Boston Bruins: Commitment and Chemistry are the Focus

The Boston Bruins' training camp is open and fully underway.  It is great to see the black and gold back on the ice for another season.

The themes of this year's camp are commitment and chemistry.

Coach Claude Julien spoke about commitment after today's camp:

"In reference to Manny Fernandez and Patrice Bergeron, Manny will play goalie tomorrow. That secret leaked out yesterday...Patrice will be in tomorrow and he’s another guy who just wants to get going. He doesn’t feel any anxiety or anything, no reason to be worried. He feels comfortable. I’m absolutely excited.

"It makes our team a better team, and once you can add those kinds of players to the roster and you look at the other couple guys we signed as free agents, the Yelle’s and the Ryder’s...to me it’s four players who will be able to excel in different areas. They all have good impact on the hockey club and they excel in the areas that they’re very good at. They definitely make us a better team on paper, now they need to show it on the ice."

"[Manny and Patrice] set a great example by calling the NHLPA this summer and asking for permission to participate in the development camp. They needed permission because technically they’re not allowed...it showed their commitment to wanting to come back and be ready. They wanted to show they were ready and in good health. They were finding different ways to put themselves in the best position possible."

Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts says that the team's commitment and chemistry is huge:

"I think it’s huge, especially with almost everybody back from last year’s team. Everybody knows the system; everybody knows what’s going on out on the ice, and off the ice guys are pretty tight. Most of the team showed up pretty early to camp, at least a week early, so that’s a great sign [of the team chemistry]."

The Bruins' players and coaches all look as though they are on the same page and it is refreshing to see that everybody is working toward the same goal with the confidence level running very high.