By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins were back at Warrior Ice Arena today to kick off the first day of training camp for the 2025-26 season. Despite players not hitting the ice today, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and new head coach Marco Sturm were available to the media throughout the day.
The first of the notable comments from general manager Don Sweeney was the absence of right winger David Pastrnak from the beginning of training camp. Sweeney noted that it was due to tendinitis in an unspecified area, and he should be back to 100% come next week.
Sweeney also confirmed that we wouldn’t be seeing any professional tryout agreements (PTO) to open training camp. He noted wanting to present opportunities to those that already received camp invites.
Most recently, Tyler Johnson was signed to a PTO (2024-25) before being placed on waivers for the purpose of contract termination. Before that, Danton Heinen signed a PTO in Boston (2023-24) and proved to be a welcome addition during that season.
Additionally, Sweeney announced that former captain Zdeno Chara will have a more “defined role” that’s set to be announced in the coming weeks. Chara was hired during the 2024-25 season as a front office consultant.
Sweeney noted that, “In the last few weeks, he got back from Europe, met with Marco, and they have spent some time together to sort of streamline, identify, and put some guardrails up in terms of where he’s going to make his impact. So we’ll be announcing that in the near future in what his defined role is.”
Sweeney also noted that the team isn’t hiding the fact they need to “produce by committee.” There was certainly some signings and trades made in the 2025 offseason that didn’t address the biggest area of need for Boston, which is secondary scoring. Sweeney seems confident in the fact that, despite needing all hands on deck, this is a group that can embody that mentality.
Following Don Sweeney’s time with media was new head coach Marco Sturm’s time to meet with the media.
Arguably the most notable point from Sturm was his comments about younger players. He stated, “I’m going to do everything I can to put them in a good spot.” Sturm noted wanting them to push other players, even including some veteran players, too.
Sturm was asked about his first season as a head coach at the National Hockey League level, and stated that, despite it being his first time heading the ship, he’s confident in his ability but understands there’s room to grow. He mentioned Todd McLellan by name as someone who really helped him when he was the Los Angeles Kings, but ultimately, it was his time with the Ontario Reign “that really formed me into who I am.”
Viktor Arvidsson and Tanner Jeannot both had time in Los Angeles that overlapped with Sturm’s time, so he has first-hand experience as to the importance those two players bring. Sturm specifically mentioned their voices in the locker room, and how he’s excited that they were brought into the Bruins’ organization.
Finally, Sturm mentioned that he addressed the whole team for the first time today. He noted that he’s going to be making some tweaks to the systems in Boston over the course of camp, but noted that all of the players are “ready to go.”
While there was nothing groundbreaking coming out of day one of training camp, it gives an idea as to where the organization is at, as well as where they see themselves heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
It won’t be an easy season, but the front office and coaching staff seems to have some confidence in this roster’s ability to piece it together to be competitive.
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