Ullmark Focused on Settling Into New Surroundings

Boston Bruins Training Camp is presented by Plymouth Rock Assurance.
BOSTON - For Linus Ullmark, training camp is the easy part.
The 28-year-old netminder's escape is the time he'll spend between the pipes over the next two weeks.
"It's the only place I don't have to think about anything except for hockey. It's an enjoyable moment for sure," Ullmark said following the Bruins' first on-ice session of training camp on Thursday.

As a newcomer to Boston, having signed a four-year contract with the Black & Gold over the summer, the Sweden native has spent most of his time away from the rink searching for a home, schools for his young children, where to buy groceries, and the best parks around his new neighborhood in Newton.
"Getting all that figured out before the season starts will be our main priority," said Ullmark. "If I'm enjoying myself off the ice, I'll be enjoying myself on the ice."
Ullmark is coming aboard to team up with rookie backstop Jeremy Swayman, whom he has already developed a rapport with in the two weeks or so that he has been in town. With a completely new duo in goal to start camp, it marks the first time since before the 2004 lockout that a goaltender named Tim Thomas or Tuukka Rask is not on the Boston roster.
But Ullmark is not yet ready to concern himself with the expectations of replacing Rask - the club's all-time winningest goalie - or how the workload will be split up between him and Swayman.
"I stay in the present, stay in the moment, that's something for the future. That's nothing that I focus on right now," said Ullmark. "There's some guys that you can take for granted that are going to make the lineup, but it's only been one day for training camp.
"Definitely there's going to be some guys that are gonna show off [their skills] and maybe have great games and maybe deserve a place to start the season; we don't know that as of yet. I think management has been very clear that this is your opportunity to try to seize the moment."

Boston coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged how much things have changed for the Bruins in goal, where for the past three seasons Rask and Jaroslav Halak - both veterans of 500-plus NHL games - were the ones splitting the B's net. But the B's bench boss also left open the possibility of a Rask return once the 34-year-old recovers from offseason hip surgery, which is expected to be sometime in December or January.
"He has been here from time to time but not on the ice," Cassidy said, noting that Rask has been at Warrior Ice Arena to receive treatment this fall. "I don't know when his on-ice would start and if it would be here."
Should both Ullmark and Swayman play well in Rask's absence, Cassidy acknowledged that the Bruins would have a decision to make.
"We've talked to both the goalies about our entire goaltending situation, where Tuukka's at," said Cassidy. "I can only go by what Tuukka's told me and everyone else that he'd like to stay and return to Boston. We understand that. I think the goalies understand that. It's way too early to say that's a definite or it's not happening.
"Can it get sticky? It could. If it does get sticky, we have to do right by the guys that are signed and we'll address that if it is. I think Tuukka's acknowledged that, he's a good pro, he's a good person. I don't think he's here trying to create any issues. I think he's just trying to get healthy."

Getting a Look

After his four-goal performance at the two-game Prospects Challenge in Buffalo over the weekend, Swedish winger Jesper Froden got the call on Day 1 of on-ice practices to skate with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. The 27-year-old right shot impressed Marchand with his skill and skating.
"We did a couple line drills. Talented kid," said Marchand. "You can see he has a lot of abilities, skates well, shoots the puck well. He seemed to get into good areas. Seems like he's a really good player. But we had a very small sample size, only a couple drills together. As camp goes on, we'll have a much better idea of how he fits in."
Cassidy has no plans at the moment to separate David Pastrnak from the B's dynamic duo, but he does want to see how some different combinations look together, particularly early on in camp. Pastrnak skated with fellow Czech winger Jakub Lauko and Cameron Hughes on Thursday.
"We were gonna mix a few of those lines up. He had a good camp in Buffalo, a good couple games," Cassidy said of Froden, who was inked to a one-year contract in June. "He's a little bit ahead of guys because of his age and the level he's played at. We came in with a bit of a plan, see him with some higher end players.
"I talked to Pasta about that. Obviously, that's his line. I thought Pasta with Lauko could help him as well. He's getting closer so a guy that Jakub probably looks up to. Not a bad landing spot for him."

Meet the Press

, marking the first time that reporters have been allowed in-person access to Cassidy and the players since before the COVID-19 pandemic. While it was another step toward returning to normalcy, Brandon Carlo said everyone around the team is still doing their best to remain vigilant even with restrictions and protocols having been loosened significantly since last season.
"I wouldn't say completely out of my mind," Carlo said of the pandemic. "I think there's still onus on us to be responsible in a lot of ways, to make the right decisions. Obviously, we can still get it even if we're vaccinated or not. I think my biggest goal, especially after last year, is to do everything correctly in order to stay in the lineup - in every aspect, whether that be injury-wise, health-wise, anything in that regard.
"It's definitely not completely out of our minds, but I like how we don't have to necessarily focus upon it every single day, every hour of every day."

Full Steam Ahead

Marchand, 33, is entering his 13th season with the Bruins and has four years remaining on his contract. The winger, who has scored 25-plus goals in eight of the past 10 seasons, said he has no interest in slowing down anytime soon.
"Until they boot me out of the league. Which, with my history, could be tomorrow," Marchand joked, when asked how much longer he'd like to play. "You talk to a lot of the older guys that have retired and moved on, the feedback is play as long as you can. Once you're done, it's not coming back. And you have a long life ahead of you.
"That's kind of how I intend to look at it. Maybe that transition is I go from first to second to third to fourth line again. Who knows? Maybe I'll be a defenseman at one point? Hopefully it's a long time."
Marchand hopes the same for his longtime linemate, Bergeron, who is in the final year of his contract.
"He's still the best two-way forward in the league," said Marchand. "Just getting robbed every year in the Selke [voting]. It's completely up to him. He has the potential, he's still at the top of his game. He could play for a long time. This is the year we're worried about and focused on."

Making Progress

Charlie Coyle skated before the main group as he continues to rehab from offseason knee surgery. The centerman is expected to be limited for the first week or so of camp. Jack Studnicka played the middle between Taylor Hall and Craig Smith.