There is only one Bruin who is expected to miss Boston's first official practice on Thursday, but it's the most important Bruin: David Pastrnak.
Fortunately, Pastrnak is not dealing with anything too serious. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney revealed in his season-opening press conference on Wednesday that Pastrnak has "a little tendinitis" and will miss the first couple days of training camp. He did not say what part of the body the tendinitis is affecting.
"David Pastrnak won't skate the first couple days," Sweeney said. "His last training block, he got a little tendinitis. We as a group just said load management at this point in time is what's the best course of action. He's on the ice still, but he'll be full practice early next week. So, that's the only surprise we have. Everybody else is fully up and running."
Obviously, it is good news that this is not expected to impact Pastrnak's regular-season availability in any way. Still, it is at least a little bit of an inauspicious start to a massively important camp for the new-look Bruins.
Pastrnak is not only the Bruins' best player, but also one of their most important leaders alongside Charlie McAvoy. He is a lock to wear an alternate captain's 'A,' and could eventually be the next 'C' whenever the Bruins make that decision. Ideally, you'd want him on the ice right from the get-go to help set the tone in the very first practice.
That tone can and should still be set by others, though, including new head coach Marco Sturm. And as long as Pastrnak is indeed fully back by early next week and the tendinitis doesn't linger, then this will ultimately be no big deal.