As the 2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo was about to begin, the Bruins looked lined up to make their own selection. Instead, just before the Toronto Maple Leafs were set to go on the clock to take Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick, Boston made the move that changed the night: two first-round picks, including its 2026 first-rounder, went to the Utah Mammoth for forward JJ Peterka.
That deal could wind up looking like one of the quieter difference-makers of Boston’s offseason. Peterka is expected to slot onto the top line alongside Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak, giving the Bruins another high-end piece as they head into the 2026-27 season.
Peterka was in Germany recently and spoke with NHL.com/de about what matters most when the Bruins open the season on Sept. 29 against the New York Rangers at TD Garden.
"A good start is always important,'' said Peterka, per NHL.com/de. "We're playing the season opener right away, which is super cool.
Staying in the moment will be key overall. Momentum is important, so we need to be as consistent as possible.
It's going to be a really long season. We shouldn't look too far ahead, but rather focus on one game at a time.
We have to give our best in every single game.
For Boston, that message lands with extra weight. The Bruins stumbled badly through the first couple of months last season under first-year coach Marco Sturm before turning things around and making the playoffs. A repeat of that kind of opening stretch would be a problem this time around.
The challenge is bigger now, too. The Atlantic Division has improved, the Eastern Conference has improved, and Boston will also have to start the year without Charlie McAvoy. The defenseman will miss the first six games while serving his suspension for slashing Zach Benson at the end of last season’s Game 6 loss that knocked the Bruins out of the postseason.
The schedule only adds to the pressure. Boston has a West Coast trip in October and several difficult road games against Western Conference playoff teams from last year.
The Bruins won’t have much room for another slow start and a late rescue job. Peterka’s point is the obvious one: if Boston wants to stay with the top teams in a better conference, it has to come out strong right away.
In Other News...
Bruins May Have Found A Draft Sleeper Worth Watching Closely
Matvei Kotkov is already giving the Bruins something to track after their 2026 third-round pick opened his professional career with a goal in his first Kontinental Hockey League game for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. The Russian forward, taken 104th overall, arrived with some buzz after a strong MHL season that included playoff success and postseason MVP honors, and his early jump to the KHL only adds to the intrigue around a player Boston clearly believes has more upside than his draft slot suggests.
Kotkovs profile has the kind of traits that tend to translate if everything comes together, with evaluators pointing to his shot and his speed as the obvious selling points. The question is whether the rest of his game will catch up quickly enough, because the same reports that praise his skill also note the areas he still has to clean up as a pro, especially when the game gets heavier along the walls and the physical battles start to matter more. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Prospect Matvei Kotkov Just Flashed Why Hes Worth Watching
Matvei Kotkov is starting to give the Bruins something to track beyond draft-night optimism. The Boston prospect, picked in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, has already shown well in junior competition and at Bruins Developmental Camp, and now he is beginning to translate that promise into pro production with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL.
For a fourth-round pick, every small step matters, especially when it comes in a league that can test young players against older competition every night. Kotkovs first goal of the season is the kind of early marker Bruins fans and development staff will keep circling, because it offers another reminder that there may be more upside here than his draft slot suggested. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Prospects In College Suddenly Matter More Than Fans Realize
The Bruins college pipeline is starting to look more important than a simple long-term project, especially with several prospects now in key development spots for the 2026-27 season. Will Moore is back at Boston College after a freshman year that showed flashes of why Boston invested a second-round pick in him, Ryan Walsh continues his run at Cornell, and Cooper Simpson has arrived at North Dakota with the kind of offensive rsum that made him one of the more intriguing young names in the system.
For Bruins fans, the appeal is in how different these paths are and how much each one could matter down the road. Moore is still learning to translate his skill against older competition, Walsh is grinding through the Ivy League route, and Simpson brings a scorers pedigree from the USHL that could give Boston a more dangerous option if his college game keeps moving in the right direction. The Bruins do not need these players to be finished products yet, but the fact that they are all in meaningful college roles makes their progress worth following closely. [Read more 🡒]