The tour began on Saturday in Portland, where B's defenseman Brandon Carlo, assistant coach Joe Sacco, and NESN color commentator Andy Brickley kicked things off along with hundreds of Bruins fans at Monument Square.
"It's great. I feel like for a young guy like myself, it's good to get out and shake hands and meet some people and meet the fan base, not only for myself but for the team as well," said Carlo. "It's an honor to be a Bruin and anything I can do to help out is good."
The event attracted Bruins fans from near and far, including Mark and Laurie Colwell, who traveled some six-plus hours from St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, to take part in the festivities.
"We packed up everything and came down," said Mark Colwell, who became a Bruins fan as a kid after watching Bobby Orr. "They've always been my team since Day 1."
"We have a few friends in St. John who are Bruins fans and they're jealous they couldn't come," added Laurie Colwell. "We're bringing the love from Canada, we try to bring love to the Bruins every chance we get."
In addition to mingling with fans, Carlo and Sacco helped outfit dozens of youngsters with some brand new hockey gear. Throughout the Fan Fest Tour, the Bruins expect to suit up over 4,000 kids (ages 4-9), who have signed up for the Bruins Academy Learn to Play program, in brand new CCM hockey gear valued at $500 per player, for a total of $2 million worth of equipment dispersed to local communities.
Carlo and Sacco also took part in Q&A sessions with Brickley, helped scoop some Bruins Power Play Fudge ice cream at the Gifford's Famous Ice Cream tent, and coached some kids through hockey drills.
"You can already tell that they're passionate about hockey here," said Sacco. "Even bringing this program up here makes it that much more enjoyable. It's a great turnout, the weather is great. Overall, it's a good day."
