Going into training camp, there is no shortage of position battles that are going to be up for grabs for Boston Bruins players. Most of those battles are going to be with the bottom-six forwards and the slew of defenseman that are going to be in camp.
Second-year head coach Marco Sturm joined the Bruins Beat podcast and explained that he knows that there are going to be some players who are going to be unhappy that they will not be on the roster on Sept. 29 against the New York Rangers on Opening Night.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm knows there will be some upset players at training camp
Sturm and his staff are going to have a short amount of time in camp to make decisions for his roster, and he acknowledged that there are going to be some players who are not going to be happy with how things might end up turning out.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a good, healthy competition to have. Somebody will be pissed…somebody will be mad, whoever is not going to make it on the roster for Game 1 against New York,” said Sturm. “It would be a lot harder if I was the new coach right now and didn’t know anybody. It would be really hard, so I have a little bit of a better idea [what I am looking at].
“And the other thing is the players wanted less [preseason] games and a shorter training camp, that means they also have to know it’s less opportunity for guys to shine in training camp. So it’s going to be hard for players that need a game or two to get going and you don’t have that anymore. So right from the start they have to be ready to go and show me [what they can do] right away so I can make decisions right away. It’s going to be hard.''
So he's not wrong, but the preseason games are going to be played in six days, which leaves very little wiggle room for someone who has one tough day or preseason game in terms of impressing the coaching staff. That is going to make the camp that much more important for players like James Hagens and Matthew Poitras, assuming he signs his deal by then, and defenseman Frederic Brunet.
Other players who are going to be battling for a roster spot are Alex Steeves, Mikey Eyssimont, Lukas Reichel, and even newly acquired forward Ivan Ivan, who was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche for former top Boston prospect Fabian Lysell.
Now, a wrench could be thrown in if Poitras has not signed a new contract before camp starts, and then, well, things will get interesting. Does he hold out, and if he does, do the Bruins look to trade him? Will the Black and Gold bring someone in on a PTO before camp begins? It would be surprising if that happened, given all the players who are going to be battling for a roster spot now. Another body, unless the Bruins feel that player would make the roster, doesn't make sense.
Things are going to get underway shortly, and there are going to be some tough decisions awaiting Sturm and his staff. The results will likely not make many people happy.
Add us as a preferred source on Google