Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman first met Jim Montgomery when he was a freshman in college at the University of Maine.
Montgomery starred for the Black Bears as well during his playing career and took a visit to the campus in January of 2018 with the program celebrating the 40th anniversary of Alfond Arena.
It was just a brief introduction for Swayman and Montgomery at the time, but the netminder has had the chance to get to know Montgomery better now as he's in his first season at the helm of the Bruins.
"He was coaching Denver at the time, so we had to keep our distance a little bit," Swayman told reporters Friday, as seen in team-provided video. "It's pretty cool how it comes full circle, and we love him in this locker room. It's such a special thing to have him. He's won at every level, and we're super excited to have him as our bench boss."
It hasn't just been Swayman who has taken a liking to Montgomery. It appears the Bruins as a whole have gravitated toward their new skipper. Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron made sure to commemorate Montgomery's first win with the organization Wednesday by giving the coach the game puck following a 5-2 road victory over the Washington Capitals.
For Swayman, he's seen Montgomery go about things the right way during the early parts of his tenure with Boston.
"He's just around always, and that says a lot for a coach just to be around, have a great attitude and demand a lot from his players," Swayman said. "That's what we want. We have high expectations of ourselves and obviously he does too. He's definitely commanded us the right way, and we love him here."
Swayman will look to do right by Montgomery on Saturday in the home opener against the Arizona Coyotes. Swayman will get the net after Linus Ullmark started in the season opener.
Puck drop for the contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage on NESN.
