Rookie camp opens Sept. 11, with regular training camp beginning Sept. 18.
www.bostonglobe.com
McAvoy touched on a couple of topics other than his golf game — the biggest (literally) being the possibility of being paired with 6-foot-6-inch
Nikita Zadorov, one of Boston’s prized free agent signings.
“[That would be] a lot of fun. I really enjoyed watching him from afar and the player that he is and the career that he’s had, and I mean, I’m thrilled with the opportunity to have him here and he makes our D corps really, really whole,” said McAvoy. “We’ve got a little bit of everything and I’m just really happy that he’s here, and if I get the chance to play with him, I think we’ll hit it off. I think we’ll be really good together.”
Having Zadorov on the back end would give McAvoy the freedom to jump into the offensive flow with more frequency.
“He’s big. He’s mean. He’s angry. He has a skill. He has all the things that I think you need,” McAvoy said. “He’s someone who everybody has to know when he is out on the ice, and I think that that’s someone that you really want to have on your team.”
McAvoy, who at times was paired with
Mason Lohrei last season, said the sky’s the limit for the second-year pro.
“We all saw him just take steps as the year went on and grow, and you get some of that playoff experience, which is so valuable moving forward, especially for what we’re trying to build and what he’s trying to build,” said McAvoy. “So, he’s awesome. I think his potential is through the roof with how big he is and really just all the attributes that he has. So, he’s a great kid and I’ve loved getting to know him and I can’t wait to see our relationship just get even better seeing him develop.”
As for his summer, McAvoy said he switched up his routine a tad from previous offseasons.
“Trying to do some more one-on-one skill work, stuff like that,” he said. “I kind of changed my focus a little bit from more group skates to trying to just do a little bit more one-on-one, more slowing it down and more skill work. So, it’s been fun. It flies by and here we are.”
Brad Marchand revealed he is working his way back into shape and is hoping to be ready for the opening of camp after having three procedures in the offseason.
“So, I didn’t do a whole lot of training until about two weeks ago. I’m just getting back into it. The goal is to try to be ready for camp or if not, shortly after. I’m getting back in the swing of things now,” said the captain, who skated on his own before the practice but did not participate in the scrimmage.
Marchand had a torn tendon in his elbow repaired, as well as surgery on his groin and an abdominal procedure to fix a sports hernia.
“There’s a lot of work to be done,” said Marchand. “The summer I had is not typical of what I’m used to. It might take until the season. It might take a little bit into the season. I’ll treat the next two months like a summer and train and skate in the way I normally would in the summer. The biggest thing is getting conditioning back up to speed. I think that’s the biggest thing. My strength is kind of there already. But the power and conditioning [are] where I need to focus to get back to where I need to be.”
Marchand, who is in the final year of his eight-year deal worth $6.125 million per season, reiterated he will not be negotiating through the media.
“I think there’s enough respect between the two sides that we can deal with it. And we’ll leave it at that,” said Marchand.
General manager
Don Sweeney has said in the past that his goal is to make sure Marchand is a Bruin for life.
Swayman practices
As fans await a resolution to
Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation, the restricted free agent goalie was a full participant in the practice. He has been a regular at Warrior all summer ... Center
Elias Lindholm was present for the workout ... Old friend
Chris Wagner skated in his Avalanche gear, but the Walpole homie switched to a plain white practice jersey when the scrimmage started ...
Pavel Zacha went bar down on goalie
Brandon Bussi, the prettiest play of the day.
