Newest Bruins learn from development camp.
June 22, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Malcolm Subban is selected as the number twenty-four overall draft pick to the Boston Bruins in the 2012 NHL Draft at CONSOL Energy Center. Subban was one of the players invited to this year’s development camp. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2013 Bruins development camp now over, the newest batch of fresh recruits (and some returning for the third or fourth year) were inculcated in the Bruins system. The annual development camp gives the young hockey players an introduction into the Bruins universe, and teaches a few off the rink lessons as well.
Naturally, the development camp gets the prospects through a series of on-ice drills. The staff evaluate the players and try to figure out if some of them are ready for the next big leap in their careers. Whether it be college, major juniors, or even the big leagues, each player gets a thorough look over while they are there.
The potential Bruins are also given a one day lesson on the importance of making responsible choices when it comes to food and nutrition. The team even brings in a professional chef (it’s on my resume if the Bruins are looking for someone to teach the kids in the 2014 development camp) to teach the prospects simple recipes so they can survive on their own(rather than living off of take-out.) The last day of the Bruins camp is when the team goes ‘off the reservation’ to learn a few team building skills that require not just physical fitness, but serious mental agility as well.
The newest batch of prospects also received a 101 course in handling themselves on social media. No, seriously. The recruits got a crash course on how to handle themselves on Twitter. I can sort of imagine it going like this though. “First rule of Bruins tweet club is you do not tweet like Tyler Seguin. The second rule of Bruins tweet club is you do not tweet like Tyler Seguin.” The social media course was set up the year after Tyler Seguin went through development camp, and it’s hoped that no one will follow in the footsteps or our recently departed problem child.
Development camp director and Bruins assistant general manager went on the record with ESPNBoston.com to explain the need for the social media survival course. “It’s here to stay. They have to understand it and acknowledge it and be careful about it,” Sweeney said. “We have to understand it better and we have to hopefully get them to understand and appreciate the impact some of their statements and how quickly those statements get from Point A to Point B.
“We’ll continue to address it and it’s not the first time. Hopefully we’ll continue to get better at it and get the message across because at times it doesn’t always sink in. There’s growth in those areas as well and we’ll continue to make sure and we’ll point out some of the slip-ups that other guys have had over the course of time and learn from them. Hopefully they all do, so they don’t make the same mistakes.”
I still see a picture of Tyler Seguin on page one of the Bruins Twitter handbook though.