From College Roommates to Bruins Teammates: Eyssimont and Borgen Reunite in Boston

BOSTON –– Ten years ago, Mikey Eyssimont and Will Borgen would walk across campus at St. Cloud State University after practice and over to their shared dorm.

On Friday, the duo skated at Warrior Ice Arena and walked across the Boston Bruins’ locker room to their respective stalls as training camp rolled on.

Eyssimont and Borgen played three seasons of NCAA hockey (2015-18) as Huskies and were roommates for their last two years. Now, they’re wearing the same colors once again as part of the B’s organization; Borgen was traded from New York to Boston in July.

“He’s a funny guy; he was a great roommate. He’s tidy. We had a lot of fun together. I don’t know what he thinks about me as a roommate – I would assume he enjoyed it,” Borgen said. “We had really good teams while we were there. Never finished the way we wanted, but we had a lot of fun. A lot of lifelong friends from there.”

It turns out Eyssimont did in fact enjoy the living situation.

​“We were just such great friends freshman year right away. Our whole class got really close that summer going into our freshman year. It was quite a big class, but Will and I really connected. When we had the chance to be roommates, we jumped on it,” he said. “He was such a good player in college. We were two different positions – it was a really good way to kind of mesh and push each other.”

Their professional careers have taken them in varying directions since their college days, but things have fallen back into place.

“It was a really fun, exciting day when he was traded here. I texted him right away and was like, ‘Hey, do you want to be roommates again?’ Obviously, we have outgrown having roommates, but it was a really special day,” Eyssimont said. “I spent a lot of time with their family. He lived nearby the school, so I spent a lot of time in the summers at his lake and with his mom and his sister and father. They’re great people and were really good to me. I wasn’t from the area, so it was nice to have them in my life.”

Eyssimont and Borgen are competing for separate spots on the Bruins roster. Borgen is one of 10 defensemen on an NHL contract gunning to fill out the backend. Eyssimont is working to solidify his role as a reliable bottom-six piece following his first year in Boston.

While it’s only two days into camp, Borgen has been consistently paired with Hampus Lindholm.​

“Small sample size, but he’s a very skilled player. So far, he’s been helping me out a lot with the systems here because I learn on the go. We go over them in video, but I am asking him a lot of questions on the ice,” Borgen said. “I feel like I know the game defensively pretty well. I know my spot, where I am supposed to be and I think I am just a competitive player. I am going to compete hard against the other team.”

The Bruins are Borgen’s fourth team since getting selected in the fourth round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2015 Draft. After his time at St. Cloud State, he grinded in the AHL for two years and transitioned into an NHL regular. His athletic dreams, though, were somewhat already achieved by the time he reached the college level. He played high school hockey in his home state of Minnesota.

“It’s hard to describe because I feel like it’s the only place that does it well. It’s like football in Texas. When I was growing up, you just play with your lifelong buddies, the guys you’ve played with your whole life. I never thought about playing in the NHL growing up – I wanted to play in the state high school hockey tournament,” Borgen said. “The goal is to play there. You’re playing in front of 20,000 people in high school. It’s pretty crazy. Hockey is kind of like a religion in Minnesota. Great community around it.”

Eyssimont, who is from Littleton, Colorado, got a taste of the Minnesota hockey craze while at St. Cloud State. He has also embraced New England’s love for the sport. Eyssimont was quick to like Boston; he and his wife Caitlyn chose to have their wedding in the city in July.

“Everyone says nothing changes, but something did because I feel a lot lighter. I feel at ease,” Eyssimont said. “It was all so great. I’d say just the dinner and speeches [were the best]. Weddings really start with the couple and their love, and then that trickles down to the families of both partners, and that trickles down to the rest of the people there. It was just a magnificent day.”

The best man, hometown friend Brendan, and Eyssimont got matching tattoos during the summer, too. The thin ink on his arm reads “now is now” in Japanese, a nod to the movie Perfect Days. It is a mindset Eyssimont takes into all aspects of his life, including on the ice.

“It’s an unbelievable movie. It’s really one of those movies that changes the way you think about life. It’s about an ordinary elderly man who lives in Japan and works for Tokyo toilets. He drives around Tokyo cleaning the city toilets. It’s just about finding joy in the mundane. He lives a very simple life, and he’s so happy and at ease and at peace,” Eyssimont said. “I usually go ahead and watch a lot of these movies through my mom and my aunts. Brendan kind of jumped on board with some of these ‘out there’ movies. Sometimes he jokes – like when I got the new TV at the house, he was like, ‘Has this TV seen a normal movie yet?’ It’s just one of my hobbies.”

Times have changed. Eyssimont is now a husband – and has a few more tattoos. Borgen is now a Bostonian – and is enjoying the NHL more than high-school hockey. But the roommate bond remains.

“He’s a very fun guy to have around all the time,” Eyssimont said with a smile. “Very laid-back dude.”