After reporting for physicals on Wednesday, the Boston Bruins held their first official practice of the 2026-27 season on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena.
With 49 players on the initial training camp roster, practice was split into two groups, with each group on the ice for a little over an hour. That is expected to remain the setup for the next couple days ahead of the Bruins' first preseason game on Sunday. With Providence Bruins training camp opening on Monday, there is expected to be at least one round of cuts before then.
While coach Marco Sturm cautioned against reading too much into his Day 1 lines and defense pairs, it is fair to assume there was some thought put into them given how short training camp is this year (opening night is Sept. 29, less than two weeks away).
With that in mind, here is my first go at predicting the Bruins' 23-man opening night roster:
FORWARDS (13)
Morgan Geekie - Elias Lindholm - David Pastrnak
Casey Mittelstadt - Pavel Zacha - JJ Peterka
James Hagens - Fraser Minten - Marat Khusnutdinov
Tanner Jeannot - Sean Kuraly - Mark Kastelic
Extra forward: Matt Poitras
The top three lines are all lines that were together Thursday. While Sturm said he'll probably move things around as camp goes on, it wouldn't be a surprise if he ends up back on these combinations, at least to start the season.
Geekie-Lindholm-Pastrnak was a very good line two seasons ago, but was too inconsistent last year and ultimately finished the season getting outscored 19-16 during their 348 minutes together at 5-on-5. Personally, I'd try something else here – like putting Peterka with Pastrnak and/or swapping out Lindholm for Zacha or Minten – but Sturm might believe enough in this trio to hope that a fresh start and better health for Lindholm produces better results this time around.
Zacha and Mittelstadt were two-thirds of the Bruins' most consistent line last season, and while Viktor Arvidsson is gone, it's understandable that Sturm would be tempted to keep them together. Peterka is the Arvidsson replacement in the top six, and the Bruins obviously hope he'll prove to be an upgrade. If he's not going to be with Pastrnak, putting him here makes sense.
The "kids line" of Hagens, Minten and Khusnutdinov showed some promise late last season, and could be a really exciting third line. Hagens is the only one here who isn't totally locked into a roster spot just yet, but he should have the inside track to a top-nine role over any of the other forwards on the bubble.
The fourth line actually wasn't together on Thursday, as they were split across the two practice groups. But Jeannot-Kuraly-Kastelic was Sturm's second-most-used line last season, and they were good in the playoffs to boot. It would be at least a mild surprise if Sturm opens the season with anything different.
Poitras is perhaps the player most likely to upset that plan. Finally signed to a one-year deal just before the start of camp, the 22-year-old center is determined to prove he's ready to be a full-time NHLer, and Kuraly might be the player he has the best chance of unseating. Even if Poitras doesn't win a spot in the opening night lineup, he should be on the team, as the Bruins aren't going to want to risk exposing him to waivers.
Poitras on competing for a spot in Boston:
“I really want to work hard here in camp and earn an opportunity to play here…
“I’m confident in myself that I’m an every day player. I have to prove to everyone I can be in the lineup every night and be relied on.” pic.twitter.com/hcb4VtwsTZ
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) September 17, 2026
This projection leaves out Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves and Lukas Reichel, who would all need to clear waivers to be sent to Providence. All three are perfectly serviceable depth forwards, but the Bruins just have a lot of bodies here and are going to need to make some tough calls.
DEFENSE (8)
Hampus Lindholm - Will Borgen
Nikita Zadorov - Connor Clifton
Jonathan Aspirot - Mason Lohrei
Extra D: Frederic Brunet, Charlie McAvoy (suspended)
McAvoy still counts towards the 23-man roster limit while he serves his six-game suspension, so he has to be here. He was paired with Brunet, the 23-year-old rookie who was Providence's top defenseman last season, on Thursday. The optimistic view of that would be that perhaps Sturm is high enough on Brunet to be seriously considering pairing him with McAvoy. The pessimistic view would be that Brunet being paired with someone who can't play the first six games might mean he's on the outside looking in, at least when it comes to playing on opening night.
Sturm on Brunet playing with McAvoy:
“We wanted to put those two together. I think Charlie is a great leader, he takes a guy like Brunet under his wing right away. It’s nice, it’s great for the kid…
“We all thought Brunet had a pretty good day, skated pretty good, felt good,… pic.twitter.com/EoIQ8Afpce
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) September 17, 2026
The other three pairs here were all pairs on Thursday. Lindholm-Borgen could be the top pair while McAvoy is out before ultimately settling in as the second pair, with Borgen – at least on paper – representing an upgrade over the now-departed Andrew Peeke on the right side.
Zadorov-Clifton can be a physical, if a bit chaotic, duo. Clifton should eventually slot in nicely behind McAvoy and Borgen on the right side, while Zadorov might move up and down the left side depending on whom he clicks with best.
Aspirot and Lohrei were one "bubble" pair Thursday, while Jordan Harris and Henri Jokiharju were another. It seems like a pretty safe bet that Aspirot and Lohrei – both individually and as a pair – are ahead of Harris and Jokiharju at the moment. Harris and Jokiharju would both need to clear waivers to be sent to Providence.
GOALIE (2)
Jeremy Swayman
Michael DiPietro
This is pretty straightforward. Swayman remains the clear No. 1 after being a Vezina finalist last season. DiPietro earned the backup job after back-to-back AHL Goalie of the Year campaigns in Providence, prompting the Bruins to trade away Joonas Korpisalo to make room for him.
