May 6, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (37) reacts with teammate Brad Marchand (63) after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period in game three of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Tomorrow morning, the Boston Bruins 2014-15 season begins. It’s been four years since the Bruins last drank for the Stanley Cup, and this year’s candidates are a very thirsty bunch. The assembled Bruins, P-Bruins, rookies, and players invited on a try out basis will start the annual training camp. The full list of the invited players can be found here.
The Bruins will start their training camp with a day of off-ice testing. It’s probably a kind way of saying that the Bruins and the invited players will be treated to a dazzling array of profanity offered up by Bruins Strength and Conditioning Coach John Whitesides. (If you’ve ever watched ‘Behind the B’, you know what I’m talking about.) The players will go through a series of drills (bench press, pull ups, and the ‘dreaded’ shuttle run) to test their overall fitness levels.
Later that evening, the Bruins front office and members of the Bruins will be having their annual ‘State of the Bruins’ meeting. Season ticket holders will get to engage the players (Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci) and management on what they hope to see this year out of the Black and Gold (With the B’s current salary cap problems, the discussion could get a little heated).
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For the Bruins to fill their roster, they’ll need to fill the(at least) two forward spots open and perhaps a back up goaltender. The forward openings are to replace future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla and future permanent resident of Charlestown, Shawn Thornton. The goaltender position is to replace Chad Johnson (who did a fantastic job for us last season).
As of tonight, it is uncertain if unsigned restricted free agents Reilly Smith and Torey Krug will attempt camp tomorrow. There is no sign of a deal for either them at the moment, and one or both may miss training camp because of it. It might be in their best intrests to participate if no other reason then to lose their potential spots on the roster.
“Peter and I have had several discussions over the summer, but thus far we haven’t come to an agreement on Reilly’s value,” – Anton Thun (Reilly Smith’s agent)
Puck Prose
The players will have a very busy few days in front of them. The Bruins will quickly work their way down the roster with a pair of practices on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, the players will have their Black and Gold scrimmage at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The Providence squad won last time, and I’m sure it will be very exciting as both teams will be fighting hard to earn spots on the NHL and AHL roster.
It will be interesting to see what jersey players will wear, and if David Pastrnak will be skating on the third line with Carl Soderberg and Chris Kelly as he has been doing during the captain’s practices.