Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts hosted the 23rd annual Boston Bruins Golf Tournament on Wednesday. This event serves as the unofficial kickoff for the hockey season. The Boston Bruins Foundation and the Boston Bruins Alumni Association receive all proceeds from the tournament. Since starting in 2003, The Foundation has raised over $80.5 million.
Head coach Marco Sturm called the day a relaxed start for everyone. He noted that the team will soon swap golf clubs for hockey sticks. Training camp opens next week on September 16 at Warrior Ice Arena. The season will begin with a home game against the New York Rangers on September 29.
Old Legends Meet New Stars on the Fairway
Special Olympics athletes John Dunleavy, Chase Hertog, and Tyler Lagasse joined the roster players on the course. Bob Sweeney, the president of the Boston Bruins Foundation, highlighted the value of these interactions. He pointed to past greats like Eddie Shore, Milt Schmidt, and Ray Bourque who set the tone for charity work.
“There are so many hall-of-famers that are here, and I think it’s great and refreshing for our younger guys to interact with them,” Sweeney said. This mix of generations helps the team understand that success happens both on and off the ice. Sweeney noted that the foundation works with groups focused on health, wellness, education, and athletics.
Sturm is entering his second year as head coach after a strong rookie season. He spent the summer preparing new systems and adapting to changes in free agency and trades. The team added Matt McIlvane as an assistant coach in June. Sturm praised McIlvane as a great communicator who pays close attention to details.
Young Players Face a Tougher Road Ahead
While the golf day was fun, Sturm warned that the real work starts soon. He believes the challenges for younger players are already mounting. “Players don’t even realize yet how challenging it is for them, maybe not the older guys, they’re happy, but the younger guys, you don’t really have the opportunities anymore,” Sturm said.
The team aims to build on the progress made last season, even though they lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabres. Center Elias Lindholm believes making the playoffs was the main goal for the previous year. “Making the playoffs was the main thing and obviously once you’re there, you’re there,” Lindholm said.
Center Morgan Geekie expects the team to get to their game faster this time around. “Having the systems and the changes that we made under our belts for another year is going to make a huge difference and allow us to kind of get to our game a little earlier than we did last year,” Geekie said. The shortened preseason schedule includes just four games before the regular season begins.
Sturm admitted that the path ahead will be difficult for the entire organization. “It’s going to get harder for all of us, coaches, organization, players, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out,” he said. The focus remains on taking a couple of steps forward after the recent exit.
