McAvoy’s Return & Other Thoughts From Bruins Preseason Opener

McAvoy’s Return & Other Thoughts From Bruins Preseason Opener

Uh, we made it. I made it, Jud. Uh, a little behind the scenes action over here. Welcome to the hockey hub. I There was never a doubt so far. You knew. You were really calm. You calmed me down. We had our pre-show meeting in the car cuz I was coming in hot. Jud was on Jud was on time. Brennan was on time. I’m pretty not quite. Not quite. A little late. The little There’s a little construction for anybody who who’s driving right now. A little construction on Soldiers Field Road. Just be ready. Okay. Well, I would like to blame it on the truck that I uh was stuck behind, but truthfully, I did kind of wake up late, too. But we’re here. We’re here for on our brand new set. By the way, I know we used to do the desk. I’m really excited for this. And it’s another episode of the hockey hub after game one of the preseason. We finally have storylines and quotes in the summer. We were stretching, but we’re here and we’ve got a couple stories. Obviously, Ness covered the game. Jud and Brick in the booth. We’re going to go over that, guys. We’re going to go over some stuff from training camp still and look ahead uh to what might be happening with the Boston Bruins. Let’s start with last night. 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals. As you and Brick said a million times, no one’s going to remember the score. That’s not what the games were about. Is about looking at line combinations, goalending depth, chemistry, systems. What were your takeaways from last night? Oh my god, there’s so many things that we can probably talk about because it’s preseason game number one and the results. Yes, there’s a scoreboard, but that’s not what we’re going to remember. There’s so much that goes into it. And in many ways, Sofh, I don’t know how you felt. Uh, but certainly up top on nine and talking to Brick, that looked like a first preseason game, which it’s good to get out of the way. And I think one of the things that Marco Sturman talked about when I know and I know you’ve had these conversations with him, too, is it it’s nice for him as a first year head coach to actually have the six preseason games. Next year, it’s going to move to four because there’s so much that’s new. not just the new guys on the roster, but new roles. How are they going to play? Who has an opportunity to make the team? Where do these pieces fit? You’re going to need all this time, and there’s not a lot of time between the start uh of essentially the preeason, which is September 21st, up until October 8th in Washington, where you want to try and have things nailed down. You know, when I was a fan of the game and I wasn’t yet covering it, I used to scoff at preseason and I was like, “Oh, this is such a waste. I can’t wait to really play. Now that I’ve been covering it for a while, now that I’m closer with players and coaching staff, there really is a lot of importance to these games. And to your point, with Marco only had four, that that might change things up. So, six six is good. And he’s going to be making a lot of notes. Uh because we don’t know this Bruins team, there are so many open spots. And I think those six, every single guy on that team is taking them very seriously. Definitely. You know, and it’s different every year, I think, for different teams. You know, if you talk to some of the Washington guys about the preeason, they may look at it a little bit differently uh than maybe they did even a couple seasons ago because they really only have one open spot. So, think about the Bruins. Maybe a couple of years ago, they were probably in a similar situation, but that is not the case now, right? And I think the other thing that sticks out, so especially after watching the first period and the subsequent two, one of the things that Marco Sturm is is trying to stress with his group is structure. and you want to be able to try and nail that down on opening night. I think that’s hard for any team, whether it’s a team in a situation like the Bruins or maybe a team like the Washington Capitals uh that’s on the other end of it and had won the Eastern Conference last year. They finished with the top record. So, it’s going to take some time. As he mentioned, maybe the systems are a little bit different. There are some tweaks to them. Some of the language is different. Uh the way we’re approaching it, it’s a different voice. So, that’s what makes watching last night’s game and watching the subsequent five, which we’re gonna have here on Nessen, such a fun watch. Yes. And I want to comment on that, but first, I got a note from our producer Brendan. I didn’t even introduce us. I just I just didn’t even introduce myself. It’s television. You know, aren’t there graphics for that? See, I’m a radio guy. There are no graphics in radio. If you guys are watching the Hockey Hub, you better know who we are. No, I’m kidding. It’s Sophia Jed. There we go. How are you? How did How did I do there? Nice to meet you. Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you, Jud. Jud, of course, playbyplay of the Boston Bruins. Me, I don’t know. What do I do? I report. I host. You run this. You run this operation. I run the joint. You told me to pick up my cell phone, take a picture of the preseason schedule. That’s what I was doing. I did. I was really bossy last night on air. Yeah. No, that was fun. It was so Oh, I don’t think so. I was picking up my phone. You know, the camera shot didn’t come up, but that’s what I was doing. It was so good to be back, by the way. And um you know the we don’t have to talk about this but I I just was thinking about the shootout which both teams agreed to doing even though it was 52 but I was looking at like the kids in the stands and the people who stayed and I’m just like oh I love this fan base. I love uh TD Garden atmosphere and it’s just preseason so I can’t wait for the real stuff. But to your point about systems and everything and and how important the preseason games are for these teams for me as a reporter, very exciting to watch to see the Ganos, the Potra, how he’s doing. Blue Mal, I was really excited to watch Blue Mal. I I I enjoyed watching him last night. who we have in the who the Bruins have in the system because like we said in previous years your top threeish lines were pretty much established give or take people moving around but now you have you don’t even have the sure top six about who’s going to be in there I mean not not that they don’t have the talent but who it’s going to be so this is what we’re looking for when we’re watching no sen and I think in the big picture and this is one of the things that has been made clear by by Marco Sturm whether it’s the combinations upfront or even on D. And I know we’re not talking about the D pairs quite as much, but there’s going to be there’s going to be some changes and there’s going to be some stuff that he’s going to consider here during the preseason, but I think one of the things that we’re trying to figure out whether it’s up front or on the back end, not only who makes the team, but where does some of these pieces fit? Pavle Zaka didn’t play last night, but he’s a perfect example. Yeah. Okay. Well, where does he fit? I know Marco had talked about, I love him at center, but we’re gonna start you on the wing. Yeah. And for Matt Potra last night was playing the middle and Marco Sturm was very clear in talking to Patra and and this message got to him. I’m going to play you at both center and wing. Don’t read into it. So last night we saw him at center uh along with um Lysel and Jano. So these are just some data points that we’re trying to pick up here at the beginning of the preeason. But but it’s so important to be able to get some of this repetition in and shake some of this rust off and try and get as ready as possible for what’s going to happen in October. And I mean I I feel like more and more coaches are are coming to this. We talk about being a players coach, but um I’m assuming most coaches would say if they’re switching guys up and explain, you know, what’s going on, but Marco being a communicator and really emphasizing that he’s a communicator. It’s you can feel it from the guys what they say that he’s really being clear messaging, not being confusing and trying to explain so that they’re not in their own heads about what’s going on, which is good. Oh, no. He’s he’s definitely kept it simple. He’s he’s got a lot of old school in him. Um, you know, and I think a lot of the coaches now and whether it’s Marco Sturm or any of the other guys that have been here in the past, one of the things that they have talked about is the players now, they need to know why. That wasn’t always the case. you know, when a guy like Brick was playing, you would be put in a certain spot or told to do a certain thing and maybe the explanation was not there. Maybe it was, but with with this generation of players, and the other thing to think about with the Bruins, and and I haven’t checked here recently, but they’re actually, I think, in the top I I want to say top four or five youngest teams in the National Hockey League. They are a very young group. I think the oldest guy is Sean Carali, right? Who’s 32. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. That’s actually that’s wild. Yes. That’s we’ll we’ll check on that. That means I’m way older than everyone. This is really depressing. There was there was a time when I would be one of the youngest ones in the Not me. Internship. Oh, it sucks. Anyway, actually getting older is a privilege. Listen, we had a game last night. Obviously, we’ve been talking about this, which means there’s a locker room sound. So, as I throw to it, I’m also talking to my producer over here. We’re going to throw to something and then we’re going to come back and react. So, let’s let’s get into the locker room right now and we’ll be right back to talk about it. Marco, I know it’s only the exhibition schedule, but how did it feel to be behind the Brewing bench for the first time? No, it’s definitely it was different, right? Uh, it took me a little bit. Um, you know, even for me to get going. Um, yeah. No, it was nice to be back. Uh obviously uh wish would would have been a little bit a different ending but uh you know that’s uh no that’s uh it was just nice to be back behind an uh a bench getting used to the environment the players the fans and everything else. Um so that was good. I imagine it’ll be a different feeling on October 8th but we’ll wait till that comes and have that discussion after that uh after the home opener on the 9th against Chicago. Being said, uh, do you coach differently during the exhibition schedule? I mean, you go down 4-1 in the first period. Is that a teaching moment or or how do you handle it? Yeah, a little bit of both. I mean, uh, again, uh, end of the day, we all we all, uh, try to compete and we all competitors and we all want to win and that was just some some individual mistakes on our end. Um, I thought we just were not smart enough right away at the start. Um that’s the thing about preseason sometimes you wait you’re waiting for that moment. Uh a lot of guys waited for that moment uh you know to get going and uh and they worked. They really worked but they were just not we were not just not smart and uh got better I would say uh uh more uh to end of the second and uh in a third period but again we just got to be smart in that. Yeah. And lastly uh yeah what were the positive takeaway? I know this is all part of the evaluation process. It’s only game one, but what were the positive takeaways other than maybe the back half of the hockey game where the team played better? Yeah. No, I it was uh I really liked our transition game. Um you know uh we caused the team a lot of trouble by just uh playing fast. Uh uh anything what comes of the neutral zone. I I think that’s something we we touched on it. We worked on it. Uh so that was uh that was good. And uh yeah, no, there’s just a lot of a lot of areas we just have to, like I said, like uh we have to be smarter, we have to be better, and we going to yeah, try to fix that uh over the next few weeks. Thanks for your time. Uh tell me if I’m wrong. I was ju just thinking this as this was ending, so it’s like a fresh thought that I haven’t vetted in my head. Might be a stupid one. I try to vet my thoughts, okay, before I say them out loud, but you guys gave me a mic, so I’m using it. Uh do you think that Marl Sturm obviously a very prepared uh coach first head coaching job though in the NHL obviously head coach team Germany but is this going to be I was just thinking about it this was Bruce Cassidy or Jim Montgomery who um you know was used to that role that was kind of talking to brick postgame that he’s already been there done that is this also a learning curve for Marco with the media and this and that and becoming head coach he’s familiar with the market but is this a learning curve for him a little bit as well I’m sure that that’s probably some of the case. Um, but even for a veteran coach just aside, you know, when you play that first preseason game, uh, like we had said last night, when it comes to the refs or or anything that’s going on around the game, it’s preseason for everybody. So, everybody, I think, is shaking off the rust. And for a guy like Marco, I don’t think it’ll take him very long to get up to speed uh, with some of the experience that he’s had, but as he’s mentioned, there’s some newness to it. I don’t think there’s any question about it. Any takeaways from that before we move on to um Charlie Mackoy? Um I I think one of the things that he talked about was uh some of the decision- making and and the other thing that he mentioned talking about the transition game. Yeah. Um it it’s it’s not surprising that maybe some of these guys are doing some thinking here early on because as as he’s talked about, it’s a new system, it’s a new language. Um, so I if you’re thinking if that’s the case, sometimes you’re a step behind. Um, that said, I I think the Bruins did a much better job uh of acclimating themselves after the first period. There was definitely a response. It was 4-1 at the end of one. Um, you know, and then the two teams essentially traded goals from that point forward. And in the third period, uh, I know, you know, yes, there’s a scoreboard, but the Bruins definitely outchanced him and and ended the game on a high note. The other thing that he talked about so far is the transition game and you know and I think that that’s probably point number two for Marco because structure is what he wants to get down. But when they get that puck back, what are they doing in their transition game? Uh what are they trying to accomplish? And there were certainly some things that that he thought that he liked uh from last night’s game. All right. Well, Charlie Mackoy, we all know how his season ended last season. Obviously difficult physically, but emotionally and just interpersonally as well. Uh went through a lot. So, really good to see him kind of get in the first game, get in early on. We’ll talk about Charlie Makavoy with Jud in just a second, but let’s hear from him first. Yeah, it was good to play hockey again. Uh, it’s fine. I think you know, just like, uh, you know, when the preseason gets going, some some good, some bad. Um, but it was just good to be back out there again and good to to feel good. Um, body feels really good. Um, you know, now, uh, just time to to get the timing back and, you know, get the legs back on you. Take any time at all during warm to kind of take it in and say like, “All right, we’re back out here again.” Yeah, it was nice. Um, I definitely took uh took a second to to enjoy that. Um, you know, be be thankful and grateful to to be back out there. Um, you know, and then after that, it was it was time to play, time to to sort of lock in. Um, you know, so you always want to take it with a grain of salt in the preseason, but um, you know, I thought there were some good things to take away from tonight. What were some of the good things? I think when we played fast, you could see it. I think we’re trying to do that on our breakout. So, I mean, you saw a good one at the end there, but when we can when we can move pucks quick on first touch and we can and we can fly up the ice like Bloommy had a good one there at the end that kind of results in a breakaway. Like, we’re trying to play fast. We’re trying to get above new systems. It’s going to take a minute. Um, you know, but we knew for this that you just want to control effort and execution as best you can. So, that was kind of what, you know, what we were trying to take away from tonight. 21101 for Charlie Makavoy. Uh, thoughts on his game. We want to react to that first. I’m kind of tossing it to you. Um, I don’t think there’s anything in particular, you know, that that stood out uh in one way or another, but I think what Charlie talked about, and this is what veteran players talk about uh when they played during the exhibition season, it’s a little different for him because he hadn’t played since February because of the shoulder injury and then the subsequent uh infection that he went through and and his season ended after only 50 games. That for most veteran players, it’s just going to take a little bit of time to get get the timing, get the legs under you. But I have no doubt that Charlie Mackaoy is going to return to form for the Bruins. And it’s such an essential piece. Sofh, I think one of the things that that we highlighted in the open and we had talked about with you during our segment uh in the pregame show, just uh what a lift it is to have both he and Hampus Lynholm back healthy and on the roster. Um how they get decided to be used. I think that’s one of the things that that will evolve here during training camp and maybe early in the season. But this guy is not only an impact player for the Bruins, but he’s simply one of the best defenseman in uh on the planet at this point. Now, do you think I’ve heard Brook say this before that he’s sometimes waiting for Charlie to like take the game in his in his hands, take the reigns and change the momentum, you know, like kind of on the spot and and we like you said, he is an impact player. He’s one of the best defenseman in the world. Is that a role that he should relish in or just you know I mean I think every player wants to do that but is that something you’re waiting to see from him as well sometimes? I I think that’s one of the things that he can do. Sophen and what was so impressive about Charlie when he played his first full season in the NHL and remember he made his debut uh actually in the playoffs before he played his first regular season game. Uh but when he debuted in 1718 and he he was he was up for rookie of the year at that point. uh he had a few injuries late in the season. He actually had a heart procedure, but one of the things that you could sense from him is that even at that age, he could control the game. And when you think about, you know, we can throw out any number of names where you think about some of the great Bruins defenseman, whether that’s or Bor Park, you know, or move on to to other guys, Pronger, Neermire, that’s what those guys have the capability of doing. And he certainly has that ability to control the tempo of the game. Um, if he’s able to not only get his legs and get his timing back, I think that that’s something that that he can aspire to, I think, uh, in this Bruins season. You know, I don’t think there’s any question that he has that ability. Do you think he’s going to be QB1 on the power play when, you know, we we saw a small sample of it yesterday, but of course not the none of the superstars like Pasta wasn’t in the lineup, but um, so we’ll see what that’s going to look like, but should he be QB1? I I would imagine he’s going to get the first crack at it. Uh I the Bruins really haven’t practiced uh special teams a whole lot here early in the training camp and and that’s that’s pretty typical I think of a lot of teams. Um that’s something you’ll start to dial in or a lot of teams will start to dial in once cuts are made and you get to a smaller group and you start to zero in uh on the first regular season game. But I would expect that he’s going to run the top um at least to start. he should uh he’s had mixed results uh while running the top a as a quarterback. And I think I I remember when we had Ray Bourke up in the booth last year, you know, I think one of the things that Ray said, there’s so much in there. There’s so much more that you can see from Charlie’s game. And I think that’s one element to it. All right. Uh let’s move on and we’re going to hear from Tanner Jano, uh who was also in the lineup last night. And then we’ll be right back. Yeah, I thought I thought they did pretty well. Um, you know, we had we’re pretty good in the D zone. We didn’t uh you know, we didn’t give up too many, you know, great a chances. Um, you know, like I said, it’s just it’s just about building and and learning the new system and and um you know, talking with each other and and just learning that and executing the jobs. And uh I thought uh the two guys that I was playing with tonight did really well. How different is the system from what you’ve played before? It’s actually pretty similar to what I’ve uh what I was playing last year. So, uh yeah, it’s uh pretty easy adjustment for me and I just want to help out as much as I can and and like I said, get these guys uh uh everyone kind of on the same page and executing the jobs. Easy adjustment for you, but when you were learning it last year, was it harder to pick up? It seems like Marco’s really been kind of instilling it in steps and stages so far here in camp. Yeah, I think anytime there’s change, it it just takes a little bit and you you just got to, you know, go through the growing pains. That’s like I said, that’s what the preseason’s for. Um, you know, you got to get the reps in and that and that’s what we’re doing and like I said, just grow from here. So, Tanner talking about playing with Fabian Lysel and Fraser Mitten and then of course learning the Bruin system. Did you make anything out of that line at all? Like I said, I know we’re not deep diving in game one of preseason, but any takeaways there? No, nothing in particular. You know, it was nice to see a guy like Fabian Lysel. Certainly a lot of eyes understandably are going to be on him um here in this in this preseason and here in training camp. Last year he there there wasn’t anything that stood out in his game. So can he push and and create an opportunity for himself so to make the roster uh coming out of training camp? We saw him at the tail end of of last season playing 12 games. Um, and I I I think there’s still a lot of growth that needs to take place in a guy like Fabian Lysel’s game. You saw the speed. I I think the Bruins would like as a group to see him attack the middle a little bit more. Uh, can you win the bulk of your 5050 battles? If he’s able to do that, he’s going to make some noise and make a push uh to make this roster coming out of camp. Okay, awesome. Jed, we’ve got one more sound or one more clip to play uh for you guys. We’re going to head to break soon, but first let’s hear from Patrick Brown on playing a North South game. Um, little bit of a slow start, but uh I thought it was a, you know, good first step towards what we’re going to try and build here, which is, you know, playing north south game. Um, a little bit of a different system structure, but he wants to go go, and we were trying to do that all night. Um, we gave up too many rushes. We let our our goalies out to dry a few times, but I thought the effort was there. We were definitely trying to go north south as fast as we could. It seemed like your line was doing just that. You know, why were you guys so effective? Yeah, Verer and Duran were great. Um, we were just trying to work. We were trying to, you know, every single guy on the line was trying to be F1 and then once that was established, the other two took the F2, F3 jobs and, you know, F1 gets a bump and F2 and three do their job, usually you get the puck back. So, I thought, uh, they did great all night. How easy are those, you know, like you said, kind of almost simple mistakes to clean up when you’re learning a new system as it comes along? Um, it’s part of the learning process. Uh, you know, when you learn new system, especially game one, there’s just that, uh, feeling that, you know, you’re not questioning yourself, per se, but you’re thinking a little bit harder versus having all the repetitions of having done it a lot. So, as you’re getting into your neutral zone for check or your breakout or your whatever it is, you just think one second longer because you’re just making sure you’re doing it right. But that’s going to go away pretty soon. That’s usually for one one two games, you get that out of your uh system. I just saw you nodding along to that last point by Patrick Brown thinking one second longer and that’s what we talk about getting your touches, getting timing, everything back. The coaches understand it’s not going to be automatic. And you know, when they talk about the system change and some of the tweaks that they’re going to make, you know, let let’s start in the Dzone. So, the Bruins are going to play a hybrid system. So, in that sense, if you think about the zone from the top of the circles down, they’re going to play a layered system the exact same way that the Bruins have played in the past. Um, Marco Sturman has said nothing is going to change, but but from the top of the circles up to the blue line, they’re going to be man-on-man. So, that’s that’s where the hybrid comes in, and that’s some of the situation that they will need to learn. I obviously, you know, now we’re talking about that’s just one zone. There will be some tweaks in the neutral zone, tweaks in the offensive zone, but in the Dzone, that’s one of the things that Patrick Brown talked about. and and as you think about some of the things that they’re trying to get acclimated to and some of the changes that Marco Sturm wants to make. Um if and as as Brownie sort of alluded to, if you think you you’re behind a beat, you’re a second behind and then the play is gone. Um and the coaches understand this is not going to be automatic to go back to first preseason game. Yeah. first opportunity to get a look uh at at not only this group but playing in a different system under a new head coach. So through repetition hopefully it’ll become as automatic as possible so you’re as ready as you can be once October hits. Great points all around Jud. Uh we do have to send it to break soon but first acclimated. Oh my gosh. So I don’t know if you know but I’m slightly dyslexic. I don’t know how I have this job. I always say acclimated. That’s the wrong word. I said it yesterday on Aaron, Billy and and Razer got me acclimated. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Acclimated. You know, because uh you know, I know my kids uh you know, I have a couple of teenagers. You know, when they’re going into really cold water, there’s something called acclimate. Oh, alchemate. You mean? No. Acclimate? Dude, I don’t know. I shouldn’t have brought this up. It’s going to stress me out the rest of the show. Acclimated. Anyway, if anyone ever hears me say alchemated, just know why. All right. Well, if you’re alchemating something, can you turn something into gold for us? Um, exactly. And that’s what Razer or uh, Billy said. He’s the Canadian way of saying it. And then Razer said, “Don’t blame Canada, blame soap.” All right, guys. We got to send it to break. Lots more to discuss as we are uh, officially in preeason with the Boston Bruins. We’ll be right back after this. Welcome back to the hockey hub. Jud and I going over some of the storylines of the first preseason game yesterday. We’re just going to move over in general to just training camp cuz we’ve been doing some chatting, some journalism, some talking and observing and uh we’ve got some stories for you guys, but I’m going to just pitch throw this one out there because um it’s a big one I guess or it’s different, but Marco Sturm mixing up the dressing room. So, group A and group B. Uh we know there’s a lot of guys in training camp. We need to have a couple groups that take the ice. And usually, correct me if I’m wrong, but usually it’s the veterans that get the main dressing room and then the younger guys get the backup dressing room or the secondary dressing room. And this time it’s a big mix. So, let’s And and he said the guys who have the better one have to buy the guys who have the bad one a beer. But I think they’re I think they’re going to be changing it up throughout the whole training camp, right? Like that different groups are going to be mixing it up. I haven’t heard that. I’m not sure on that one. you know, and then at some point after the Bruins make some cuts, they’re just going to go down to one room and they’ll have everybody in the main room at that point. Um, but but actually when when I heard and saw this, you know, one of the things I thought about was a guy like Zado Char and one of, you know, around Char, as you well know, you could not say the word rookie. You could not say it. You It was a firstear player. that he really used to grind his gears because I think his whole point was if we’re going to try and bring a team together I can’t be treating these guys differently than any of my other teammates. So that’s one of the things that stuck out to me uh when the Bruins opted to do it in this way. You know, when I talked to to Mattie Patra and some of the other guys who are not in the main room and his response Potra is like it’s not that bad a room first of all. Uh, and second of all, I could use a beer. You know, I’m looking for Mincy and Beach to buy me a beer. That’s good. That’s a good response. And you’re right, the rooms these days, they’ve gotten a lot better. Like stateofthe-art, first class facility that Warrior is. Um, why don’t we just throw to Marco Sturm on on talking about his decision to do that and then we can keep going on this. That’s my call and uh I made that call because I always done it that way and I didn’t really I don’t care who’s in which group and which locker room. Um, and uh, yeah, I told group A though, I got to say they have to buy a beer for group B because they’re in a shitty locker room, I would say. So, they have to buy a beer. But that’s, you know, we we we want to be a team. We want to come together. And group A, it’s for me, it’s one team. Group B, it’s another team. And it it makes absolutely no sense u to split them up, right? And, uh, again, we have to come together as a as a team. And I don’t care who’s who’s there or not. Uh that’s how we going to start. And that was just that was my call and uh so if you want to play or everyone is complaining just tell me. So can you tell the story of how group A got the main room and group B got the the kids room. A is front of B and that was it. Makes sense. If it was me because I’m dyslexic. B would have gotten the first room. I wouldn’t have fig figured it out because it was second. Uh so Marco Marco knows the alphabet. Um no I mean what do you think about this move though? Do you think do you think it is a good a good culture thing? I think it’s terrific and and if you think about this Bruins team so for you know going back to uh the mid 2000s the the culture was the envy of the National Hockey League and around a lot of teams um in in the league and let’s leave the Bruins aside uh there are clicks that happen in dressing rooms and that’s what a team that the the Bruins were able to avoid that uh in large part we talk about Char and it wasn’t just him there were obviously a lot of guys that were involved in that but it’s how do you get the young guys involved. How do you get the new guys involved? How do you break through so there aren’t any clicks and so we just have one room? That’s that’s part of the thinking behind what made the Bruins such a success for such a long period of time because if you get a clicky room, the problem is that you get that on the ice as well and maybe you’re not getting the result that you want. Yes. From what I understand, because I did join the Boston Marines, I didn’t know that um Charara said you you couldn’t use the word rookie. So, I didn’t know that. I joined in 2019 at the end of 2019. COVID happened. I didn’t have much time with Charara, but I but I had enough. Um, but from what I understand too, he was really big on like I think he’d throw an annual party, so maybe it would be a Christmas one or a Halloween one or some sort of event and everyone had to like you had to go. This wasn’t like you had to go because he wanted people to get together and and and be together and get to know each other. And I think that that’s that those little things are big things. And going back, I actually had Char tell the story um going back like what how did this happen? Why do you think of this? And it comes back to his experience when he was first starting starting to break into pro hockey and he didn’t like necessarily the way he was treated as a rookie or as a firstear player or as a young guy. Uh, and because of that, he felt, well, well, am I going to go to bat as hard uh and and play as hard as I need to for the guy who is not treating me the way I would like to be treated to to be treated as a teammate. And that’s where it essentially came from uh with him. And there were a lot of guys that were involved in the process. So, you were able to bring everybody into the fold because there are a lot of teams and forget about the locker rooms. I think there are a lot of teams in the league. So, um, that they have veterans and then they have young guys. And that’s the problem. You have two separate groups. And the goal certainly for the Bruins and every team around the National Hockey League, how can we make sure that our group meshes together? Yes. And even if you’re not, that’s something another message that really stood out. Even if you’re not a superstar, you you matter. Your role is just as important as everyone else’s. I love that. And I also really love just your backstory about how he came to that because a lot of times people have to experience whatever it is when they’re younger in whatever industry. We’re not just talking about sports. And then by the time they get older or more established, they treat the younger people the same way where they’re like, I had to do it, so now you have to do it. But it takes someone to change that and say, “I had to do it, but I didn’t like doing it, so maybe I’m not going to make you do it.” And I think that’s a nice way to to shift culture. So you talked about age. You’re old and wise. And wise. I am sometimes wise. Sometimes not. Um, okay. What else did you like? Hurricane. You, by the way, my nickname is Hurricane because I’m a mess. I think you can picture that. Um, you really liked Don Sweeny’s quotes, Colin. I did, you know, like joking around, obviously. Should we play them first? Yes, please. Let’s play them first and then we’ll talk about it. I thank Jeremy today for his attendance and was very appreciative of it. Uh, congratulate him for uh for punching above his weight class. He and Andrew Peak in terms of getting engaged. So, you know, uh obviously everybody accounted for and and being present is a big part of of what we’re trying to do moving forward as an organization. Um and getting things back, uh on track and playing the right way and u and having the success that uh that we’re going to hold everybody, you know, accountable to. All right, go ahead. Floor is yours. Well, I love the fact that he chirped him and getting a chance to talk with Jeremy Swimman, I think he appreciated the chirp uh that he’s here uh on day one and and all forget about the distraction. Let’s just talk about the fact that that he didn’t get an entire rep of training camp last year because he was trying to get the contract resolved. I I I think no matter how talented you are, he was playing catch-up and then it’s a function for the Bruins. And I think there were a lot of people who were outside of the organization who were just seeing, okay, it’s just a matter of time before it catches up to Swayman and the Bruins, the fact that he didn’t participate in training camp. That was part of what happened last year, but he’s here on day one. Um, you know, and I think that that’s good interplay between the two. And the other thing uh after Swayman signed the contract, I I think that it was important and Don Sweeney mentioned this, Jeremy Swayman mentioned this because if you go back when when the two went to arbitration and I haven’t met a player yet, whether it’s management or or uh the player that said, you know what, I really love the whole arbitration processor, but it was important to put all of that stuff with the contract behind uh and I think it was a great approach. It’s a good notes and and hopefully we see the best out of Sway and hopefully we see the guy recapture the form that we saw in the playoffs against the Leafs and the Panthers and he was one of the best young goalies uh in the National Hockey League. And it is like, you know, we we were just talking about it’s lightigh-hearted. It’s jokey, but I think I’m not saying this was a tactic by Don Sweeney by any means, but it’s a smart thing to do is get ahead of it as well. Just like we joked about it already, I’m joking about it in front of you guys. It’s over now. There’s nothing you can write that is going to perpetuate the storyline that they both just want to go away. So, smart move by him as well. Yes. And I can’t wait to see Jeremy Swimman make his uh his preseason debut. I it’ll be interesting to see when they choose to put him in. I don’t think it’s going to necessarily be here in this next game uh against the Rangers. Could be uh on Tuesday. you know, some of that is going to be made with the uh the goalending excellence department. Um, you know, run by Bob Goalie Bob, you know, in conjunction with Marco Sturm and Don Sween to try and get him the reps that he needs so he’s ready to go. I think for most veteran players, goalies may be a little bit different, and they certainly are different. So, um, usually most guys will say, “Give me two games and and that’s what I need in order to be ready to go for the regular season.” And this is going to be more of like a razor question and we’re going to have it a million times throughout the season depending on how Sway plays and the results, but we talk about the pressure from last year. Uh coming in missing training camp. Um the contract, the expectations, you don’t have Lenus anymore to like, you know, if you don’t have a good game, you come in and you can count on Lenus to get a win for the team, etc., etc. But there’s still going to be the pressure because now saying he learned from last year, it’s going to be better. He’s got to be good. There’s still going to be that if you string together three or four losses in a row, the mental game and I can’t wait to talk to Razer about that. I hope that doesn’t happen to Sway just for his sake, but it might, it could. It is the league and we’ll see how he handles that. Well, I think whether it comes to the goalending position or or any of the other positions on the ice, I think one of the things that was clear uh after the season during the summer and leading up to training camp so and you’ve been a part of these conversations is that the Bruins would like to create more internal competition. That’s one of the things that they felt fueled them for many years. Um was the ability to push, you know, go back. I I remember there were times when Tukar Ras was here and maybe Uruslav Halak was playing better and Ras was having some issues. He got an extra start or two. Uh and Ras did not. I I would look to see uh that this year if that’s the case, you’re going to see Yonis Corposell a little bit more. Um and hopefully Jeremy Swayman has pushed and finds his game. Yes. And Corposal wants it. He’s made that very clear. Uh so there will definitely be some internal competition there. Okay. There’s a lot to go over. I wanted to Did you have something? Oh, no. I wanted to tell a really quick story. Um so Bruins media day is very very very long. They used to do it in in two days, but they’ve they split it up, sorry, over two days, and now it’s kind of like 5:00 a.m. for some guys, but anyway, it’s over a 12-h hour day. And my role on media day is to just go through all the players, the ones that are in training camp and have a 10 to 15 minute sit down with them, but we rotate 10 or 15 of the same questions. So, by the end, I’m like, I don’t really care, but I have to ask them anyway because I’ve asked the same 10 questions. But one of them was, “Who’s going to be your top played Spotify artist this year?” And then they talk about the music they like. And anyway, Sean Crowley sat in the chair and he mentioned someone named Sam Fender. And I love Sam Fender. That’s one of my top artists. And he said he’s playing tonight at the Roadrunner, which is across the street from Warrior. And he said, “You should try to get a ticket to the show. I’m going with some friends.” My day ended at like 10:15. Sam went on at around 9:00. But I still last minute bought a ticket for like 30 bucks and didn’t actually go to see didn’t see Shawn there like he was in the middle of a set. Sam that is. And I went in, caught the last song, one song, but then he played two encore. So, I caught three songs and then got stuck in an hour and a half of traffic on the way back just for that. But, um, but it was really cool that Sean uh reminded me or told me that one of my favorite artists was right across the street. So, that was my little highlight of of media day. So, it was a long day. Ended with a couple good songs and and got home. What was going to be your uh So, if if the roles were reversed and Sean asked you, Yeah. what was going to be the top Spotify uh artist that was going to be on there. There’s a couple, but there’s one named Halfway who’s like very very unknown, but he’s opening up for some bigger artists, so he might blow up soon. That would be the top guy or Penny. I’m gonna say Penny and Sparrow. And people probably don’t know Penny and Sparrow. They’re also small. So good. Pete Blackburn, guest of the show. Loves Penny and Sparrow. They’re kind of like folky acoustic guitar jammy. I don’t know. I love them. I love them. What about you? Yours? Um, well, because he he recently passed, it’s it was going to be either Aussie Osborne/BlackSabbath. Okay, that one hit me a little bit hard. That would probably be number one. Uh, like I mean, we’ll obviously see uh once December hits what the top played artist was, but you know, I guarantee that there’s a lot more Black Sabbath and Aussie being played for me right now. What does that era remind you of? Like where were you? Like what what were you doing in life? Cuz that’s what music is about. It’s like it’s obviously very musical, but it takes you to memories. It’s a time and a place, you know. That’s why music is so important in the room. Like, who’s the DJ? For years, it was Tory Krug who ran it. I remember Trent Frederick ran it for a while. He used to take a little heat. I think Nikita Zidorov now has control of the jukebox. Um, you know, I I’m not sure exactly what he’s playing. Time and a place. I mean, you know, so for me that I I played Azie and Black Sabbath for years. Um, you know, so it’s different times, different places, whether that’s I mean, I probably heard those. I mean, black I’m old, but I’m not as old as Black Sabbath, but that’s, you know, grade school, junior high, high school, even college going forward. Yeah. I mean, they had a long run. That’s for sure. That is Yeah, they he just died. No, I I know. Okay. Anyway, moving on. Oh, but the Ozfest, tremendous. That was that was something else. Seeing it for the first time, seeing the Black Sabbath reunion. We’ve definitely gone far a field here. Where we We’ll get back to hockey. Where was that? Where did you see Ozfest? Um, the first one that I saw was at Alpine, which is up in Wisconsin. So, a guy like Mason Laurai, not far from where he is. Okay. Okay. Well, we’ll take this offline. We’ll go back to hockey really quick. We have a couple more uh bits we can throw to you. Pavl Zaka, someone we haven’t really talked about much, but we can get into. He uh for now at least, Mate Bluml, living with him. Let’s have a listen. Yeah, it’s been he’s a great kid. It’s funny because I never met him. So, he showed up at, you know, in front of our apartment the first time I met him. So, it was it was funny. But he’s he’s a great kid. Um, you know, he was great in a in the house, too. He cleaned his dishes, everything like that. So, that’s that was nice. I could sit on the couch, didn’t have to do that. Uh, but no, he he seems very, you know, nice, but also hardworking. I see him at the gym here. One of the first guys, and it’s it’s great to see, especially in a team like Boston, you know, we want hardworking people to come in and perform here. So, it’s a good step for him. Uh, busting your plate should not be underrated. Jenzers, sometimes some of you guys, you need to learn how to clean your dishes, bust your plate, especially if you’re a guest at someone’s house. But obviously, Mate Blumel, uh, Pavl Zaka taking him in for now. I’m sure Bluml is going to get his own place. I don’t know when. Maybe he maybe this is good for him to stay with him for a while, but he did say Zaka’s shown him around the city. Blumel’s English excellent. It’s not like he’s gonna struggle with with that, but or getting around, but it’s nice to have a friend and especially someone from your own country. But, um, I I liked hearing that story and I’m I’m excited to see what Blue Mel has to offer. Yes. You know, if you’re going over to somebody’s place and they’re and they’re cooking your dinner, Yeah. get over there and he’s doing the dishes, so that’s a plus. But for a guy like him, Sofh, uh, and he’s, you know, sort of one of the intriguing guys that we have to take a look at here during training camp. last year he led the American Hockey League in goal scoring, you know, and for a lot of guys, it’s not just him, it doesn’t always translate and it’s a little bit different. It certainly has to be an advantage for him that he’s got a guy like Pavle Zaka. The connection there was Jacob Lo. He and Loco played together for a long time growing up and played on some of the Czech national teams. Obviously, he played here and he and Zaka are close. So, that’s how the connection was made. He first showed up uh at Zaka’s door. He’s like, “I’d never even met him.” Uh, and he just knocked on my door and there he was. But, but that has to be a big advantage for him if he’s going to have an opportunity to make the team. I think the big challenge for a guy like Blumel is and for every guy that comes up who was a scorer in the American Hockey League and Marco Sturm talked about this. You were playing 20 minutes a night in the American Hockey League. Maybe you were double shifted. You were getting all the great opportunities to score. Well, your minutes may be shortened here at the NHL level. Can you do some of the same things that we saw um in half the time, maybe a little bit less of that time? I talked to Blue Melon. He said, you know, there were nights in Dallas where I was getting five or six minutes a night. He only played seven games uh and he notched one goal, but I think that’s a challenge for a guy like him. I think at some point, you know, I don’t know, um you know, what you thought from last night’s game. There were times when when certainly he was noticeable and he flashed even though he didn’t finish. Yeah. No, definitely noticeable. Um had some great chances on the power play as well. Definitely noticeable and I I enjoyed watching him. Um yeah, I mean he said when he first came why he chose Boston we in the summer we were I think Steve Conroy said that pasta called him and said he got to come here. I think maybe that that did that did happen but it wasn’t like the biggest reason. and he said he and his agent noticed the opportunity for an NHL job and it’s very wide open for a lot of players and he’s like this this is what I wanted in Dallas he was a bit frustrated this is what I wanted this is why I chose Boston because I feel like I might have the greatest opportunity originally if memory serves uh I think he was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers didn’t sign there he signed with the Dallas Stars um the opportunity didn’t necessarily materialize uh Dallas has a lot of really good forwards so we’ll see if you know maybe he can poke through here uh and be a difference maker for this team. All right, Jud, we got to go to break. We will be back with more Bruins headlines and storylines on the Hockey Hub right after this. All right, we’re back on the Hockey Hub. Sophia and Jud talking obviously mainly Bruins news, some music stuff as well. Um some some other anecdotes, some other things. Uh but Jud, let’s go to Victor Arvdson. He was in the lineup last night, a new player that uh of course is not a new player, not a new NHLer, but new to the Bruins team. I have so many questions about your thoughts on his game, but he did do a one-on-one with me about um talking about about this is was his first summer really being healthy, being able to train properly. So, we got into that. Let’s play that and then Jed and I will talk RV. All right, Victor, I know you talked to the main media yesterday about the start of camp. so early, but one of the things you said was it’s your first summer in a while where you’ve been perfectly healthy. So, first of all, I’m very happy for you, but can you just take me through what that looks like in terms of ramping up training again? No, just uh going back to stuff that I used to do and I’m an explosive player and and I’m trying to be doing that again. It’s it’s fun. And it’s been it’s been really fun this summer to to be able to get back to that and just work on my power and strength more than just my maybe my inner strength uh with my core and stuff for my back and and it’s been it’s been fun. It’s been a fun summer. Yeah. So in one way for you personally and you lease on life or a new sense of like hey fresh start I can really give it my all. Same with this team. I’m sure you heard of the narrative the expectation last year they didn’t meet it right. So you guys can can you kind of vibe off of that? Like the freshness of the young guys and then this kind of fresher start for you too? Yeah, I think everybody is excited and new coach and and then I think all the players are excited to to prove themselves and and they should be. So it’s uh it’s been good pace out on on both practices. So uh it’s been it’s been fun so far and I think we we just got to come together as a group and and do it this together. That’s uh that’s the main main focus and uh that’s what we got to do to be successful this year. One of the things you mentioned was netfront and that’s going to be a big role. How much has that changed over the years? Like you see tip and shots are increasing, right? So then netfront helps. Is there a way to train for that other than like more core strength? But like give me a lowown on how you practice netfront presence. No, just realizing what spot to be in when certain players have the puck and uh last year I played with Zack Hyman and Cory Ferry and they’re really elite at at being front front of the net. So just being smart. I think it’s been being smart, staying loose, and and just being available when it when the puck gets there. So, uh, it’s you got to you got to think too when you’re in there. You just don’t you can’t just go in there and stand. You got to you got to move and and be ready to get pucks anywhere. Yeah. You got to be really like uh what’s the word? Reflect like a fast reaction as well. Exactly. And understanding where where the puck is going to be and and in two seconds maybe. So, it’s a it’s a little bit of of give and take, being being physical in front and and smart. Couple more for you. I I love going the personal side. Has your wife and your kids have they kind of alchemated to gotten used to Boston yet? Are you guys still unpacking boxes? Uh, still unpacking a little bit, but uh most most of of the stuff is moved in and and they’re they’re doing great and uh we like it so far. It’s uh really really calm and and collective city. I I feel like it’s uh it’s a it’s a nice place to be in. It’s everything is close and and kind of kind of you have everything in the city, too. So, it’s good. Very walkable. If you guys like walking, it’s a very good city to walk. Last thing, I don’t mean to like creep, but can you tell me what those um teddy bears are in the back? What is that? I got them for my kids when we had the media day from the studio. He the guy gave them to me, so I’m going to bring them home. They have enough toys, so I’m I’m waiting a little bit. Okay. Yeah. Wait, wait for when they like do their chores or something. Yeah, exactly. So, okay. Enjoy it. Thank you so much. Thank you. You got to earn your little gifts. Okay. If you’re my kid, which I don’t have any, you’re earning those gifts. Um, if Victor Arvdson has a great season, what does that look like to you? 30 goals. Okay, that’s what it looks like. And he and he’s healthy. Uh, I think he referenced it. Uh, and I know you talked to him a little bit about it. Uh so I think in the 23 24 season he missed most of the season uh because of a back injury and and and that cost him. Uh last year if I remember like he came off of injured reserve when the Bruins played the Edmonton Oilers and he missed uh 15 games but he was healthy from that point forward. So it’s certainly a good sign um as he mentioned to you S that that this summer wasn’t about rehabbing it was about training and there’s certainly a difference for a lot of those guys. Yeah. Uh and last night, you know, not unexpected. He’s a veteran player and and he went hard to the front of the net. You certainly noticed him uh at different points of the game. Um he he had some tests whether it was for Logan Thompson, you know, or later for uh for the Bjorkland kid who came in in relief. So, it it certainly looked like a good start for a guy like Victor Arbitson. And I think the other thing um and I know we may talk a little bit about David Posternnock here coming up, but I I think for a guy like Marco Sturm, it’s also good to get a little bit of a see and feel as he talks about having Arbitson for the time being playing with Elias Lynholm and Morgan Geeky here during training camp while posture knocks out because you never know what’s going to come up. Uh where you may have the opportunity, okay, we need to throw him in there. Where do you see him fitting in like top six line or you want him third line? Uh I mean uh I my guess is that he’s the second line rightwing. Uh maybe he’s played a little bit of his offside. I haven’t seen him enough to be able to tell you, but it would seem to me uh that he’s a solid fit for second line rightwing. All right, Jud, we are going to preview tomorrow’s tomorrow’s yes, Tuesday’s second preseason game for the Boston Bruins as much as we can because we don’t have all the info, but we’re going to do that right after the break. Guys, welcome back to the hockey hub. Right now, as we speak at Warrior, which is close to where we are, uh, training camp is going and group A, group B will be taking the ice. We are going to go there, Jud, after this show. I’m going to get a coffee first cuz I’ve been yawning in commercial breaks. But anyway, that being said, we’re not really there right now. Don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t imagine we’re going to get lineup answers for tomorrow until tomorrow, until game day. But do we want to make any predictions about who we might see in New York? Well, first of all, I think there’s a chance that maybe late afternoon we’ll have an idea of who’s going. Um, you know, one of the things here early on as we as we sit here and and have this conversation in group A, we don’t see David Posnock. I wouldn’t immediately get alarmed or anything. And again, if if you’re just joining us, he’s expected to be back with the main group this week. My expectation is that he will be on the ice with the group that includes Elias Lynholm and Morgan Geeki. seen these combinations here early. Geeky and Lynholm are not in the group that’s currently on the ice. So, we might see them in the second. I think we’ll have, you know, maybe we’ll have a better idea uh if everything is on course as expected. Um, as far as uh the game against the Rangers, you know, my my expectation is because you’re on the road, we’re early in the preseason and early in the preseason is about the kids. You’re going to see um an even younger lineup than the Bruins iced uh for game one against the Washington Capitals. And one of the conversations you and I were having is, okay, who’s going to be in net, right? Um, will it be will we see Jeremy Swayman? Um, you know, I I I think I would lean towards a guy like Jonas Corposalo, but we’ll see. Maybe maybe just to be on the road. Not that like pressure is going to be a big deal. Like it’s just preseason. We got to maybe sway on the road just to get him away from the home crowd. I don’t know. But Corposalo, I can see you making the the trip as well. We will definitely have definitive answers tomorrow. Jed and I are going to training camp all the time, uh, including right after the show. So guys, thank you for joining us. The Bruins play in New York, the New York Rangers. We have a hour pregame on Nessen. It’s not our game, but we’re still going to give you an hour pregame. So tune in at 6 uh to get all the details. For now, thanks for watching. We’ll see you on Wednesday morning. Have a good day.

The Bruins lost 5-2 to the Washington Capitals in their first preseason game. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy returned to the lineup and looked like his usual top pairing self. Sophia Jurksztowics and Judd Sirott break down the game and some of the player sound from new arrivals like Tanner Jeannot.

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