BRIGHTON – One of the certainties in this Bruins training camp is that there will be forward spots up for grabs on the NHL roster.
The top line would seem to be set in stone when David Pastrnak makes his on-ice debut at camp, and there’s some pretty strong indications that Mikey Eyssimont, Sean Kuraly and Mask Kastelic would be the fourth line based on their resumes and the style that they play. That would leave some jobs open in the middle-6 forward group with some strong players like Pavel Zacha, Casey Mittelstadt, Tanner Jeannot and Viktor Arvidsson in that mix, along with young hopefuls like Fabian Lysell, Fraser Minten, Matt Poitras and Marat Khusnutdinov, among others.
One player that’s also a bit of a mystery man there is Czech winger Matej Blumel, who exploded for 39 goals and 72 points in 67 games for the AHL Texas Stars before going on a rampage in the Calder Cup playoffs as well.
Too bad the Bruins bottom six is way too crowded because Matej Blumel could’ve been a fun player to compete for a job pic.twitter.com/gKvfFWQHYV
— Robert Chalmers (@IvanIvanlvan) July 3, 2025
“I’ve always liked to score. I’ve always like to play offense,” said Blumel. “So I think it looks like I really like offense, that I scored goals. But I also can help on the other side of the ice…Whatever role I get [at the NHL level], I’ll take it.”
Blumel is the kind of right wing option that could surprise and take an NHL spot if he shows the same kind of goal-scoring prowess displayed in the AHL the last couple of years, and he has a head coach in Marco Sturm who saw him up close in the American League last season.
“He’s an interesting guy,” said Sturm of Blumel. “He played in Texas, and [the Ontario Reign] played against him two games. I remember those two games, he’s one of those guys we had to make sure, ‘We gotta cover this guy,’ because he’s such a good shooter and scorer. Especially on the power play, where Leon Draisaitl hangs out, he has that spot [in the right circle]. He was so dangerous, so we really had to pre-scout him.
“Having said that, playing in the NHL, he doesn’t have that 20 minutes [of ice time] a night. So, it’s a totally different game. It’s a totally different style sometimes kids like that have to play [breaking into the league]. It’s a big change playing seven minutes or 20 minutes. You get way more comfortable. It’s not easy. But he was definitely a threat, and hopefully he’s going to get some opportunities here to feel comfortable and be the player I just saw last season with Texas. Because he has some interesting, a lot of good tools to find the back of the net.”
Blumel works with a howitzer of a shot that’s a weapon on the power play, but the trick will be excelling at the NHL level, even if he doesn’t get the same kind of minutes and reps initially that he did for his AHL club. It’s a part of the challenge of breaking into the league, but that is made easier by having a couple of Czech countrymen in Pastrnak and Zacha who strongly believe in his game.
“It had an impact on my decision [to sign], because last year we didn’t have any Czech guys in the Dallas organization,” said Blumel, who has been staying with Zacha during training camp. “Sometimes it’s really nice, because during the year you have ups and downs. … You want to have some Czech players around so [they] can lift you up, pick you up, and help you a little bit.”
But at the end of the day, it sounds like Blumel chose the B’s in free agency because they were willing to sign him to a one-way contract that virtually guarantees he will get the kind of NHL chance that he didn’t receive with the Stars over the last few years.
It was easy to see that it was a frustrating experience for Blumel after leaving nothing to prove at the American League level at this point.
“Sometimes it was very frustrating,” said Blumel of his time with Dallas. “Last year, I was going to camp, I wanted to earn a spot. Didn’t earn it for a third straight year. So it was pretty frustrating for the first few months.
“But afterwards, I was just like — let’s just play hockey and then see where it gets me. And now I’m here, so I’m very happy for an opportunity with the Bruins, and I’m gonna take it and I’m gonna do as best as I can here.”
ONE TIMERS
•It was nice to see Marco Sturm offer up a very up-front explanation for David Pastrnak’s injury absence at the start of training camp, as it’s knee tendinitis that cropped up just before camp got going. Usually there is a secret squirrel code when a player is not on the ice when it comes to specifics, but something like this doesn’t really seem to merit that kind of secrecy since it doesn’t sound like anything that’s going to amount to a prolonged absence.
“That’s on his knee, I can say that right?” said Sturm of his star right winger. “It’s on his knee. You guys saw him around last week, too. He could have skated today, tomorrow, whatever it is. He had some minor (issues). This is the time we just want to be careful. That’s all. I’m not worried at all. He’s knocking on my door already every day. He wants to skate, and we just have to pull him back a little bit. We just want to make sure he is going to be ready to go.”
Better to have the No. 88 sports car parked in the driveway until it’s fully ready to go in the preseason, as he has a long season ahead where he is once again going to be expected to carry the offensive load.
•Don Sweeney couldn’t help but have a knowing smirk on his face when asked what it was like having a signed, happy and healthy Jeremy Swayman in training camp on the very first say as opposed to last season’s protracted, ugly holdout that ended only when the regular season started.
“I thanked Jeremy today for his attendance. I’m very appreciative of it. I congratulated him for punching up his weight class [for both] he and Andrew Peeke in terms of getting engaged,” said Sweeney. “Everybody accounted for and being present is a big part of what we're trying to do moving forward as an organization and getting things back on track and playing the right way and having the success that we're going to hold everybody accountable to.”
•Charlie McAvoy Jr. has been busy at the start of training camp, racking up partnerships with brands and the latest is also one of the greatest products for youth hockey parents everywhere. The heated vest brand ororo has officially partnered with McAvoy for him to be their “Official Heated Apparel Ambassador.”
That includes providing McAvoy’s dog Otto with heated apparel pieces as well, as you can’t have the dog shivering while watching the hockey puck bounce around at the rink.
“I am thrilled to be joining the ororo Heated Apparel family as an official Ambassador,” said Charlie McAvoy Jr. “ororo as a brand encourages customers to be active, even during the cold seasons, and enables customers to continue their favorite outdoor activities year-round. Living in the Northeast, I’ve grown up enduring cold winters, and ororo’s heated apparel gives me, my family, and even my dog comfort off the ice and in our daily lives. During the upcoming season, I’m excited to have ororo’s apparel for my training and daily routine and to see how ororo’s products improve my family’s daily lives as well."
As somebody who bought his wife an ororo heated vest for Christmas last season, this humble hockey writer can also give a full endorsement of the product for those watching youth hockey games in the freezing stands during the cold winter months.