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After a second straight summer that they will admit was entirely too long, it was back to business for the Boston Bruins on Thursday afternoon as the club opened their training camp with off-ice testing.
There were no real surprises when it came to the testing, according to general manager
Don Sweeney, and though there are some minor issues that require attention, the Bruins appear to be in relatively good shape, especially in regards to Boston center
David Krejci and defenseman
Torey Krug, both of whom are coming off major surgeries this past offseason.
For Krejci it was another hip surgery, his second since 2009 (though this one was on his other hip) while Krug had a shoulder surgery that was expected to come with a six-month recovery.
“Both are fully good to go to be integrated into practice,” Sweeney said of Krejci and Krug. “We’ll call it ‘modified contact’ situations that they can control a little bit before they get fully ramped up.”
In essence, the two are ready to join drills, but not take full contact.
“Feeling pretty good,” the 30-year-old Krejci, who has been more of a regular at captain’s practices, admitted of his comfort level since the surgery. “Tomorrow, the first day of camp with the other guys, so it’s going to be a little intense, so that will tell me a lot where I am.”
The injury ultimately forced Krejci to opt out of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey for his native Czech Republic, who were eliminated just two games into the tournament, something that while though, seemed to make sense for Krejci given his importance to the team’s success in 2016-17.
“It was just that’s what we came up with, that it’d probably be best for my career to not go, so we slowed the process a little bit,” Krejci said of the decision to back out of the tournament. “It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t an easy decision, but here we are, and I feel really close to 100 percent.”
Krejci scored 17 goals and totaled 63 points in 72 games for the Black and Gold last season.
In addition to the presence of Krejci and Krug, defenseman
Linus Arnesson (upper-body) and prospect
Zach Senyshyn (one rough summer, between mono and an appendectomy) will join the Bruins on the ice for practice tomorrow in a ‘modified contact’ situation.
Forward
Zac Rinaldo (lower-body injury) will not be on the ice for the first few days of camp, according to Sweeney. But when healthy enough to play, Rinaldo, who still has to serve a five-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette in a Feb. 28 game upon his next NHL recall, will be eligible to play in any of Boston’s preseason contests.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can also be read in the New England Hockey Journal magazine. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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