Year 2 ✅
This season brought new challenges, both personal and professional, and I believe I’ve experienced growth in both phases. Thanks to any of you who followed along/read my stuff. Excited for what’s to come. 🤙
Pat Maroon: “I had the best experience of my life, of my career, to be a part of this group, and be a part of these guys that really, truly care. And I can’t thank them enough for welcoming me and my wife, and my daughter and my son to be a part of that.”
#Bruins
Jeremy Swayman on Linus Ullmark: “I couldn’t have done this playoff run without him, I can tell you that for sure. And every year I’ve been with him, it’s been an absolute treat, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner, a better brother and a better teammate.” (1/2)
#Bruins
Extremely humbled and excited to announce that I accepted a position with
@NHLdotcom
as a Boston Bruins correspondent this season. Beyond appreciative of those who helped me throughout this process. See you at the Garden 🏒
Swayman (cont.): "Him and his family mean the absolute world to me, and to come to the rink every day knowing that it’s more than just a teammate, it’s a brother that I would fight for in the rink, away from the rink, and I know that we’re going to be friends forever." (2/2)
Quite the statement from Maroon given all he's accomplished before. He added that he felt like this team was 'it.' He has a lot of faith in the future of the group and made it pretty clear he wants to stay.
Jeremy Swayman: “It’s obvious how much I care about this organization, how much I care about this team and this city. And I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. … You talk to guys around the league that don’t have that experience and I feel bad for them."
#Bruins
Sweeney indicates Brandon Bussi (1y, 775k ext.) will have a real shot to compete with Korpisalo in training camp:
"He’s paid his dues. He wants an opportunity in the [NHL]. If he beats out - in this case, in all likelihood - Joonas, then we’ll have to give him the opportunity."
Brad Marchand: “If you can’t play back-to-backs, then you shouldn’t be in the league. You should be the best conditioned athletes in the world.”
Has no plans to rest with playoff spot locked up. Sees more benefit in facing “intense teams” in final 8 games
#NHLBruins
Vermont native Elliott Groenewold grew up a
#Bruins
fan. Said he models his game after Hampus Lindholm.
“I really like the way he plays. I think he’s a good two-way guy... He plays physical, plays hard in his own zone, and then he can contribute offensively as well at times.”
Zadorov on Elias Lindholm: “It’s a new opportunity for him. ... He got traded to Vancouver, he kind of didn’t play the role he fits, I feel like. So in here, I feel like he can come back to his version when he was in Calgary with top line, top penalty kill and everything"
#Bruins
New
#Bruins
defenseman Nikita Zadorov will wear No. 91 because it’s “upside down 16.” He wore 16 with Colorado, Chicago and Calgary, but had 91 in Vancouver.
“[My] main focus why I signed here is because I want [to have] my best chance to win a championship.”
#NHLBruins
went 3-for-32 (9.4%) on the power play over the final 11 games of the regular season.
Bruins are 3-for-6 on the PP through 4 periods against Toronto in the playoffs.
Sweeney on new
#Bruins
forward Mark Kastelic:
We’re happy to add another right-shot. He’s well-above 50 percent in his faceoffs (56.3% career)... You can always use that. He can play both center and wing. Probably toggles pretty well with [Beecher] in that case.
Jake DeBrusk on being w/o a new contract: “I understand that business is business ... I kind of understand, I guess, what their side is and how they usually operate. So I wasn’t necessarily completely surprised, but I thought it’d be done and things would all work out earlier."
A
#NHLBruins
fan just asked me if I was Matt Poitras while waiting at the North Station T stop.
I laughed. He did not. He had a stick ready for me to sign and everything. Felt like I had told a child the truth about Santa. The disappointment was palpable.
#Bruins
GM Don Sweeney: We’ll find the deal for [Swayman] and make him a Boston Bruin and we just have to attack. I can’t tell you that we’re going to satisfy every need [in FA] that our group had identified ... but we are going to be aggressive to try and improve our hockey club
NU Coach Jerry Keefe on the decision to put Johnny DeRoche back in the lineup tonight amid the sexual assault allegations he's facing: "No comment on that. That's not something I can talk about."
Excited to announce I’ll be contributing to
@TheHockeyNews
as a site editor and reporter covering the
#NHLBruins
alongside
@bellefraser1
. Here’s my story about the first impressions of ‘life after Bergeron’ from today’s practice:
#Bruins
GM Don Sweeney on Jake DeBrusk's pending free agency:
We had been in negotiations with Jake. Haven’t had any productive talks in quite some time, but at the end of the day, that’s his prerogative to see what July 1 brings for him.
Jim Montgomery on Justin Brazeau: “Someone who, all year, has made his line mates better. Doesn’t matter who they played him with [in Providence]. … He’s a puck possession guy. He’s heavy down low, so he fits what we’re kind of looking for to add to the bottom six.”
#NHLBruins
Compared it to decisions the team had to make last year when Johnny Beecher and Matt Poitras forced their way onto the opening roster over more experienced, higher paid players.
#Bruins
"That's internal competition you hope [for], and I think Brandon will be geared to do that."
“Your skills are a strong match for this job.” I don’t have a bachelors degree (yet) or 1-3 years coaching experience but LinkedIn apparently has faith.
If this gets 13 likes (for the 13th coach) I will apply and hopefully become the third JP to be added to the staff.
Not seeing Len Quesnelle listed among BU's coaching staff. The university even has an assistant men's hockey coach listing on LinkedIn (good catch
@Joe_Poho
).
#LeafsForever
Mitch Marner asked about
#NHLBruins
Matt Poitras. Says Poitras is friends with his brother-in-law’s family.
“I’ve been hearing about him a lot, just from them. Obviously he’s off to a great start, and he’s played very well for (Boston), so it’s great for him.”
This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to help cover the 2022 Frozen Four for
@chnews
. Big thanks to
@CHN_AdamWodon
and the rest of the CHN crew for the guidance and support.
Here’s a thread of my work from this weekend, following Denver’s run to their 9th title:
Excited to share my first
@hockey_east
feature for
@chnews
! Got to catch up with 2x Cup winner Brooks Orpik in his post-playing days. Big thanks to everyone who helped make this happen.
#BCHockey
#ALLCAPS
Montgomery also added that he’s leaning towards putting Pastrnak back with Krejci and Zacha, but didn’t rule out a midgame switch (as was done Sat., slotting Pasta with Bergeron/Hall)
“Whether they start together or not, if I don’t like what I’m seeing, I’m gonna switch it.”
#Bruins
GM Don Sweeney on overall FA plan:
We’d like to deepen the middle of the ice with us, so that’s where we’ve been focused on trying to have those talks with our group to say, ‘Ok, well who would be the guy?’ and then make, hopefully, the pitch at the right time
A few weeks ago, Jim Montgomery challenged the
#NHLBruins
fourth line to be more vocal and create energy on the bench.
Johnny Beecher, back up from Providence, feels he's come a long way with that: “They probably might even get sick of me here pretty soon [by my] yelling.”
After taking a step forward in his career with the Seattle Kraken in 2022-23, Morgan Geekie is hoping to prove he belongs in Boston. For
@TheHockeyNews
-
Had a blast covering my first event for
@GlobeSchools
yesterday! As a former track athlete myself, it was a fitting start. I covered the D5 State Relays,
@Zack_L_Ward
had D4:
DeBrusk said he hasn't spoken to management yet but has a good idea of his market value: “Not that hard, you just got to look at certain guys’ stats and things like that, and just go from there.”
He still sees a path and is hoping to stay with the
#Bruins
Arizona’s Dylan Guenther and I are set to make our NHL debuts tonight. First of many B’s home games I’ll be covering this season. Bruins vs. Coyotes coming up.
Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic set to make their season debuts for Boston.
Latest for
@TheHockeyNews
- Charlie Coyle opens up about his busy offseason becoming a father and preparing for a bigger role with the
#NHLBruins
this season:
Just over an hour away from
#RedHotHockey
at MSG! I’ll have the updates for
@WTBUSports
.
Special thanks to
@tom_wilso
for letting this game be played in his backyard.
With fall sports starting soon, WTBU Sports is adding to our staff! We have opportunities in broadcasting, radio, reporting, social media & photography, and no previous experience is required. Fill out this form if you’re interested or want to learn more:
Sweeney also talked about "strengthening the back end" and that Swayman's next contract is part of their equation when it comes to budgeting out their remaining cap space
NHL site shows Beecher is scratched, but the line chart the
#NHLBruins
sent out has Heinen out and Beecher in. Heinen took line rushes during warmups while Beecher did not.
Jim Montgomery going to new lengths to keep everyone guessing.
According to
#NHLStats
, Pastrnak required the fewest games in NHL history to score two penalty-shot goals in a season (8 games). Previous record belonged to former Bruin Brian Rolston, who got 2 in 20 games with Minnesota in 2006-07.
Hockey East Transfers Making Impact in First Half ... New Transfer Rules Created More Movement Than Ever, For Better or Worse -
@UVMmhockey
@MerrimackMIH
#NHLBruins
GM Don Sweeney says he expects everyone to be available “at some point” in the series with Florida, just not sure when. Peeke, Heinen both working back from injuries at the moment.
Charlie McAvoy produced a highlight reel goal of his own to put the Bruins ahead 2-0, and Nick Foligno's deflection pushed it to 3-0, where it stands after 2. Joona Koppanen recorded his 1st NHL point on the secondary assist.
SOG: 16-11, BOS
Sweeney also said they'll work Kastelic into a PK role:
I think it's important for those players to continue to grow in that regard. Brings an element of toughness that we value, and he's really excited to be a Boston Bruin.
Latest for
@TheHockeyNews
- A lot has changed since Milan Lucic last suited up for the
#NHLBruins
— for both Lucic and the team. More on his first time arriving in Boston, and what lies ahead the second time around:
Meet our 2021-22 Leadership Trio‼️
First is
@Joe_Poho
! Joe is our Managing Editor & Hockey Editor. He’s a junior from Rockville, MD, studying Journalism.
Joe appears on our radio show, BUTV10 & more. A D.C. sports fan, he’s eager to see Alex Ovechkin break the NHL goal record.
For a
@TheHockeyNews
series,
@bellefraser1
and I each provide 3 keys to the Boston Bruins season, along with the “most likely” and “worst case” scenarios. Read it here:
Before the playoffs, Mason Lohrei told me how his last AHL stint gave him the confidence he needed to be ready if called upon for the
#NHLBruins
. In Game 4, the rookie defenseman made a crucial play to help give Boston a 3-1 series lead. More on Lohrei:
Questions surround the
#Bruins
goalies as Jeremy Swayman awaits a new contract and Linus Ullmark enters final year of his. The tandem spoke about the future and their thoughts on the situation on Sunday. For
@TheHockeyNews
:
Jim Montgomery: You’re never happy when you don’t win your last game of the year. And some players had tremendous growth this year, and they can be proud of that and in the end, we have to find ways to get better and win our last game of the year.
Vinny Duplessis put together a tremendous winning effort over BC in his collegiate debut last night. I interviewed him back in May to talk about his approach coming into this season. ICYMI, here’s my one-on-one with Duplessis for the
@BOShockeyblog
:
What do I want this holiday season?
1. NBA rookie
@BolBol
starts a bowl company called “Bol Bol’s Bowls”
2. Said company sponsors a college football bowl game
3. Gather w/ friends and family every year to watch the “Bol Bol’s Bowls Bowl"
The Red Hot Hockey rivalry between Cornell and Boston University has returned to square off the No. 10 ranked Red against the Bulldogs under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
Brandon Carlo to
@notthefakeSVP
on ESPN about scoring a goal in Boston's 5-1 win after the birth of his son, Crew:
“To score tonight for him was definitely something I’ll remember forever”
#NHLBruins
Pastrnak on having more assists than goals this season:
"You play with different guys, you try and [find] different ways, chemistries … and try to take what the other team gives you. If I’m not in great position, I will always look to see if there’s someone in a better one.”
#Leafs
defenseman Jake McCabe said the team has talked about how the
#NHLBruins
blew 3-1 series lead last year: "It's definitely been brought up ... Obviously they're sitting comfy at 3-1, and we want to put pressure on that. And that starts with winning tonight."
Cornell successfully defended the Kelly-Harkness Cup as the Terriers fell 6-4 to the Big Red at Red Hot Hockey at Madison Square Garden. How it happened, by
@Joe_Poho
: 📸:
@PatDonn12
Maroon is still week-to-week. Best case scenario for return would be against PIT on 4/13 but not guaranteed, per Montgomery.
Maintenance for Pastrnak, who was not at practice.
#NHLBruins
Coyotes cut it close, but Bruins ultimately pull away 6-3 to start season 2-0-0. Boston has not lost to Arizona since 2010. First recap for
@NHLdotcom
✅
#NHLBruins
coach Jim Montgomery on Boqvist playing center while Beecher takes FOs from wing:
“We want him handling the puck. … We just like him transporting the puck, and his speed underneath pucks, it gives up the blue line a lot. We don’t have to forecheck as much.”
New
#NHLBruins
defenseman Andrew Peeke on joining a playoff team midseason:
“It’s exciting. I haven’t had that in my pro career yet, so you can feel the energy in the room. You can feel each game, what it means to everyone, and that’s the most exciting part.”
At Agganis Arena this afternoon as
@TerrierHockey
takes on
@USAHockeyNTDP
in a 3pm exhibition.
4 future Terriers are in the USA lineup, along with a handful of other Hockey East commits
Ashton Abel slated to make his first appearance in net this season for BU
#BUvsUSA
McAvoy fires a shot upon the zone entry and drives to the net front for potential rebound. Samsonov made the save, but Montgomery talked about Lohrei-McAvoy pairing driving plays offensively. Good sign for the
#NHLBruins