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WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Last fall I picked Matt Hunwick as the prospect that I thought would make the best case for making the team. After the Bruins had to send him to the minors for a week to start the season because of cap reasons, Hunwick was recalled for the duration and was a key contributor to the club's season-long success.

This year I tabbed forward Brad Marchand, a second-year pro, as my potential breakout rookie before the team convened for camp. So far it looks like I've backed the right horse again.

Marchand has been one of the brightest stars through the first two exhibition games. Wednesday night in Toronto he scored a goal, fired three shots on net and was a plus-1 in a 3-2 win. But more important he was a whirling dervish on the forecheck who made life difficult for every Maple Leafs puck-carrier.

There is at least one forward spot up for grabs during this training camp, and Marchand hopes he's making his case.

"It's tough to say, it's only two games in," said the 5-foot-9, 187-pound former third-round pick (2006) after today's practices at Ristuccia Arena. "But I hope I am [making a statement to stay]. I'm trying my best out there and that's all I can do. If I impress, I impress. If not then that's how it goes."

While it might be tough for Marchand to gauge his impression on the Bruins' brass, he can rest assured that head coach Claude Julien has enjoyed watching the feisty Marchand energize the lineup.

"He plays with a lot of energy. I think where I see a lot of progression in his case is his maturity level. He's not as reckless on the ice, he's more composed, but at the same time he still plays with that same energy we've always known him to have," said Julien. "He is playing a little better positionally and he's got good skill around the net. He's got a good, quick release, has a good shot, so he's come here and you've seen he's determined to want to stick and make it with our hockey club."

That will be the key for Marchand -- playing with energy but not so much that he's caught out of position or does something to hurt his club. Last season, he collected 67 penalty minutes in 79 games (along with 59 points).

Marchand also had the benefit of skating left wing on a line with center Patrice Bergeron and winger Blake Wheeler against the Leafs. Bergeron set up Marchand's goal with a sweet pass through traffic to the front of the net.

"He's got unbelievable vision," said Marchand, who said playing with two big-time skill guys made him a tad more nervous heading into the game. "And that pass he gave me on my goal, I can't believe he got that through. It was a lot of fun playing with him."

With just two weeks to go until the season opens, Marchand looks like he has the inside track to follow the like of Milan Lucic, Wheeler and Hunwick onto the NHL roster a little ahead of schedule.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins will debut the sweater to be worn during the 2010 Winter Classic on Thursday night at the "State of the Bruins" town hall meeting for season-ticket holders at TD Garden.

The Philadelphia Flyers, Boston's opponent for the Winter Classic, already revealed their special sweater last week.

We'll have complete coverage of the event and the sweater this evening.

Steps for Savard and Krejci

A couple of the Bruins' recovering centers continued to practice without much hindrance.

Marc Savard, who has been held out of games so far as a precaution because of a slight knee problem, said he's eager to get into a game this weekend.

"I don't think it's necessarily for any other reason than me making my lineup," said head coach Claude Julien, explaining that if Savard doesn't play it won't be for medical reasons. "It'll be a choice of mine more than anything else."

Meanwhile, David Krejci, still working his way back after hip surgery, has started to take contact during drills. One particular drill today left Krejci down behind the net after a four-man battle for the puck.

"The guys just hit me like they don't care," said Krejci, who noted that his ability to take some hits is a good sign.

Knackstedt rebounding

Second-year winger Jordan Knackstedt tested poorly before the on-ice portion of camp started and had to begin by skating with a group of injured players prior to the main sessions. Thursday was his second day of skating with the big group after he finally convinced the Bruins' brass he was ready with a couple of solid bike rides.

"I felt all right. The run [before camp] didn't go as well as I thought I guess. So I've rebounded back and now I'm good to go," he said today after practice.

Knackstedt spent his first pro season last year at Providence of the American Hockey League and he projects to be a top-nine forward there this year. He put up 10-16-26 totals in 71 games for the P-Bruins.

Think back to how difficult it was to watch the Boston Bruins during the 2006-07 season, when the club finished with a 35-41-6 record (76 points) and seemingly allowed more goals per game than the New England Patriots allowed points.

Now imagine you were a star Bruins skater who realized you were only one year into a multiyear contract after that season. Regret probably filled your chest, and looking for any way to escape might have been your main offseason hobby.

But luckily for the Bruins, despite that debacle of a campaign, the superstar likes of Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas didn't abandon ship. And once general manager Peter Chiarelli gave them even more reason to stay by bringing in a master tactician for a coach (Claude Julien) and a better on-ice supporting cast, they were able to thrive and save this decade from being a complete disaster for the Bruins.

"When that first year went by, I thought, 'Things can only get better,'" Savard recently told ESPN Boston. "You take that mentality, we get a new coach, and before you know it, things are totally shifting around. So it takes time. & I hung in there and I stayed confident -- as did Zee [Chara] and everybody -- and things slowly turned around, and now it's really turned around."

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WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Dany Sabourin, who is scheduled to make his preseason debut in a Boston Bruins sweater Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, is a veteran of 57 NHL appearances -- but there's one game he calls his career highlight so far.

On Jan. 19, 2008, Sabourin, a native of Val d'Or, Quebec, shut out the Montreal Canadiens in front of a pack of family and friends. So while the free-agent signee has yet to show Bruins backers what he can do, Sabourin's already endeared himself to throngs of people who consider their favorite teams to be the Bruins and whoever beats the Habs.

"Maybe that's one of the reasons (they signed me)," Sabourin joked after a pregame skate at Ristuccia Arena.

Sabourin watched from the bench as 22-year-old Tuukka Rask, his direct competition for the No. 2 goaltender position, beat the New York Rangers Monday night in the preseason opener. Now it's Sabourin's turn to try to hold serve and keep the heat on the Bruins' brass to make a hard decision when the time comes to cut down.

"I just want to do my best, do a good first impression. I can't wait. I'm looking forward to it," said Sabourin.

Earning his way onto the roster of a team that's widely believed to be among the best in the NHL would go a long way toward making up for Sabourin's lost opportunity of last season. After competing in 19 games and earning six wins for the eventual Cup-champion Penguins, Sabourin was dealt to Edmonton in January and then demoted to the American Hockey League.

In the spring, Sabourin had to watch his former teammates, and a number of good friends, hoist the Cup without him.

"It was kind of tough to watch knowing you've been there 1

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Boston Bruins have set their lineup for tonight's preseason match in Toronto.

Forwards:
Jamie Arniel, Steve Begin, Patrice Bergeron, Byron Bitz, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Jeff LoVecchio, Brad Marchand, Michael Ryder, Vladimir Sobotka, Shawn Thornton, Blake Wheeler

Defensemen:
Matt Hunwick, Adam McQuaid, Derek Morris, Mark Stuart, Dennis Wideman, Andy Wozniewski

Goaltender:
Tuukka Rask, Dany Sabourin

Seven of those players -- Arniel, Bitz, Marchand, Sobotka, Wheeler, Hunwick and McQuaid -- played in the Bruins' exhibition-opening win over New York, 2-1, last night at Madison Square Garden.

More later.

The legendary voice of the Boston Bruins, Fred Cusick, passed away today at the age of 90.

Cusick called Bruins games on television for more than 40 years and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"What he was, was a Bruin," Bruins senior advisor to the owner and former longtime team president Harry Sinden explained in a statement today. "He was absolutely an admired, respected and beloved member of the Bruins family for many years. He is a huge, huge part of Bruins history. There's no doubt of the impact he had on the broadcasting of hockey. He was a pioneer and the way hockey games are broadcast really originated with Fred. A lot of the camera work that they use was at his suggestion. He had a number of ideas that he brought in and they still use."

Jack Edwards, who grew up in New England and currently serves in Cusick's old role for New England Sports Network, also recalled Cusick.

"Those fortunate enough to inherit the position Fred Cusick created are merely playing on the land he cleared. None of us ever will have the impact he had in generating the fan base for this team," said Edwards. "Fred was passionate and willing to share how much the game thrilled him every night, and he drew us in with those qualities. We have lost a great pioneer."

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Byron Bitz scored two goals in a February win over Florida and notched a goal in the Bruins' disappointing Game 7 playoff loss to Carolina as an NHL rookie last season.

But of Bitz's shining moments in his 35 regular-season games and five postseason contests, it's hard for anyone to forget his courageous scrap with gigantic Washington brawler Donald Brashear last January.

Tonight Bitz and Brashear might get reacquainted at Madison Square when both players skate in the preseason opener for their teams. Brashear signed with New York as a free agent over the summer.

"That Brashear fight, a lot of people asked me about," said Bitz about the chatter among his buddies when he was home in Saskatoon during the offseason. "And that goal in Game 7, a lot of people asked about what that felt like. … And that chant, that was really something. … I guess you don't see that that often and that was pretty special."

It was toward the end of his near hat trick against Florida that the Garden echoed with "We want Bitz, we want Bitz." Those highlights were all a product of Bitz not hanging his head after he was a healthy scratch 12 times during his stint in Boston.

"I was happy to be here. My goal my whole life was to play in the NHL. And if I was the extra guy and I was hanging my head about it, I'd kick myself," he said. "I was happy to be part of the team and it wasn't that bad because mentally I'd tell myself, 'Hey, you might be playing tonight so do everything like you're going to play.' And then when I did end up playing, it was just seamless getting back in there."

Despite his impressive play of last season, Bitz isn't guaranteed a job and there are a handful of players the Bruins could decide to go with in the fourth-line role he fills for the club. A player whose game relies on physical play and positioning, Bitz will better be able to strut his stuff in game action than in the two days of practices the team has gone through. That could mean dropping the gloves, although Bitz isn't expecting any fisticuffs -- particularly with Brashear -- tonight.

"I was talking to Thornty [teammate Shawn Thornton] about it, he says that in an exhibition he's not really that anxious [to fight], but we'll see what happens," said Bitz.

Notes

A glance farther down the Rangers' roster for Tuesday night reveals that former Boston University Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy should be manning the blue line. After winning the national title with the Terriers, Gilroy was an undrafted free agent who signed with New York over a number of suitors. The Bruins were reportedly one interested party.

The plan for the Boston Bruins Tuesday night is to start Tuukka Rask in the preseason opener at New York and go with the rookie for the duration. Dany Sabourin will be the backup.

Head coach Claude Julien explained that he expects Sabourin to play a full game in Toronto tomorrow.

"Giving you a big scoop," quipped Julien, who during the regular season sometimes won't even reveal his starting goaltender on the day of a game. So both contenders for the No. 2 goaltender job will get a chance to make their case right off the bat in the exhibition season. Oddly enough, Rask's only regular-season NHL game of the 2008-09 season was a 35-save shutout of the Rangers in Boston.

The last time Marco Sturm skated in a game, he had returned from a concussion only to suffer a knee injury in his first game back.

Sturm joked that he "feels like a rookie" in explaining his excitement about getting back into action. But he knows he has to temper his enthusiasm to stay on track for a healthy regular season.

"On the one side, it's great to play a lot of games," he explained after a pregame skate at Ristuccia Arena. "But on the other side, it's only been my third really good practice, so I've just got to be really careful."

BOSTON -- Let it be known that just because Tuukka Rask has paid his dues for two seasons in the American Hockey League and has been the Boston Bruins' No. 1 prospect for about three years running, the job of backing up goaltender Tim Thomas will not be handed to the 22-year-old.

Or at least that's what head coach Claude Julien said Monday after his team's second day of training camp at the TD Garden.

"Absolutely not. That much I can tell you, honestly," Julien said when asked about it being preordained that Rask start the year in Boston and 29-year-old veteran Dany Sabourin, a free-agent signee, go to the club's farm team in Providence.

It would seem that with all the resources the Bruins have put into grooming Rask as their goaltender of the future first by trading for him and then training him to play at the game's highest level they would be leaning toward keeping the native of Finland. But Julien was sure to convey the message, at least through the media, that Rask has to beat Sabourin for the job.

"I think Tuukka has to understand that he's got a great opportunity here. He's got to seize it," said the coach.

Now, on the surface it might just seem like Julien's trying to pull some motivational strings and make sure the young netminder doesn't get too comfortable. Barring a major collapse by Rask during exhibition play, it'll be tough not to keep him around after billing him as a world-class goaltender for so long. But it might benefit Rask and the Bruins to start the former Toronto first-round pick with the P-Bruins.

The Bruins will have played five games over 2

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Below are the players who are on the ice Tuesday morning for the pregame skate at Ristuccia Arena.

This is the lineup that will face the New York Rangers Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The team will return after the game and most of the players who did not play tonight will skate against Toronto on Wednesday evening.

Goaltenders

Dany Sabourin, Tuukka Rask

Forwards

Marco Sturm-Zach Hamill-Blake Wheeler

Milan Lucic-Max Sauve-Chuck Kobasew

Vladimir Sobotka-Byron Bitz-Jamie Arniel

Brad Marchand-Trent Whitfield-Mikko Lehtonen

Defense

Zdeno Chara-Johnny Boychuk

Jeff Penner-Matt Hunwick

Andrew Bodnarchuk-Adam McQuaid

So the battle for the No.2 goaltender job really heats up tonight.

Sturm makes his return to action for the first time since last December's knee surgery.

This game will also mark the return of Hunwick, who had his postseason cut short by a ruptured spleen.

Bodnarchuk and McQuaid formed the Providence Bruins' shutdown pair toward the end of last season.

BOSTON -- Here are some notes from the second day of training camp:

As of this afternoon, coach Claude Julien had still not settled on the roster he would take to New York for the Bruins' exhibition opener against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. He did say, however, that the list of players would be close to a 50-50 mix of veterans and younger players. One would figure that defenseman Derek Morris would like the chance to skate against his former team.

• After leaving the ice early yesterday for what were termed "knee issues" center Marc Savard made it all the way through his practice session, including the workout-closing wind sprints.
• Rookie forward Lane MacDermid, the Bruins' fourth-round pick last June, practiced today after missing the first day of camp because of a high ankle sprain. He's been skating in non-contact drills for a couple weeks and made it through today's sessions without a problem.

  "I was pretty anxious to get back," he said. "It felt pretty good the last few days, so I really wanted to get out there and play with all the other guys."

  Passed over two years in a row in the draft before this summer, the 20-year-old MacDermid projects to be a regular for Providence (AHL) even though he's eligible to return to Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League as an over-age player.

• Day Two of camp came and went with no movement on the Phil Kessel contract or trade fronts, although numerous reports indicated a trade of the holdout restricted free agent winger could be coming sooner rather than later.

BOSTON -- No one really anticipated any bad blood from the recent Montreal-Boston wars to carry over into the Bruins' dressing room this season, but veteran winger Shawn Thornton has already taken precautions to prove there are no remaining vendettas between himself and former Canadiens agitator Steve Begin.

Begin, who signed with the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent over the summer after finishing up last season with Dallas, had been a proverbial thorn in the Bruins' side as a member of the hated Habs both with his rough stuff -- he actually fractured a bone in center Marc Savard's back with a crosscheck late in the 2007-08 season -- and his play: His line with Tom Kostopoulos and Bryan Smolinski made life hell for the Bruins in the '08 playoff series.

Thornton, the Bruins' perennial leader in fighting majors, pounded Begin in a preseason game between the Bruins and Habs last year in part as retaliation for the hit on Savard. But this fall, Thornton made a different gesture toward the Quebec native. He requested that Begin's stall in the TD Garden and Ristuccia Arena locker rooms be placed next to his. Although building a bond with his former foe and probably regular linemate would seem like reason No. 1 for the request, the rarely serious Thornton said there was another reason.

"I requested it. I didn't want him sitting next to a French guy so I'd have to hear that gibberish all day. So I make him speak English all the time now," explained Thornton with a smirk after one of the two practice sessions on the second day of training camp Monday.

But sitting next to Thornton comes with a price to pay for Begin.

"He doesn't stop [talking]. He's got a big mouth. But it's fun to be beside him. He's funny," said Begin, who's expected to fill the fourth-line hole left by the departure of Stephane Yelle.

If Begin decides to converse in his native tongue, Thornton said he could handle little French. "I can order breakfast for him if he forgets one day," Thornton said. More important to the Bruins, however, is how the two get along on the ice, where the ability of the Bruins' fourth line to wreak havoc and create some scoring chances can take heat off the other three lines and allow head coach Claude Julien to balance out ice time. In that vein, Begin might be the perfect fit.

"He's going to be great," Thornton said. "He works his ass off every shift and he gives it everything he has. He's a pain to play against. Those are the guys that you want with you instead of against you."

BOSTON -- When he showed up for informal skates in Wilmington a couple weeks ago, Boston Bruins center David Krejci boasted that he could be ready for opening night Oct. 1, despite early projections that he wouldn't be ready to play until November after offseason hip surgery.

Monday on Day 2 of training camp, Krejci tempered his expectations for the opening night game against Washington at TD Garden.

"What do we have 17 days, 2 1/2 weeks? Umm ... I don't know. I'll say there might be a little chance (of playing in the opener)," said Krejci, who skated in a small pre-practice group and then did non-contact drills with the first split squad Monday morning. "Not a big one. Maybe 10 percent. I can't say that there's zero percent because I feel pretty good on the ice. But I don't know what it will be one week from now. I think I probably won't be ready, but there's a little chance."

Krejci said toward the end of his 55 minutes of skating he started to feel some discomfort and left the ice. When he skates straight or crosses over to the left, he feels fine. But when he crosses over to the right, "that's where it hurts," he said. "It feels like it's not healed yet. I'd say it's the only thing when I'm crossing to the right side."

As eager as he is to be cleared for full contact, Krejci said he wants to be 100 percent. That's understandable considering the Bruins' second-leading scorer played through pain all of last season. Doctors have assured Krejci that when he's 100 percent, the pain will be a distant memory.

BOSTON -- It's going to be a lot easier for the Boston Bruins to move on without the 40-goal potential of restricted free agent holdout Phil Kessel if veteran winger Marco Sturm can make a 100 percent healthy return from season-ending knee surgery in January.

On Sunday at TD Garden, Sturm took the next step on his road to recovery by going through a full practice session with half the training camp squad on the first on-ice day of camp.

"It was good, it was really good. I had no pain, nothing. I was skating good. But at the same time I know I still have some work to do. So I'm not there yet, but I'm working at it," said Sturm, whose annual pursuit to score 30 goals in a season typically ends just a few scores short.

Sturm said he has experienced improvement from even just two weeks ago when he started skating hard at the team's practice facility in Wilmington, Mass. Defensemen Andrew Ference and Matt Hunwick, who also are making their way back after surgeries, echoed those sentiments.

Ference practiced today for the first time since his summer surgery for a groin injury and hernia.

"I'm still waiting to be 100 percent … but I felt really good as compared to a month ago, when training camp was looming, it was four weeks away and certain things were still lagging behind. I was a little more worried [then]. It definitely has progressed a lot," he said.

Hunwick had his postseason ended early when he had to undergo an emergency splenectomy in the days after the Bruins' Game 1 win over Montreal in the first round of the playoffs. Hunwick worked all summer to put most of his weight back on and get his strength level back where it was when camp opened last fall. Today he went through all the drills full-tilt and wasn't the slightest bit tentative.

"I think it's not bad getting hit; that's why we wear pads. Last year's injury was a bit fluky and there's nothing I can do about it now, so you just go out there and play and have fun."

So for all three recovering players, the mental hurdles have been cleared and all that's left are the physical battles. In Sturm's case, head coach Claude Julien was impressed with what he saw on the first day of camp.

"You've got to give Marco a lot of credit," said Julien. "He's worked really hard, especially at the end of last year when he started skating and over the course of the summer he came back midway through the summer and skated more, and he's really committed himself to come back in good shape and 100 percent. Today I saw a guy skating well. He didn't look like a guy that'd been out for a whole year. And hopefully with these exhibition games he'll find his touch again and will get more and more comfortable and hopefully be ready for the start of the season."

One other Bruins player recovering from offseason surgery, David Krejci, is starting out slow this camp. Krejci, who is rehabbing his hip, skated with a small group of players before the full practices took place. Julien said he expects Krejci to do the same Monday but then skate in non-contact drills with one of the two practice groups after that pre-practice skate.

BOSTON -- If the fact that the Boston Bruins were on the TD Garden ice Sunday for the first practices of their 2009 training camp wasn't enough to convince you it's hockey season, a couple of Zdeno Chara glass-shaking hits and a few Tim Thomas pad saves had to have done the trick.

Yes, it was back to work for many members of the 2008-09 Bruins, who came up short of their goals this spring after one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. A couple of faces have changed, and one (holdout Phil Kessel) is still in limbo, but for the most part this is the same club, which means most of these players still have something to prove.

If you can believe it, after practicing Sunday and Monday, the Bruins play their exhibition opener in New York on Tuesday night against the Rangers. So there's not a lot of time for the Bruins' brass to assess what they have before they have to compete against another club.

Here's a quick-hit list of issues the Bruins have to resolve between now and the start of the regular season less than three weeks from now:

1. Is Phil Kessel a Bruin or not?
The holdout winger has been the subject of more offer-sheet and trade rumors than any other free agent this offseason. Signs point to him being on the way out, but stranger things have happened.

2. Who's No. 2?
We know Vezina Trophy winner Thomas is the starting goaltender, and he'll get 50-55 starts this season. Whether he'll be backed up by veteran Dany Sabourin or rookie Tuukka Rask remains to be seen. Ideally, Rask makes the leap to the NHL to get a head start on what everyone expects will be a star-caliber career.

3. Can Sturm still storm the net?
The absence of Kessel will be less painful if winger Marco Sturm can come all the way back from last year's knee surgery and provide the speed and scoring he was known for before the injury.

4. Who's killing?
With penalty-kill specialists Stephane Yelle and P.J. Axelsson gone, and David Krejci still rehabbing his surgically repaired hip, the Bruins' much-improved penalty kill is going to need some personnel changes up front. Free-agent signee Steve Begin should be in the mix along with Sturm, Patrice Bergeron, Marc Savard and Blake Wheeler.

5. Is there a dark-horse player waiting to make the club?
Two years ago, Milan Lucic made the jump from major juniors to the NHL, and last season Wheeler skipped over the AHL on his way to regular ice time with the Bruins in his first year of pro hockey. There might not be any breakthroughs that dramatic this year, but forwards Brad Marchand and Zach Hamill, and defensemen Jeff Penner and Andrew Bodnarchuk -- who all spent last season with Providence (AHL) -- will all take a shot at earning an NHL job.

Well, it's finally here. The Boston Bruins opened training camp this weekend. For a lot of the summer, it seemed as though camp would never get here.

In terms of days, this offseason was the shortest for the Bruins in a decade because they actually won a playoff series and lasted seven games in the second round. But in terms of feel, this summer might've been the longest in some time because of the anticipation of even better things ahead for the Black and Gold.

The players and coaches have all reconvened in the Hub promising to pick up where last season ended and rally around the "unfinished business" they never got to accomplish when the Hurricanes' Scott Walker beat Tim Thomas in overtime of Game 7.

This is a great time to be involved with the Bruins. The team has been restored to some of its former, pre-lockout glory. Fan interest in the team has been piqued, and that's where ESPN Boston comes in. Many of you have been reading my coverage of the Bruins ever since that dreaded lockout ended July 22, 2005. Over the past year, you've logged on to TheBruinsBlog.net in numbers I couldn't even begin to fathom when I started that site last November.

Now you get an even bigger dose of me and my brand of Bruins coverage. You might find more of my work at this new URL than on my old one, but the 24-hour, 365-day nature of my coverage will not change. I'll fix the serious with the comical, the analytical with the opinionated, and bring it to you all season long and beyond. Even if you're reading my coverage for the first time, it won't take long to figure out where I'm coming from and where I'm going.

So with my introductions and re-introductions out of the way, it's time to turn toward the 2009-10 Bruins season. I'll dig deeper into the specifics of the Bruins' needs and goals for this camp later, but I want to leave you with one word to remember throughout camp: improvement.

The Bruins will be only as strong as the strides their best players have taken to make themselves better. If Marc Savard didn't return for his second season as a two-way force worthy of penalty-kill time, the Bruins wouldn't be where they are now. If Dennis Wideman didn't reward the Bruins' long-term faith in him by cutting back on his risk-taking and become a more reliable blueliner with the same amount of offensive pizzazz, Boston wouldn't be among the handful of Stanley Cup contenders as this season approaches.

So more than anything this camp, we'll be looking to find where the Bruins have improved. Individual improvements combine to make team improvements, and a team that lost in the second round of the playoffs obviously has room to grow.

And you'll be able to read all about the Bruins' accomplishments and shortcomings every day at ESPNBoston.com.