The Sunday Read: Meet Kyle Chauvette, the Bruins’ New EBUG

BOSTON –– Kyle Chauvette had barely stopped to take a breath.

The goaltender’s college career came to a close on March 11 following the University of New Hampshire’s loss to Northeastern in the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals.

Just one day later, he was sitting on the bench at TD Garden with the San Jose Sharks. Chauvette was the visiting team’s last-minute emergency backup goalie after Yaroslav Askarov suffered a lower-body injury.

​The final buzzer for both the game and a whirlwind 24 hours for Chauvette finally sounded. On his way out from his one-night stint with the Sharks, the 24-year-old bumped into Bob Essensa, the Boston Bruins’ goaltending coach.

The two actually knew each other. Chauvette had played on the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs U16 team with Essensa’s son and fellow goalie, Jake. After some catching up, Essensa put an opportunity on Chauvette’s radar.

The new collective bargaining agreement the NHL and NHLPA ratified in July 2025 was going into effect on Sept. 16. An added wrinkle was that teams would need to have a designated full-time EBUG who travels and participates in practices.

There were a couple of guidelines: the netminder must never have played an NHL game under a Standard Player Contract, must have played in fewer than 80 professional games at any level and cannot have played professional hockey in the past three seasons.

Chauvette seemed to fit the bill. But it was not originally in his plans after graduating from UNH with a bachelor’s degree in economics in May.

“At first I didn’t really know much about it, so I was a little hesitant because I had my eyes set on playing in the ECHL,” Chauvette said. “And then I kind of heard more about this role, and it made me take a second to think about it. This could be a good opportunity for me not only development-wise but to make good connections and everything else. It felt like an experience I couldn’t pass up.”

And so, the Bruins found their EBUG for the 2026-27 season.​

“I had been on the ice with both [Jake and Chauvette] a couple dozen times before. I knew him really well. It’s someone I’m familiar with, and I know what kind of kid he is,” Essensa said. “He’s the type of kid that’s perfect for the job because he’s going to go out there, he’s going to work hard, he’s going to have a terrific attitude, and that’s exactly what you want out of an EBUG.”

Perhaps the most excited people to hear the news of Chauvette’s post-grad plans were his grandparents, Norm and Tina. Chauvette, who is from Goffstown, New Hampshire, went to Manchester Monarchs games ever since he was 10 months old. Norm and Tina got season tickets to the games at Verizon Wireless Arena.

“We had seats behind the opposing goalie, so I just got drawn to the position a bit; I liked the gear a lot,” Chauvette said. “A goalie I watched growing up was Marc Andre Fleury. He was my idol. I liked to watch the Penguins for that reason, and I also loved his yellow pads back in the day. He was a great role model to look up to; I wore 29 most of my life because of him.”

Chauvette and all the league’s EBUGs have to wear jersey number 00 now. But he doesn’t mind.

“I think it’s kind of cool, actually,” Chauvette said. “I know Marty Biron was once double zero.”

Essensa has worked Chauvette into the B’s practices, along with injured ice and extras skate. It is a learning process for both of them, and every team in the NHL, to determine how best to utilize the EBUG.

“Both the guys we have here in Sway and in Mikey, they’re both hard workers. They’re not looking for days off,” Essensa said. “But when it comes down to travel and playing back-to-back, and certainly come playoff time when you’re trying to give your starter a day off here, a day off there, it’s perfect. Especially in the situation when we have an optional skate, if we have a bunch of guys going out, sometimes the starter feels like he has to go out when he might not want to. In those scenarios, it plays perfectly that we have a guy to fill in.”

Swayman has his routine down pretty well. Entering his seventh season in Boston, the 27-year-old goaltender knows when to push and when to rest throughout a long season.

“Guys with experience know how to adapt their bodies and do well with recovery,” Swayman said. “I think it comes down to the player and individual. Certain guys need more work to feel good, and certain guys need less. I think it’s down to the individual.”

Chauvette just adds more flexibility to that.

“It’s awesome to have that available to us now – and him being such a great guy who is just supportive and doing whatever he can to help the team,” Swayman said. “I got to work with him this summer a little bit, too, and he was just outgoing, super kind, super excited to be here. Anyone is going to get along with a guy like that. He’s just been a seamless transition, able to talk to anyone.”

​After posting a 24-save shutout in Boston’s opening-night victory against the New York Rangers on Tuesday at TD Garden, Swayman and Chauvette chatted in the locker room about the performance.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best goalie in the world in my opinion,” Chauvette said. “To get to pick his brain is awesome. He has been super nice to me, has brought me in and made me feel like I’m part of the group. To get to interact with him, whether it’s postgame, post-practice – it’s been very helpful.”

At first, it was somewhat surreal to be stallmates with someone like Swayman, and to be facing shots from the likes of David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie and JJ Peterka; to be part of an Original Six franchise and see the behind-the-scenes of his favorite league. Chauvette has adapted to the routine of the role, though.

“I want to contribute in any way I can, whether it’s off the ice, on the ice, helping guys get extra work or whatever it might be,” Chauvette said. “You start to get used to being around everyone. Everyone here has been awesome to me. At the end of the day, everyone is human, and it’s just cool to get to interact with these guys. Obviously they’re the best of the best, elite talents on the ice, so it’s really cool to get to take shots from them and experience that.”

While it would take an emergency for Chauvette to see game action this season, being a small part of a bigger production has meant a lot – especially to Norm and Tina. The grandparents once introduced Chauvette to the game and watched him fall in love with it from the stands. That passion placed Chauvette in this opportunity, and the Bruins gained some die-hard fans, too.

“They were ecstatic about it. They are so happy for me and so happy for me. They’ll still text me, even though I’m not playing; they texted me after the Rangers game like, ‘Great win, guys,’” Chauvette said. “I think sometimes my grandpa follows it more than I do. He’s really invested.”