There was no build-up.
Marco Sturm opened his inaugural training camp as Bruins coach at full speed. From the crack of dawn Sept. 17 to the final cuts Oct. 5, Sturm ran his practices with energy, enthusiasm, and efficiency.
“It was fun. I think camp was really structured,” said forward Sean Kuraly. “We had a really clear idea of what we want our systems to be and how this team wants to play, and we’ve worked on them every single day, and it’s been short, it’s been hard practices, but we’re touching on how we want to play every day, which, as a player, the more black and white it is, I think the happier we leave this place every day.”
Sturm taught his systems during video sessions and then extended those tutorials when players took the ice. Seeing it is one thing, but implementing what you’ve been taught is another, and Sturm and his assistants took the time to make sure players translated the classroom work to the on-ice work.
There were group chats among the forwards and the defensemen. There were on-ice whiteboard explanations as Sturm corrected mistakes.
“You can work as hard as you want, and we want to work really hard in our system, but we want to be doing the system, so it’s not work for nothing, and I feel like that’s what it was. It’s a lot of work for a purpose,” said Kuraly.
The 10-year veteran appreciated the economical way Sturm, a 14-year NHL player himself, went about the business of informing and implementing his systems.
“I feel like as a player, especially as a player that’s been in the league for a while now, we almost kind of count our strides in a training camp and see what are useful strides, what are wasted strides. And I feel like we were really efficient with how we used our energy this camp,” said Kuraly. “And that’s what you want to see. You want to get [stuff] done, you want to get to the bottom of how we want to play and, yeah, it was a lot of stopping, a lot of teaching and talking and working between [drills]. It was a lot of pointing out how we want to play. It’s new for the specifics of the system that are new for everybody in here.”
It was clear that Sturm’s intensity was infectious.
“He brought new energy for us this year. Obviously, we tweaked some systems. I thought camp was really good. In my 13-year career, probably one of the best camps I’ve seen,” said defenseman Nikita Zadorov. “I thought guys were sharp. I think everybody worked their butts off. It was direct, it was quick. It was really exciting. Like fresh air for us.”
David Pastrnak enjoyed the tempo and the tenacity.
“Very high-paced,” said the All-Star right wing. “The compete was there every single day. We worked on different systems, [and] everything made sense.”
Camp featured a lot of familiar drills and sessions: breakouts, speed skating, small-area passing, power play, penalty kill, three-on-three center-ice scrimmages. However, Sturm also introduced some one-on-one work that emphasized battles of physicality and skill.
He had players rotate around the rink taking on teammates at stations and battling against the boards for puck possession. It tested stamina and mettle. There also were breakaway drills with the puck holder getting a stride head start before a defender would give chase.
The exercises broke up the monotony and raised the level of competitiveness — and chirping.
“It was great for even me going one-on-one and full ice. It’s always different than in game, but it can open up new possibilities in your hockey brain, and after summer you’re always trying to get the brain and legs and hands working at the same time,” said Pastrnak. “It can be tough. So, I thought it was a perfect refresher, and those battles, it makes you ready for the October games. So, it was great, I liked it.”
Sturm appreciated the way everyone bought into his philosophy and plans.
“My players, my staff, everyone was pulling together. That shows me that we are on the right track,” said Sturm, whose club is off to a 2-0 start. “So far, the guys are eager to learn and get better and get back on track the way we want to play.”
Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.
