WILMINGTON, Mass. — At the beginning of this year's development camp, Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said one of the goals for the week's activities was to "just kind of stretch and pull in different directions and just see what these kids are made of in that regard."
The last two days have certainly tested the club's prospects on and off the ice, but the Bruins have managed to mix in some fun as well.
Friday's double session included a grueling power-skating workout in the morning, followed by more traditional drills in the second session. On Saturday, the youngsters were on the ice twice again, with the power-skating work under instructor Besa Tsintsadze coming in the second half this time.
In between, the monotony was broken up with a trip to Maynard on Friday afternoon for a round of paintball. The chance to have a little fun between workouts is an important part of the camp, but there are also benefits to such diversions that the Bruins hope will pay off on the ice.
"We think it's a big part of it," Sweeney said of the off-ice activities. "You can go and work them for as long as you want in the course of the day, but you're only going to get so much out of them before they check out. Having gone through training camps, I know where the tipping points are for kids. So we try to stretch them in some different areas.
"The paintball is certainly on the surface just kind of a fun afternoon," Sweeney added. "But they decided to play college [players] against junior. There's nuances that fall into place there and I think you learn about people. You learn about future teammates is really what that comes down to."
Ryan Button, a defenseman who played for Prince Albert and Seattle in the Western Hockey League last season, certainly learned a bit about his Ontario Hockey League comrades. The kids from the junior ranks may have teamed up to take on the college guys, but old rivalries die hard, and Button was sporting welts across his body from some less-than-friendly fire in a late ambush by the OHLers.
"It was [Tyler] Randell, [Jared] Knight and [Dougie] Hamilton that were whaling on me pretty good on the last one," Button said. "The Western League is known for its toughness. Someone had to run in and the OHL guys just stood back.
"You've got to have some guys like me that go in and some guys like Knighter than just stay back and wait for the other team to come to them," Button said with a smile. "It was a lot of fun. I just thought I'd run in there on the last one and see what would happen. Obviously it didn't quite work out for me."
Fellow WHL grad Craig Cunningham, who played for Vancouver and Portland last season, had his problems as well.
"I think I got shot about 12 times and I didn't kill anyone, so I guess I have a little work to do on my paintballing," Cunningham said. "But it was a lot of fun."
Cunningham, who had 60 assists and 27 goals last season, at least tried to justify his performance as an extension of his role on the ice as a playmaker.
"I think so, I was setting guys up," Cunningham said.
Michael Hutchinson, meanwhile, had to go against his on-ice instincts, as the goalie was trying to avoid shots rather than block them.
"When the paintballs are at you that fast you just want to get out of the way," Hutchinson said. "They hurt when you get hit, so you try not to as much as possible."
While the paintballs may have left some marks, getting pelted by them was still preferable to the rigorous workouts Tsintsadze put the players through.
"The power skating for sure," Button said when asked which was more painful. "My groin's a little tight, but it's all good now."
Hutchinson and fellow goalies Zane Gothberg and Lars Volden were spared those drills, but Hutchinson still had plenty of sympathy for his fellow campers.
"Fortunately as goalies we didn't have to do those skating drills," Hutchinson said. "But looking down at the players, you felt a little bad for them. Besa can really fly out there and he was really putting them through their paces."
Despite the difficulty of the drills, the Bruins prospects did appreciate the opportunity to work on an essential skill like skating.
"It's cool, any time you get to work with a world-class power skater like that you want to take advantage of it," Cunningham said of Tsintsadze. "He speaks pretty quick, but you kind of really have to watch him and Sweens kind of explains it a little better, but I think skating is such an important part of the game now."
Button agreed. "The funny thing about it [is] you probably won't use any of those skills in a game, but they really do make you more of an athlete which is going to make you skate better," Button said. "A lot of it is significantly different than a normal skating stride, but it is going to help you skate a lot better."
And maybe that agility will even help them dodge a few paintballs the next time they're doing battle.
