Boston Bruins
James Hagens’ first training-camp practice with the Bruins had him skating on a line with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.
For the first time since early May, the Boston Bruins were back on the ice for a full-squad practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
Marco Sturm’s club held its first training-camp practice on Thursday morning at the team’s practice facility in Brighton, with the session split between two groups to accommodate the 49-player roster Boston enters camp with.
Here’s a look at the full lines and D pairs for both of Boston’s practice sessions on Thursday:
GROUP A
Geekie-Lindholm-Pastrnak
Steeves-Kuraly-Kastelic
Biasca-Poitras-Reichel
Bongiovanni-Gaunce-Halonen
Mutter-Ivan
Brunet-McAvoy
Zadorov-Clifton
Aspirot-Lohrei
Wanner-Gallagher
Swayman
Zajicek
Lundgren
GROUP B
Mittelstadt-Zacha-Peterka
Hagens-Minten-Khusnutdinov
Jeannot-Locmelis-Eyssimont
Abate-Schmaltz-Duran
Vaisanen
Lindholm-Borgen
Harris-Jokiharju
Johansson-Guenette
Paquette-Bisson – Sweezey
DiPietro
Cavallin
Patera
There’s plenty of work to be done when it comes to sorting out Boston’s depth chart and whittling this group down to a 23-man squad before the season opener on Sept. 29.
But, Thursday offered a first look at what Sturm and his staff might be thinking when it comes to crafting an opening-night lineup against the Rangers.
Beyond Pavel Zacha’s comments about his murky future in Boston, here’s a look at some other things that stood out from the first day of on-ice practices for the 2026-27 Bruins.
James Hagens gets a look with other youngsters
There are plenty of eyes on James Hagens this week, with Boston’s top prospect looking to carve out a featured role on a Bruins forward corps that could use the 19-year-old’s skill and speed.
Some of Hagens’ hopes of breaking camp in the NHL ranks might rest on who exactly the poised — albeit raw — prospect logs reps next to during an abbreviated training camp and preseason slate.
On Thursday, Hagens skated alongside a pair of established NHLers — albeit ones not much older than him. The former Boston College standout skated at left wing on Thursday as part of a line featuring Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov.
Combined, that forward line has an average age of 21.6 years old.
Expect Hagens to get looks with several other skaters over the next week-plus as Sturm aims to test the youngster’s mettle and ability to hold up at hockey’s highest level.
But, Boston’s second-year bench boss also doesn’t have any qualms with seeing if this current forward trio can click right off the bat.
“I don’t mind putting young kids together, because they should bring a lot of energy. They’re smart enough,” Sturm said. “So we’re maybe gonna try it, maybe not. But why not? I think this is the time. That’s why preseason is the time to try out a few things.”
David Pastrnak is focused on contention, not captaincy
After Don Sweeney announced Wednesday that Boston will name a captain before the start of the regular season, all eyes turned to the Bruins’ two longest-tenured players, David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, as the leaders in the clubhouse for that title.
Speaking after Thursday’s practice, Pastrnak deflected any questions about that vacancy and whether or not he wants to wear the “C” entering his 13th season in the NHL.
“It’s out of my reach; we’re focusing over here to get ready for the season as a team,” Pastrnak said. “When we hear something, you’ll hear from us. But as of now, it’s not our job. I’m here to do my job, whatever it is.”
For what it’s worth, Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov did jokingly shout out, “I’m the captain now!” while walking through Boston’s dressing room during Pastrnak’s scrum.
It’s a bold declaration from the outspoken blueliner, but we’re not rolling with that as a fact … yet.
For Pastrnak, his primary focus is ensuring Boston builds off of their unexpected playoff appearance last year. The 30-year-old forward candidly acknowledged last May that he wants to get back to a Stanley Cup after getting just one crack at it in 2019.
“Very hungry,” Pastrnak said. “Very hungry to get back and get another bite at it. It’s been a while. I would lie if that wasn’t in the back of my head.”
Brunet skates in featured role
Plenty of the focus during this camp revolves around James Hagens and whether the talented forward can earn a spot with Boston right out of the gate this fall.
But, he’s far from the only rookie who could be primed for a full-time role in the NHL ranks.
Despite the current logjam of 10 waiver-eligible blueliners in Boston’s D corps, 23-year-old Frederic Brunet should be a name worth watching, with the 2022 fifth-round pick looking to make the jump after stringing together a few solid seasons with Providence.
Brunet’s size (6-foot-3), offensive acumen, and puck-moving capabilities could be welcome remedies for a Bruins D corps that was oftentimes stuck in neutral last season.
That upside with Brunet’s skillset might have been validated on Thursday, given that he opened camp skating on a top D pairing with Charlie McAvoy.
“I found out probably 30 minutes before practice,” Brunet said of skating with McAvoy. “It was a pretty good feeling, honestly. I mean, especially on the first day, you’re pretty nervous, and then you see that you’re playing with McAvoy — one of the top three defensemen in the NHL. I think he makes your life a lot easier. So hopefully I was looking good out there, and probably because of him a lot.”
Brunet’s ability to retrieve pucks and jumpstart Boston’s transition game could make life easier as McAvoy’s D partner — offering up a similar dynamic to when McAvoy seemingly flourished skating alongside a similar puck-mover in Matt Grzelcyk.
Sturm noted after practice that Boston’s entire coaching staff thought Brunet “had a pretty good day,” especially when it came to his skating and pace.
As crowded as Boston’s defensive personnel might be right now, the left-shot Brunet could emerge as a lineup regular if he continues to click with McAvoy.
Another interesting pairing on the blue line? Nikita Zadorov skated alongside Connor Clifton on Thursday — with that duo standing as potentially the most chaotic (and entertaining) D pair in the NHL if Sturm gives them a run in the coming weeks.
A lot of familiarity in the top six
There was a lot of familiarity with the rest of Boston’s top forward lines on Thursday.
David Pastrnak skated alongside his usual triggerman in Morgan Geekie, with Elias Lindholm centering that group.
“With Geeks, I think it’s pretty simple. I’m the playmaker because he’s the shot,” Pastrnak said. “The release that he has is outstanding. Keep reminding him every day that when we play together, I am the playmaker and he’s going to score the goals.”
Stapling Geekie on a line with Pastrnak makes plenty of sense, given their chemistry and the good odds that even more reps will lead to a third-straight 30-plus-goal campaign for Geekie in 2026-27.
But, it remains to be seen if Lindholm will stick as the proper pivot for Pastrnak. Last season, the Bruins were outscored, 29-26, at 5-on-5 play during the 587 minutes of 5-on-5 reps Pastrnak and Lindholm skated together.
Pavel Zacha was part of one of the top lines in hockey last season — as Boston outscored foes, 42-22, when the trio of Zacha, Casey Mittelstadt, and Viktor Arvidsson were out on the ice for 583 minutes.
Arvidsson signed with Detroit during the offseason, but it should come as little surprise that Zacha and Mittelstadt remained together on the same line Thursday, with new forward JJ Peterka replacing Arvidsson at wing on that line.
“You know where he is right away, and we were lucky enough to play — I don’t know how many? 60-65 games together,” Zacha said of Mittelstadt. “So the chemistry is there, and we just have to build on that.”
Matt Poitras is looking at another uphill climb
The good news? Matt Poitras was brought back into the fold by Boston earlier this week, signing a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $850,000.
Marco Sturm also wants to keep the 22-year-old forward at center, where his playmaking skills can be best utilized.
The bad news? Poitras still has his work cut out for him when it comes to earning a spot on Boston’s roster, with the 2022 second-round pick spending most of Thursday’s practice on a line with Attilio Biasca and Lukas Reichel — two skaters who might be in line for assignments to Providence unless they pop during preseason play.
If Poitras wants to open the year in the NHL at center, his best bet might be to leapfrog veteran Sean Kuraly and seize Boston’s fourth-line pivot spot.
“I mean, if you go anywhere in the league, you’re going to have to beat somebody out for a spot,” Poitras said. “So, I feel like it’s no different here. There’s lots of NHL players here and there’s only so many roster spots. So you always have to outwork someone or beat someone out for a spot. It’s the way it is.”
Michael DiPietro is ready to roll … literally
Stick tap goes to backup netminder Michael DiPietro — who did his best Tim Thomas impression with several frantic, sprawling stops to turn aside multiple Grade-A looks near the end of practice.
Several Bruins might have been gripping their sticks a bit too hard on the sequence, but the 27-year-old netminder showcased some of the athleticism that allowed him to dominate AHL competition over the last few years en route to earning a shot in the NHL for 2026-27.
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