The hard work does not go unnoticed by the team. Jeremy Swayman, who has been eating Haney and Thompson’s food since they joined the Bruins, takes pride in his diet, he said, and the chefs have a big influence on that.
“The ship doesn’t sail without those guys. They’re really true unsung heroes of the group. They feed every single person on the Bruins, including the staff. I tell them every day, this ship doesn’t sail without them…always keeping us in shape and just having a good attitude every day,” Swayman said. “They always have a smile on their faces. Big testament to what kind of human beings they are.”
Some of Swayman’s favorite foods from Haney and Thompson are the game-day muffins, curry spreads and turkey tips, he said. The players’ feedback adds another layer of purpose to the job in the kitchen.
“You go from a restaurant where the chef is one of the most important people in the building to – food is important – but you have to put that ego behind and do whatever you have to do to make sure they get the best food they can get,” Haney said.
Part of providing the players with the best food they can get is using clean and purposeful ingredients. Julie Nicoletti, who is the Bruins’ nutritionist, collaborates with Haney, Thompson and the players to create the menu.
Nicoletti started her nutrition company, Kinetic Fuel, in 2008 and joined the Bruins in 2015.
“It was a lot of learning the sport. But also learning the demands of the sport from a metabolic standpoint and what they need nutritionally in order to be able to sustain their performance and recover properly,” Nicoletti said.
“The pregame meal has changed dramatically since 2015. It used to be like steak and mashed potatoes, and there was a tower of different candies, and the chocolate chip cookies were enormous. We’ve definitely cleaned it up.”
Nicoletti is very intentional with what is provided for the players. At the salad bar, she includes baby spinach to bring oxygenated blood to the players’ working muscles, and walnuts for vitamin E, tissue repair and healing, she said.
“They’re just adding walnuts to their spinach salad, but there’s a little bit of method to the madness,” Nicoletti said. “I think what I’ve tried to do is make it so easy for them that they can choose the foods that they like and still get the nutrients that they need. For example, they’re choosing between chicken and salmon as their protein. Both of them are going to offer great protein. The salmon is going to have some Omega-3s, but there are also walnuts that are provided with the salad and the avocado.”