The Bruins are only 10 days from opening day and one day from their first preseason game, and this morning they’re back on the ice at Warrior Ice Arena for their third on-ice session. The plan includes a scrimmage between the two groups, as Boston keeps working through camp with a lineup that has stayed largely intact through the first two days.
Marco Sturm has kept the combinations mostly steady, including the pairing of Charlie McAvoy and Frederic Brunet. That setup has been a notable part of the early camp work, with McAvoy taking Brunet under his wing. McAvoy said he approaches every player the same way, but he’s especially familiar with being in Brunet’s position after having a Hall of Famer help guide him earlier in his own career.
Sturm said the Bruins are still in evaluation mode, but he also made it clear he likes the continuity so far. “we feel like we should go for another day or two with the same lineup.”
The Bruins will be without Billy Sweezey for a few days after he suffered an upper-body injury. Dylan Mackinnon was called up to the camp roster in his place.
There was also heavy news away from the X’s and O’s. The Bruins are mourning the loss of Alex Gimenez, who was hired in July as the Director of Hockey Operations, Collective Bargaining Agreement. Gimenez graduated from Cornell in 2015, spent 10 years with the Red Sox, and also had a stop with the PWHL.
Sturm addressed the loss at yesterday’s media availability and didn’t hide how difficult the moment was for the organization. “First of all, you guys heard the sad news about Alex.
I got to know him a couple weeks ago. He just came in, was very excited, very happy.
So unfortunately, it’s a big loss for us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
He was looking forward to be a Boston Bruin. That was hard.
It was a hard morning today to hear that news.”
Around the league, Kirill Marchenko didn’t give much away when asked about his future in Columbus. He said his agent and Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell are handling the business side, but he stopped short of saying whether he likes playing there. Back at the draft, Kevin Weekes had reported that Marchenko was not intending to re-sign with the Blue Jackets.
Brad Marchand will miss some time during the regular season after a recent surgery, with Paul Maurice saying the absence will run through October. Marchand skated before training camp, but he’ll be rehabbing through the first month of the season.
Evgeni Malkin also surfaced in retirement talk again, with the veteran forward considering what might come next and whether this could be his final season. Ryan O’Reilly’s future came up as well; he has one year left on his deal at $4.5 million, and while Barry Trotz once handled him like he had a no-trade clause, those conversations with Chris MacFarland have not happened yet.
Elsewhere, Quinn Hughes was asked again about the idea of playing with his brothers in New Jersey. He’s said yes before, but he said he thinks they have something good in Minnesota, added that there are no issues there, and said he does not “feel pressure to do anything.”
In Detroit, Simon Edvinsson showed up at Red Wings camp without a contract. “I’m on a PTO now, actually,” he said. Todd McLellan gave him credit for being there, and Edvinsson said he has been talking with interim GM Shawn Horcoff about his future with the team.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Bruins Camp Just Gave Fans A Real Early Roster Test
The Bruins used a short training camp scrimmage Thursday to squeeze in an early roster look before their first preseason game, and it brought all 49 players at camp onto the ice. The session was split into two groups and had the feel of a first small sorting exercise, the kind that can start to separate the bodies from the names as camp moves toward more serious lineup decisions.
The workout also offered a minor health check, with Billy Sweezey back after missing one day because of an upper-body injury. Group A came out on top in the 30-minute run, getting the deciding goal late from Navrin Mutter on a setup by Brendan Gaunce, a tidy camp moment that at least gives the staff one more name to think about as the preseason opens. [Read more 🡒]