The majority of Boston Bruins players returned to the ice on day one of training camp, but there were still a few absences to note.
Only one Boston Bruins player has opted out of the ‘Return To Play’ plan and won’t be returning while we remain in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that is Steven Kampfer.
Beyond him, we should expect to see every player named on the expanded roster appearing at the Bruins’ training facility within the next few days, before heading up to Toronto ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The practice lines that the Boston Bruins rolled out looked a little out of kilter, namely the top line with Karson Kuhlman partnering Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. You’d assume David Pastrnak may have been held up in his return from his native Czech Republic.
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Likewise, newer recruit Ondrej Kase, who will be itching to get training with his new Boston Bruins teammates also seems to have fallen afoul of a similar issue. He was conspicuous in his absence from the second line group; in his place, Anders Bjork stepped up alongside Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci.
Beyond those two, the only other names we see missing among forwards were Anton Blidh and Trent Frederic. Blidh being a native of Sweden may well also be quarantined or delayed in returning to the States, while Frederic is a little more puzzling, with his family roots in St. Louis.
Of the defensemen called up, only Urho Vaakanainen was missing while between the pipes Dan Vladar was missing. In both cases, you’d also assume this is all tied to the need to return from Europe and potential for quarantining on arrival.
All in all, day one seems to have run smoothly, with practice lines maybe not giving the absolute picture of what this expanded roster means for actual line-up decisions, but at the very least giving us confidence that there are decent options as placeholders in the short-term.
The priority right now has to be getting David Pastrnak back on the ice, in the hopes he can continue what was an absolute break-out season for him.
In all likelihood, he could find himself travelling back from the Czech Republic (if not quarantining alongside) a few of his teammates on this expanded roster with fellow countrymen Kase and Vladar no doubt facing the same challenges.