Sweeney Talks Training Camp, China at Fan Fest Tour

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Don Sweeney has been around New England for most of his adult life. The New Brunswick native arrived in Cambridge in 1984 for his freshman season at Harvard and hasn't really left.
The blue liner went on to play 15 of his 16 NHL seasons - and over 1,000 games - with the Bruins, before transitioning into a management role with the organization in 2006.

Sweeney's nearly 35-year stint in Boston provides him with an immense appreciation for the Bruins fan base. As such, the B's general manager was more than willing to spend some time with the Black & Gold faithful at Arms Park in Manchester on Saturday afternoon for the second stop on the team's Fan Fest Tour.
"We're so appreciative of the fan base and realizing this tour, caravan, this stuff that you guys are all doing is an outreach program, a growth opportunity," said Sweeney, who turned 52 on Friday. "It's an acknowledgement, really, of the support that's so widespread around New England. It's great to be able just to see the youngest and oldest of fans. We've got to continue to grow our sport and realize they're a big, big part of our success."

Sweeney was joined in Manchester by Matt Grzelcyk and Ryan Donato, both young players who are beginning to carve out their relationship with their supporters.
"It's vital for their own growth, realizing they need to continue to contribute back to the people that support them, cheer for them," said Sweeney. "They're young players that need to understand that it's a privilege to play and to be part of the Boston Bruins organization, to give back in that area.
"It's a great way to make a career and have a life, but give the acknowledgement back to the people that support you, fill the stands and cheer for you. It's a nice way to be able to connect with them."
Grzelcyk and Donato are among a large group of players - which also includes Charlie McAvoy, Sean Kuraly, Jake DeBrusk - set to enter their second seasons in the NHL. Their continued growth and progression will be crucial to Boston's success, as the Bruins look to build on their highly successful 2017-18 campaign.
"A lot of times kids take a step back in their second year," said Sweeney. "The league sort of catches up to them. There's no surprises anymore. They have to put the work in and realize that things, at times, might have come easily, they're going to be more difficult.
"But we're going to continue to work with them, and our coaching staff did a phenomenal job every day trying to make them better players. Our veteran group and our core group, integrating them into our locker room to teach them every day, as well, what it's going to take and the expectations that they all have to have a successful team.
"And we had a really close locker room last year and it's indicative of our younger kids not getting ahead of themselves, not having a big head about it and coming in to go to work to learn."

The learning will continue this preseason. With a spot or two open in the bottom six, Sweeney is looking forward to what he expects will be another competitive training camp.
"When we get back together as a full group [after the China trip] I expect a lot of the similar things that we did last year: growth, practice habits, attention to detail and a close locker room," said Sweeney. "Again, our veteran group did a tremendous job. They're expecting these young guys to take a step because they want to win. And hopefully we can do that, we can stay healthy.
"Our coaches are continuing to work every day and the younger guys, the new guys coming in, they have a job to do to understand what it means to be a Boston Bruin and the expectations that come along with it."
Training camp will have a unique wrinkle this year with the team's trip to China forcing Sweeney to split his roster in two. While a large chunk of the everyday roster will head to Beijing and Shenzhen for two exhibition games with the Calgary Flames, a second group will remain in Boston for the team's traditional preseason games.
"It's going to be difficult," said Sweeney. "We've spoken to Vancouver and L.A., they both went through it last year. It's a unique experience and opportunity and the team did a trip to Prague [in 2011] that they utilized effectively going into the course of the season.
"There's a team-building aspect to it. There's some players back here that need to do the same thing, bring along some guys that might feel left out not being over in China and players over in China feeling like, 'Oh, you know, they haven't accomplished anything.'
"But it's a nice experience and exposure to what's a possibility and reality for them if they put the work in."