve heard, he made a lot of plays down in Providence, so I think he’s a really exciting prospect and I’m trying my best to help him out.”
The scrimmages had a little bite to them, too. Eyssimont brought the physical edge in the first session, then Mark Kastelic and Navrin Mutter added some thump in the second. Both groups finished with 1-on-1 board battles, and that kept the pace sharp right through the end of practice.
The Bruins are back at Warrior Ice Arena on Saturday for their third day of on-ice work. Group A goes first at 10:00 AM, Group B follows at 12:10 PM, and the two groups will scrimmage at 11:15 AM.
Friday’s lines:
Group B
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
Hampus Lindholm - Will Borgen
Jordan Harris - Henri Jokiharju
Loke Johansson - Maxence Guennette
Tobie Paquette-Bisson - Ty Gallagher
Michael DiPietro
Jiri Patera
Luke Cavallin
Group A
Morgan Geekie - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak
Alex Steeves - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic
Attilio Biasca - Matt Poitras - Lukas Reichel
Wyatt Bongiovanni - Brendan Gaunce - Brian Halonen
Navrin Mutter - Ivan Ivan
Frederic Brunet - Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov - Connor Clifton
Mason Lohrei - Jonathan Aspirot
Dylan Mackinnon - Max Wanner
In Other News...
Bruins Camp Opens With One Absence And A Heartbreaking Loss
The Bruins have opened camp with the usual early fall rhythm of sessions, scrimmages and line combinations that stay largely intact from one day to the next. There is, however, one personnel change already on the board: Billy Sweezey is dealing with an upper-body injury, which has created an opening for Dylan Mackinnon to join the camp roster as Boston starts sorting through its depth and conditioning work before the preseason games begin.
The bigger news, though, has nothing to do with a lineup card. The organization is mourning the death of Alex Gimenez, who had just been hired in July as the teams director of hockey operations for the collective bargaining agreement, a loss that has cast a shadow over the first days of camp. Around the league, there have been other notable storylines involving familiar names, but for the Bruins, this week has been defined first by that absence off the ice and the reminder that some things matter far beyond the competition for roster spots. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Prospect Dan Locmelis Is Already Facing A Tough Camp Reality
Bostons training camp has barely had time to breathe, and that makes every day of evaluation feel a little sharper for the Bruins. With a shortened preseason and a quick turn to the regular season opener, the club is already sorting through the bottom of the roster, where young players have less margin for error and fewer exhibition games to make an impression.
For Dan Locmelis, that reality is setting in fast. The prospect is in the mix, but the Bruins have roster flexibility with him that they do not have with some others, and that could shape where he starts the season if the club decides he is better served in Providence. For now, Boston is still working through those decisions as the preseason moves along, and Locmelis is one of the names most affected by how little time there is to sort it all out. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Nearly Made A Huge Blue-Line Splash Fans Never Saw Coming
The Bruins spent part of the summer looking for ways to add to their blue line, and one of the names that surfaced was Filip Hronek of the Canucks. Bostons interest was enough to become public in a roundabout way, which only added to the sense that the club had at least kicked the tires on a meaningful move while trying to strengthen a defense group that has been under the microscope.
What makes the Hronek pursuit stand out is how close it appears Boston came to trying something significant, even if nothing materialized. Vancouver, for its part, is not looking to move him and still views him as part of its long-term core, which leaves the Bruins back in the market for help on defense and a reminder that not every aggressive inquiry turns into a transaction. [Read more 🡒]