Two Boston Bruins players picked up a gold medal at the Olympics in Milan and, since then, have celebrated on two continents.
Now, they might not be back in time for Thursday’s game at the TD Garden.
“It’s very tough to follow them,” Sturm said about McAvoy and Swayman with a smile. “I don’t even know where they’re at right now.”
“I know New York didn’t work out for all of the guys because of the weather. They got stuck in Miami. Now, they’re, I guess, seeing the president.”
On Sunday night, the gold medalists celebrated at the rink and at the US Winter House in Milan. Initially, the plan was for the team to fly into New York City. The snowstorm that just hit the northeast derailed their plans, and instead, the team flew to Miami, Florida.
They celebrated at E11ven, the same Miami club where the Florida Panthers partied after their back-to-back Stanley Cups. On Tuesday, Team USA boarded a military jet and flew to Washington, DC. They toured the White House and will join President Trump as a guest for the State of the Union.
Photo Courtesy of Margo Martin/@MargoMartin47 on 𝕏
Both Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman were with the team at the White House on Tuesday.
All but five members of Team USA (Jake Oettinger, Jake Guentzel, Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, and Kyle Connor) were at the White House.
WATCH: Team USA Enters the White House to the tune of Free Bird
The Bruins play on Thursday night at the TD Garden. The team practices at 11:00 AM at the Warrior Ice Arena in Brighton on Wednesday. They will have a morning skate on Thursday at 10:30 AM at the TD Garden.
As for when the gold medalists will rejoin the team, Marco Sturm was not entirely sure.
“Honestly, not sure when they [will] arrive. Hopefully, [they will] arrive soon because of the flight and the weather conditions.”
The Bruins get right back into their regular-season schedule on Thursday night. They will host Zach Werenski and the Blue Jackets. They will travel to Philadelphia for an afternoon game on Saturday.
Joonas Korpisalo returned to the Bruins’ practice today. He won a bronze medal with Team Finland at the Olympics.
Sturm would not name him as a starter for Thursday, though.
“Not yet. I want to see how, first of all, Swayman is,” Sturm said after practice. “We got Mikey (DiPietro) here, too, and Korpisalo. I think it’s a good thing that he came today on the ice, and have at least two practices with us. I think he will be good to go on Thursday if we decide.”
The Bruins, again, recalled Michael DiPietro from the Providence Bruins. He joined the team last week as both goaltenders were in the Olympics.
DiPietro, 26, is 22-6-0 this season. He has a 1.76 goals against average with a .938 save percentage, both of which lead the AHL.
Whether the gold medalists arrive in time or not, the Bruins may have to rely on their depth for their first game out of the break. With 25 games left, there is not much room for easing back in.