{"id":196707,"date":"2025-10-02T08:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T08:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/196707\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T08:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T08:14:10","slug":"3-surprises-so-far-from-boston-bruins-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/196707\/","title":{"rendered":"3 surprises so far from Boston Bruins training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Bruins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe Bruins still have plenty of questions regarding their middle-six forward corps.<\/p>\n

\"Bruins
\n\tMarco Sturm and the Bruins have two preseason games left on their docket. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Conor Ryan<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 1, 2025 | 4:50 PM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

5 minutes to read<\/p>\n

With just a week to go before the start of the regular season, Marco Sturm<\/a> and the Bruins are entering the final stretch of training camp and preseason action.<\/p>\n

At this stage of the fall calendar, Sturm and his staff are likely set to start cutting down the camp roster and leaning more on NHL regulars for reps over their final two preseason contests on Thursday and Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, even with two weeks and four preseason games in the books, there are still plenty of unanswered questions looming over a roster with plenty of new faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are three surprises so far from Bruins camp:<\/p>\n

No clarity in the middle-six grouping<\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s top line of David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, and Morgan Geekie is already set in stone \u2014 with the trio looking sharp so far during their preseason reps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pastrnak looked no worse for wear in Monday\u2019s preseason bout with the Flyers, especially after missing the start of camp due to knee tendinitis. Pastrnak\u2019s offensive talents are expected at this stage of his career, but Geekie\u2019s shot-first approach (two goals in preseason play) and Lindholm\u2019s steady two-way details from the final stretch of last season have carried over so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even Boston\u2019s fourth line has some semblance of an identity, with a checking unit of Sean Kuraly, Mark Kastelic, and Mikey Eyssimont expected to dole out plenty of punishment on the ice this fall.<\/p>\n

But, there\u2019s still no cohesion on a middle-six segment of Boston\u2019s forward corps \u2014 an area of the roster that was arguably the most pressing concern on this depth chart entering camp.<\/p>\n

Four of those six roster spots will likely be occupied by Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Tanner Jeannot.<\/p>\n

Jeannot has largely been as advertised as a pugnacious power forward, even though it remains to be seen what his offensive ceiling is after scoring just 20 goals over the past three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond that, it remains to be seen how Sturm will fill out those two lines, especially when it comes to who slots over to the wing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Casey Mittselstadt and Pavel Zacha have logged reps at center during camp, but Zacha was also shifted to the wing during Monday\u2019s preseason game \u2014 and missed five of his six shot attempts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The case can be made that both Mittselstadt and Zacha are at their best when playing at the pivot position. But, structuring a lineup that way would seemingly limit the opportunity for a younger player like Matt Poitras or Fraser Minten to earn a spot at 3C to open the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boston is also banking on some new additions helping to generate 5-on-5 offense, be it Arvidsson or Matej Blumel. So far, Arvidsson has yet to pop during preseason action, landing zero shots on goal Monday and getting knocked off the puck on several occasions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sturm opted to flip Arvidsson to the third line entering the third period of Monday\u2019s game, slotting up Poitras alongside Zacha and Mittselstadt to \u201cget a little bit more life out of those two lines.\u201d\u00a0 Not ideal.<\/p>\n

And while Blumel scored a goal last week in Boston\u2019s preseason victory over the Rangers, the 25-year-old winger had a quieter showing on Monday. His willingness to let pucks fly will likely help him earn a spot on the NHL roster out of the gate. But, Blumel\u2019s details and processing speed has been a touch behind at times, making him a player that might have to be reliant on a top playmaker to coax regular production out of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear who exactly that playmaker is on Boston\u2019s second and third lines \u2014 at least based on what we\u2019ve seen so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a few question marks,\u201d Sturm told reporters Wednesday<\/a>. \u201cWe had guys, a lot of players coming in and trying to get a spot. So I try to see them and give everyone an opportunity. But slowly \u2026 we have to find a solution here soon \u2014 where everyone is playing. Because we only have a few games left, and probably everyone has a game left, or something like that, and that\u2019s not much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to find a solution here pretty soon to find the right spot here, because I want them to get used to the linemates. It\u2019s so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Younger players haven\u2019t seized an opportunity yet<\/p>\n

Given the number of open spots on Boston\u2019s depth chart, the Bruins were banking on at least a few younger skaters putting their best foot forward during preseason action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But so far, Boston\u2019s next crop of younger skaters haven\u2019t exactly kicked the door down in terms of ducking an assignment down to Providence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After accelerating his timeline to the NHL with a standout preseason in 2023, Poitras hasn\u2019t made the same impact this fall, posting zero points over three preseason games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fabian Lysell is also seemingly on the outside looking in at NHL reps after getting related to a \u201cGroup B\u201d crop of skaters last week \u2014 a group seemingly set for an assignment to Providence in the coming days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Minten has arguably been the best of the bunch. While he hasn\u2019t recorded a point through three games, Minten has stuffed the stat sheet, recording nine hits, four blocks, and winning 57.1 percent of his faceoffs.<\/p>\n

Minten\u2019s profile as a steady two-way center with room to grow could make him an appealing player to slot into a third-line role this season and watch him develop. But, if Zacha or Mittelstadt are both playing center, that complicates things for the 21-year-old Minten.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the guys, those young guys, or that group \u2014 they already played a few games,\u201d Sturm said Wednesday. \u201cThey\u2019re probably going to get another crack at it, maybe next game. We just probably [have] got to see more, I would say, if they want to make the team. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not any pressure. This is the NHL. So they all did okay \u2026 Those young guys have got to do special things to make the team and there\u2019s some young kids \u2014 they just they got to do more. They got to give me a reason \u2014 let\u2019s put that way. And hopefully they do in those games coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hampus Lindholm hasn\u2019t missed a step<\/p>\n

As far as positives, it\u2019s been encouraging to see Hampus Lindholm hit the ground running in camp with no limitations after missing most of last season with a fractured kneecap.<\/p>\n

Suffering such an injury can invite the risk for repeated setbacks \u2014 or a scenario where a skater\u2019s natural burst or edge work takes a hit in their return to the ice.<\/p>\n

But, the 31-year-old defenseman has been smooth and reliable in his two preseason games, showing few signs of rust when it comes to both breaking pucks out of the D-zone and activating down the other end of the ice to support forwards and generate scoring chances.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was great. He was so excited,\u201d Sturm said of Lindholm\u2019s preseason debut on Saturday.<\/a> \u201cHe is just a solid defenseman. Yeah, once I think one or two shifts he got caught a little bit, but other than that I thought he was excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

As flawed as this Bruins team is \u2014 especially up front \u2014 the case can be made that Boston is due for a bounce-back off of just Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy returning to a D corps that took on water last winter with them out of the equation.<\/p>\n

A healthy and effective Lindholm bodes well for a Bruins team that missed his ability to ferry pucks out of high-danger ice, pepper the net from the blue line, and inject some playmaking poise to the power play if called upon.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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