When the Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in six games by the Buffalo Sabres on May 1, one of the questions facing the Black and Gold was which players, if any, were going to head over to Switzerland for the IIHF World Championship.
Three members of the Bruins are heading over, forwards James Hagens and Alex Steeves, and defenseman Mason Lohrei, to play for Team USA. On Sunday, Team USA played an exhibition game against Germany and won, 5-2. Steeves had one of the goals for Team USA, which opens the tournament against Switzerland on Friday.
Marat Khusnutdinov draws praise from David Pastrnak
When the Bruins acquired Marat Khusnutdinov from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline in 2025, little did they know what they were going to get from the second-round pick of the Wild, 37th overall, in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
They ended up getting a gritty forward who had 15 goals and 18 assists in 77 games in the regular season in Marco Sturm's first season in Boston. He won over a lot of his teammates, including superstar David Pastrnak.
“I love Khusy. What a nice guy. Always happy, always smiling. Always brings the positive energy,” Pastrnak said. “And obviously, his play speaks for itself. Super proud of the season he had. He was a big part of why we got where we got. Excited to see more from him. Happy with the way he came in this year.”
He is signed for another season, and if he can repeat his 2025-26 season, then the Black and Gold might have something.
All eyes on the Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have yet to name their new GM, and Bruins assistant GM Evan Gold is reportedly a finalist for the job. If he gets the job, replacing Don Sweeney's top assistant won't be easy. For what it's worth. According to Mark Divver, Gold was part of the exit interviews with the Providence Bruins, where he holds the title of GM, on Saturday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google