4 Things to Watch as Bruins Open Training Camp

The Boston Bruins report for training camp on Wednesday and take the ice at Warrior Ice Arena on Thursday.

There is not much time to waste, as the Bruins only have 13 days to shape their roster ahead of opening night on September 29. They will play four preseason games, down from six in years past, with the first coming on Sunday evening.

The Bruins, on paper, improved their roster from last season. They added “speed and skill” in a trade with Utah and bolstered defensive depth on July 1.

Even with the moves, there are still plenty of questions for Marco Sturm and his staff to resolve.

Regardless of how the opening night roster shapes up, Sturm still expects more movement after the season starts. At the Boston Bruins Foundation golf tournament, Sturm said that “definitely there will be some changes throughout camp, preseason, and even the start of the season.”

With plenty left to sort through over the next two weeks, here are four things to watch when Bruins training camp gets underway:

One of the Bruins’ biggest stories entering camp surrounds 2025 seventh-overall pick James Hagens and where he will fit to start the season. He made his NHL debut on April 12 in Columbus, recording an assist, then was taken out of the lineup after Game 3 against Buffalo.

Hagens enters his first NHL training camp with the chance to claim a full-time spot in the lineup. Marco Sturm was a fan of what he saw in last year’s short stint, and he made it clear that the 19-year-old will have to earn his role.

“The player, for me, always dictates how much they want to play in certain situations, minutes, special teams, you name it. If Hagens shows me that he’s ready for that next step, I will give him that.

I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, no. You got to go through those things.’ No. I’m not that dumb,” Sturm said on Bruins Beat with Evan Marinofsky. “I love the way he played [at the] end of last season; I love that he went to Providence.

I thought there was a lot of good things. Did we see the offense that he usually played in college?

No. But he didn’t want to make any mistakes.”

Hagens got a head start on training camp, participating in rookie camp and the Prospects Showcase. He lit up the Sabres prospects with six goals in two games, including all four goals in the Bruins’ 4-3 overtime win on Monday.

Don Sweeney called for “speed and skill” this summer. Then he traded for 24-year-old JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round picks.

Peterka’s production slipped during his first and only season in Utah. He finished with 47 points (25-22–47), down from a 68-point (27-41–68) season in Buffalo the year before.

His power play usage dipped as well, going from 2:55 a night to 1:57, and he went from 18 power play points (6-12–18) to five (3-2–5).

Right after trading for him, Sweeney pointed to Peterka’s “speed and skill,” as well as his “scoring upside.”

Where Peterka plays is the question heading into training camp. His ability to play both wings makes him a viable candidate to line up across from David Pastrnak, but Don Sweeney also looks at Peterka as a player who can drive a line.

On Bruins Beat, Sturm said he’s going to try Peterka with and without Pastrnak to see where he looks comfortable.

Cam Neely acknowledged the Bruins’ lack of a true No. 1 center at the end of last season. The Bruins did not make any changes to their centers, though they committed north of $50 million to Fraser Minten to keep him in Boston until 2034.

“I mean, our centers, by committee, have done a good job. We’ve actually had players playing on the wing that when we have injuries can move into the middle of the ice

so we’re fortunate in that regard,” Sweeney said before the draft in June. “We feel very good about where our guys are at, and they did a good job this year.

So for me, I don’t look at this as a negative right now. I think the depth of our center position is really good.”

Pavel Zacha is coming off a career-high campaign in which he hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. He enters camp as the Bruins’ top option down the middle, while Fraser Minten has room to grow into a top-six spot during his sophomore season.

Elias Lindholm is the biggest question after dealing with recurring back problems, but at the Bruins Foundation golf tournament, he said he is feeling better and spent the summer rehabbing. Ahead of the draft, Don Sweeney said Lindholm is working to get back to his old level of play, “but it just might be this is what his new level is, and you have to accept that.”

The Bruins are without Charlie McAvoy to start the season. He will sit for six games after tomahawk chopping Buffalo’s Zach Benson in the dying seconds of Game 6.

“Well, the plan is other guys have to step up,” Sturm said at the Bruins Foundation golf tournament. “It’s a big loss for us.

Charlie’s been our rock here for a long time on the back end. But that means I believe in my D corps.

We actually got deeper; we have a lot of D. I think it’s a good thing.

Guys will step up. We need all of them.

I know it’s a lot right now, but I’m pretty sure we need all of them, especially at the start.”

Hampus Lindholm ($6.5M)Charlie McAvoy ($9.5M)

Nikita Zadorov ($5M)Will Borgen ($4.1M)

Mason Lohrei ($3.2M)Connor Clifton ($2.25M)

Jonathan Aspirot ($887K)Henri Jokiharju ($3M)

Jordan Harris ($850K)

Frederic Brunet ($875K)

The Bruins have no shortage of defensemen who will be competing for spots in the lineup, and Charlie McAvoy’s suspension creates an immediate opportunity. McAvoy plays in all situations, so replacing his role is not as easy as bumping someone up to the top pair.

Hampus Lindholm and Mason Lohrei each played on the power play last season, while part of Will Borgen’s responsibility is to alleviate McAvoy’s penalty-killing workload.

There are more NHL-capable defensemen than available spots, providing Marco Sturm and new assistant coach Matt McIlvane plenty of options throughout the four preseason games while giving a defenseman an opportunity to make a name for himself in the first six regular-season games.

We all know the Bruins have been without a captain since the Brad Marchand trade. It’s the second-longest span in franchise history without a player donning the ‘C,’ and the Bruins have yet to name one with training camp set to get underway Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Bruins gathered for media day, and the team’s social media accounts showed all three alternate captains still wearing the ‘A.’

Also Read:Sturm: ‘We’re Still in the Process’ to Name Next Bruins Captain

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