Bruins return to ice today for camp
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has said recently that the NHL’S Return To Play plan will not seem real to him until he’s in the dressing room and can see the white’s of his players’ eyes.
Well, it’s about to get real.
The Bruins will open a two-week training camp, officially known as Phase 3 of the RTP plan on which 23 other teams will be embarking, on Monday at Warrior Ice Arena.
In a Zoom call with reporters on Sunday morning, general manager Don Sweeney said there may be one or two international players who may still have to fulfill quarantine requirements (as of late last week, Czech-born players David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase had not yet been photographed by the club during voluntary workouts) but expected to have a full roster on the ice within a few days.
So far, only defenseman Steven Kampfer has opted out, his decision due to the fact that both his wife and son have congenital heart defects, a choice of which
Sweeney said the club was in full support. Rosters will be finalized by Monday at 5 p.m.
Teams are scheduled to take off for their hub cities on July 26, with the Bruins among the dozen going to Toronto, and their first round-robin game is scheduled against the Philadelphia Flyers for August 2 at Scotiabank Arena..
But Phase 3 represents a pretty big hump to get over. Players from various parts of the North American continent and Europe will be returning to their team cities and some training camps will be held in
COVID-19 hotspots like Florida, Texas and Nevada.
What level of outbreak will trigger a postponement or canceling of games is not exactly clear at this point, but even if the league is able to pull this off, Sweeney is expecting some adversity along the way.
“Positive tests are going to happen. It will be a real test to your group and I think our group is really strong in that regard,” said Sweeney.
Even if the B’s can avoid the virus, there will be plenty of challenges that