There’s no doubt that the Bruins’ trip to the O.R.G. China Games was different as compared to a typical hockey preseason.
Between the long travel days and missing equipment bags leading to a canceled practice upon arrival in Shenzhen, it didn’t feel like training camp at all to forward Brad Marchand. Now, there is plenty of work to be done before the October 3 season opener in Washington, D.C. as the team returns to the practice ice at Warrior Ice Arena.
“I've had better sleeps, but it's nice to be home,” Marchand said. “It makes it a lot easier try to to transition back when you’re getting your legs back and just feeling good again. … (Going to China) was a fun experience, but it didn't feel like a training camp. It was a very tough situation to be in, especially for a young guy.”
With alternate captain Patrice Bergeron still progressing towards a return from back spasms (and expected to skate again before Sunday morning’s practice, according to coach Bruce Cassidy), Jack Studnicka was slotted between wingers Marchand and David Pastrnak during Saturday’s first session after seeing time together in China. Former Boston University standout Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson also saw time in that slot.
Those opportunities don’t come often for youngsters, and they seemed to make the most of them during a difficult trip.
“He's going to play for this team eventually and will be a good player. He sees the ice very well, he’s very talented, and he’s not scared to go to any area of the ice,” Marchand said of Studnicka, the team’s No. 53 overall pick in 2017 who highlighted a roster with numerous players looking to show well for their future with Boston.
“It's a lot easier as an older guy where we're secure with where we're at on the team, but for a young guy trying to make an impression it'd be real tough to feel good in a game with all the hurdles we had to go through, how hard it was to feel good, on bad ice, Olympic ice, and not practicing very much. You have to give those guys a lot of credit for how well they played.”
Charlie McAvoy falls into both categories. He’s a young guy, but his role on the team is extremely steady after he took a leading role on the defense last year, ranking third among all NHL rookies with a plus-20 rating during his first regular season.
Nobody was happier to be back on home turf than the Long Beach, N.Y., native. Taking steps towards returning to full team practices and the normalcy of training camp made this Saturday morning at the rink even sweeter.
“I feel like I took some good strides out there today,” McAvoy said. “During the preseason, you want to like you're always going up; every practice you get out of it, and you're like, 'Wow, I got better today, I got better today.' To the point where you hit a stride and you say, 'Alright, bring on Washington, I'm ready to go.' Everybody wants to hit that stride, whether it’s sooner or later.”
___________________
___________________
___________________