WILMINGTON, Mass. — Zane McIntyre wanted to be a Boston Bruin.
The former University of North Dakota goaltender had the option of testing the free-agent market after turning pro, but he was drawn to the Original Six club.
“There was an option, I guess a CBA loophole that was brought to my attention after I made the decision to go pro, in a sense,” McIntyre said Tuesday on the first day of Bruins development camp.
“So, in a sense, I was notified of that, but deep down I knew I wanted to be a Bruin. There’s just something you can’t really put your finger on with this organization where there’s a lot of similarities where I’ve grown up with a hard-nosed mentality, you earn everything you get. I don’t know if it’s the city or the culture that we have here. It’s something pretty special and I felt really comfortable with the organization here as well, and my position.”
McIntyre will face plenty of competition within the B’s organization. Tuukka Rask is the starter at the NHL level and a former Vezina Trophy-winning goalie. Rask is signed long-term, too. Boston also has 2012 first-round pick Malcolm Subban and 26-year-old Jeremy Smith, who both played well for the AHL’s Providence Bruins last season.
The competition doesn’t faze McIntyre, though, and he knows it’s going to be a challenge wherever he plays.
“With an established No. 1 in Tuukka, yeah, anywhere you go in pro hockey there’s going to be competition and it’s going to be a cycle of new, younger guys coming through and everything,” McIntyre said.
“That really didn’t play a factor. You can look at certain teams and look at their depth charts and everything, but at the end of the day, you just got to go out and do your job and make sure you’re looking out for yourself in a sense, too, in that aspect.”
McIntyre should be in the mix for Boston’s backup goalie job in training camp despite his lack of pro experience. He’s coming off an excellent season for North Dakota in which he was named a Hobey Baker Award finalist and led his team to the Frozen Four.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
