Leadership can come from every corner of a dressing room and every seat on the bench. There’s no rule that says you need a “C” or an “A” stitched to your sweater to be one of the pillars of strength on a roster.

Be consistent, be communicative, and have your teammates’ backs. Those are the key qualities.

At 27, defenseman Charlie McAvoy is entering his ninth NHL season with the Bruins.Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe

Pastrnak and McAvoy acknowledged that despite a string of strong captains — Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, and Marchand — the franchise’s leadership always has been by committee.

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Pastrnak was exceptional during his run as the franchise’s de facto captain last season with McAvoy on the shelf and Marchand in the Sunshine State. Pastrnak was accountable and accommodating as the Bruins stumbled down the stretch and missed the playoffs.

“It’s different [without a captain to start the season], but at the same time, if you look at the big picture, it’s always the leadership in this organization, it’s not one guy. It’s always been a group of leaders, and we have a bunch of new guys, some experienced guys, and some guys who’ve been in the league for a while,” said Pastrnak, who at 29 is heading into his 12th season. “The leadership group is going to play itself [out] in time but [beginning of] September, I think everybody is worried about being 100 percent ready to go for training camp. Obviously, the season didn’t end the way we wanted it, and we all know and are aware it’s unacceptable for an organization like this.

“Training camp is going to be hard, and we know it. Mentally now, it’s Day 1, you’re just trying to settle in, a bunch of guys traveled from Europe and getting [acclimated to] the time change, so it’s important to make everyone feel welcome and get ready for the hard work ahead of us.”

McAvoy agreed that it will continue to be leadership by committee but recognized there could be some tweaks along the way, though he declined to get into specifics.

“Without getting too far into any of that, we did stop to take an acknowledgment that it is a new day and age. We’re trying to usher in a new group of guys that are from a different generation,” said the 27-year-old McAvoy before pausing and adding with a light laugh, “I’m aging myself, we’re not that old … but it is different times. Maybe some of the things that went on and how we were molded by the group in front of us is not necessarily how we could reach the younger guys the best. We’re taking that into account. I think you have to always be learning on the fly.

“We have great resources in trying to put this together, so it’s been nothing but exciting in the meetings that we’ve had.”

McAvoy, who declared himself a full-go following a shoulder injury and subsequent infection suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, said it’s also important to remain true to yourself.

“I think part of being a leader is you don’t want to change too much of who you are. I think all of us have been selected to be a part of this leadership group moving forward for who we are and not who they want us to be someone else,” he said. “So, I think we have to remember that, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t become better versions of ourselves, better hockey players, better people. So, I think that’s what we’re striving to do.”

General manager Don Sweeney told the Globe at the NHL Combine in June that a captain by committee, which could include having three alternates, is something that could work. He also didn’t rule out naming a captain.

“To me, it’s got to be an organizational decision,” said Sweeney, who was an alternate Bruins captain at times. “You’ve got a new head coach; he’s got to get a feel for the people that he’s going to implicitly trust. We think we have a lot of great candidates, but that’s going to be more of a natural organic process to allow somebody to sort of emerge. But while they’re being supported by a group of guys that we have to do it together, you have to reestablish that together.

“You had guys that were out of the locker room in Hampus [Lindholm’s] case for months, Charlie for months. You watch David, who everybody knows after the deadline sort of stepped forward. His own play didn’t drop off, but he was much more vocal even with [the media]. So, those are great signs and they’re just a player recognizing the situation and deciding, ‘OK, maybe it’s my time.’ But we’re going to allow that to unfold naturally.”

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.