B’s Prospects Introduced to Sled Hockey

Part of every Boston Bruins Development Camp is an afternoon where the players participate in community events. This year’s camp is no different. After their morning on-ice drills and a little scrimmaging, the prospects were divided up into three groups:

• The Franciscan Children’s Visit
• Northeast Passage Sled Hockey
• Summer Reading Kickoff

Being involved in the Boston community has been a part of Bruins teams for many, many years. And the Boston Bruins Foundation is focused on children, so it was not surprising to see that two of the three group events were devoted to children. And in fact, there were some young people out on the ice as part of the Northeast Passage Sled Hockey group as well.

Those prospects who participated in the sled hockey included Jack Becker (F), Victor Berglund (D), Jakub Lauko (F), Josh Maniscalco (D), Matias Mantykivi (F), Justin Richards (F), Linus Sandin (F), Oskar Steen (F), Jack Studnicka (F), Dan Vladar (G), and Marek Zachar (F).

What was interesting to watch was the interaction between the Bruins prospects who were listening to some of the more vocal Northeast Passage players about how to do things with their sled, body, and using the specialized sticks. There are two sticks, roughly 27 inches from end of the blade to the top of the stick, in sled hockey as opposed to the one stick in stand-up hockey.  The sticks are used both as traditional hockey sticks for moving the puck but also through the picks on the other end as the method of propelling the players along the ice.

Like any hockey practice all of the players were put through some drills. It was clear that the view from the sleds and the inability to use their feet to turn was causing the Bruins prospects to re-learn hockey to a degree. Some of them were a bit more tentative than others. And there were a few shouts of “Woah, woah,” when a couple of the players were heading into the boards, much as someone new to skating in general might have said when unable to stop.

After the drills, there were some battle drills, where they played a scrimmage on just half of the ice with nets set up east and west. The smaller “rink” for this scrimmage was a little easier for the Bruins prospects to stay in the game, but as things opened up to the full length of the ice, it was clear who the faster players were—and it wasn’t the prospects.

At one point, Lauko acted as bench boss, and he wasn’t against calling out Vladar for his lack of ability. It was, of course, all in good fun. However, at that point Lauko—who had indicated that he was eager to try the sled, but sure he wouldn’t be very good—had yet to get on the ice in the sled. Vladar took the ribbing in stride and soon Lauko found himself in the seat of a sled, trying to get a handle on how to navigate across the ice.

One of the things that the prospects did quickly adapt to was getting shots off on net. They even managed to score a couple of goals. And their passing improved as long as the game wasn’t going too fast. Zachar could be overheard as he glided into boards in front of the visitor bench that the game was “too fast.” It was also clear that the prospects appreciated the skills of the sled players.

I can’t help wondering how the prospects’ arms will feel in the morning. Even with their off-ice training, it was apparent that their upper body strength was indeed lacking in comparison to their counterparts. Another thing that I noticed was that the prospects found their posteriors were a tad uncomfortable when they extricated themselves from the sleds. Some of them took to almost laying on their sides on the ice while still in the sleds to try and find a comfortable position when they weren’t playing.

What was obvious throughout the entire experience was that it didn’t matter to any of them that they weren’t up on their legs playing hockey.  The sled players had skills that the prospects didn’t—evening the playing field in a way. The competitiveness, body checks, and speed of the sled players spoke to their drive and desire to win, something that the prospects understood all too well. In the end, perhaps what made the entire afternoon great was the simple love of the game that exuded from all the athletes on the ice. There was a camaraderie from the very beginning as they all recognized each other as brothers because they all spoke the same language—the language of hockey.