Workouts, Skates, Boat Days: Inside Minten, Jeannot Summer Routines

VANCOUVER –– Fraser Minten knows exactly how many days he has at home during the summer. He counts them, he said.

The Bruins forward is back living in his childhood bedroom in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is ignoring his mom’s comments to take a break.

​Minten, who turned 22 on July 5, is getting as much done as he can – both on and off the ice – before returning to Boston for his second full year with the B’s.

There is little time for rest for Minten as he bounces between training, time with friends and family dinners. He gave us a glimpse into his offseason life, and trip to see teammate Tanner Jeannot, earlier this month in Canada.

​Summer Training​

Minten follows the line of athletes in front of him as they run through dynamic warmups on the sidewalk. They are doing their lunges outside of a gym, with a garage-like door open letting in the cool, early-morning Vancouver breeze.

This has been part of Minten’s summer routine since he was around 15. Ryan Kerr leads the sessions at his RK4 Development program, and has watched Minten evolve from a WHL player to a full-time NHLer in the past few years.

“He’s just one of those guys who makes me really enjoy coming to work. He is so easy to work with, so coachable, works super hard,” Kerr said of Minten. “We have some fun along the way. It’s a tough balance – a lot of guys obviously work super hard, and a lot of guys are fun to work with, but not a lot of guys can balance it as well as Fraser and his group can.”

There is banter bouncing around the gym throughout the two-and-a-half-hour training from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m. – Minten is in a group of local hockey players at the NHL, AHL, college and junior levels.

“Love every minute of it. Super fun environment in there. We just have a good time going to work,” Minten said. “I feel really good. We spend a lot of time doing mobility stuff and getting warm prior to [the weights]. I feel really good when I get on the ice after stuff like that – just feel like I am loose but strong in those hockey-specific positions.”

Between the chirps and catch-ups is a grind. Kerr focuses on training that complements strength and speed to increase power and minimize injury. He implements a lot of unilateral exercises that center on one leg at a time, trying to eliminate any imbalances the players might have. Hockey, as Kerr explains, is a lot of balance and core strength.

“There’s a big difference between working out and training. The thing for us is trying to train to make sure he feels as good as he can on the ice during a long season. Whether that is trying to gain some strength back that he might’ve lost in a long season or working on small muscles to help support him feel good when he’s doing his bigger lifts or skates or battles on the ice – stuff like that,” Kerr said. “At this age, they still have growth to be made physically. It is really important that we’re taking advantage of that and trying to get them to where they want to be when they’re 24 or 25 years old. And then it’s going to kind of shift to maintaining that and staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible, to be an asset for as long as possible.”

Minten’s jersey and photos hang on the walls at RK4 Development, alongside the likes of Connor Bedard. Minten used to look at those frames and the pros they captured as motivation for his own career. Now, he is one of them.

​“It’s cool. I remember like it was yesterday just wanting to be in the position I am in right now,” Minten said. “It is super fun to be back and keep striving for more.”

It has been somewhat surreal for Kerr to be part of. He was in the crowd when Minten made his return to Vancouver on Jan. 3, skating at Rogers Arena for the first time in an NHL game. The hometown kid potted two goals, including the overtime winner in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory.

“It might’ve been the loudest I’ve cheered in that building, other than one of the Canucks goals in 2011 in overtime or something like that. It’s pretty funny cheering against the Canucks,” Kerr said. “It didn’t even feel real. Even just walking home that night after the game, I was like, ‘Did that really just happen?’ I just couldn’t be more proud of him and pumped for him.”

Nonetheless, Minten walked back into the gym this summer with the same mindset he did when he was 15 – to get better.

“To be honest, he is kind of the same guy, which is great to see,” Kerr said. “I think that’s one of the reasons people love him so much – I wouldn’t be able to tell any difference between him now that he’s a bit of a star and two years ago, Fraser Minten. I think that’s one of the things that makes him so lovable.”

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are training-heavy for Minten. After he puts in his hours at RK4 Development, Minten has an afternoon skate at Scotia Barn with the NHLers in the area – including Macklin Celebrini, Zach Benson and Alexander Kerfoot. It is skills and drills and high compete.

“It’s great. We’re fortunate to have such a good group of young guys here in Vancouver,” Minten said. “We’ve been skating together now – for a lot of us, almost a decade now. Super fun to see the success that everyone is having, and continue to push each other and strive for more as a group.”

With all the activity, refueling is one of the most important parts of Minten’s day. The youngster wants to put on more weight, and he’s downing five meals a day – plus snacks – to reach his goal. Luckily, his mom, Chantal, has been a help in the kitchen.

Home-Cooked Fuel 

It was all spread out on the table. Chicken kebabs, lamb, smashed potatoes, broccoli, pita, dips and a sugar-free dessert with berries. Chantal – who works as a flight attendant for Air Canada – put together  dinner for her family before Minten ran out the door for his roller hockey game.

“It’s very different, because my husband and I, Trevor, we don’t do very much as far as meals in the same way. It’s just so much less,” Chantal said. “He’s very appreciative, so is his brother; they’re always like, ‘Thanks, mom!’”

The dinner featured lots of protein and supplementary carbohydrates. Minten, who was snacking on a carrot muffin as an appetizer, stacked his plate up high, trying to take full advantage of the feast his mom offers on a daily basis.  

“She’s amazing. She always has a fridge full, even when she’s working. It is always pre-prepared food and easy for me to whip up. If not, it’s a good trip to Chipotle,” Minten said. “It’s very nice to have my mom’s help with some cooking and cleaning. Be around my brother and my dad, and just feel like I have a family around me. It’s awesome.”

Chantal has no complaints about the lengthy grocery list. She is just happy to have Minten and his younger brother, Bryce, home for the summer.  

“That’s what you miss, is having the boys at home,” Chantal said. “To be quite honest with you, it’s just like normal. He’s just Fraser coming home – same, same. Sometimes we stop and reflect and think, ‘There’s a lot of seriousness here; he better be laser focused.’ But most of the time, it’s just us hanging out as family and enjoying having him here. The energy changes in a house when you get your kids back. That is really special to have that energy again.”

Minten has stayed committed to his caloric intake during the offseason. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, overnight oats or a bagel before the gym – “And a coffee, of course. Wake up a little bit,” he adds. Next up is eggs, toast and bacon, a hefty lunch after he skates, an afternoon nap, another meal when he wakes up and then, finally, dinner around 6 p.m. – followed by “a little something before bed.”

“I think it’s wonderful and I don’t mind at all. It makes me feel kind of useful, too,” Chantal said of her assistance. “It’s a way that I can show him that I care and I support him. I can’t do that throughout the year, so it’s the best I can do.”

Minten pitches in at times, too. He treated his family to a homemade steak dinner, which his mom had rave reviews about.​

“He’s come back and taught us a whole lot. He’s had the experience to get a lot of meals at very high-end restaurants and stuff with the team,” Chantal said. “He’s come home and taught me a whole lot. It’s been really great, actually. He’s learned how to look after himself nutritionally and everything from the team, and I am learning from him.”

Minten hops up from the table after finishing off his kebabs, lamb and plentiful portions of the sides. He is rushing to make his roller hockey game at 7 p.m. – he is a forward for the White Foxes in the North Shore Inline Hockey League. Somehow, after an early-morning training session and hour-plus skate, Minten wants more hockey.

“I have been playing over there, on and off, since I was like 12. I love it. It is just kind of like a beer league, but it is super competitive. There are really good players out there. It’s tons of fun on the roller blades. It’s like hockey with no defense,” he said. “I think it’s very important to just appreciate all the work you have put in throughout the year and enjoy it for a bit. I don’t think it takes long for you to want to be back in those competitive, pressure situations in the NHL. Looking forward to getting back to it already.”

A Trip to Tanner

It is about a four-hour drive from Vancouver to Kelowna. Minten wraps up his skate at Scotia Barn the next day and logs Jeannot’s address into his GPS. And so starts the journey to visit Minten’s teammate, whose new home is nestled right above the dazzling Okanagan Lake.

While Jeannot earned his hard-hitting, gritty identity on the fourth line alongside Mark Kastelic and Sean Kuraly for the majority of the 2025-26 season, he and Minten started the year playing together. Minten was entering his rookie campaign in Boston and Jeannot – who is from Estevan, Saskatchewan – was an early mentor. The Western Canada guys stick together, Minten said with a smile.

“He’s an awesome guy. He was super nice to me throughout the whole year. Just an awesome Prairie guy,” Minten added. “He is just a teammate that everybody gravitates towards, and everybody loves. Super excited to get to go hang out with him and his family here for a bit.”

Minten arrives at the house with a thank-you card in hand and flowers for Jeannot’s wife, Keely, who is pregnant with the couple’s first daughter. Their young sons, Jayce and Calder, also greet Minten at the door.

“It’s been a busy summer just getting moved into the house and settled in and stuff. And then trying to see family,” Jeannot said. “This lifestyle is pretty great for us – being outside all the time, kids loving it in the pool or riding their bikes outside. It’s been really good for them. It’s a good getaway from the city.”

Jayce has learned to ride his bike without training wheels this summer. Jeannot runs alongside him down the neighborhood streets. He has also taken a liking to tubing while his dad opts for wake surfing off the back of the boat, with sprawling, lush mountains as the backdrop.

“It’s amazing. That is the best part of life, getting to see them grow up and experience new things. Just be around for the adventure that they have,” Jeannot said. “It just means so much – that’s what makes summer so special.”

Apart from making pizzas on the grill and days out on the lake with Keely and the kids, Jeannot has stuck to a strict training plan. He took Minten along to his workout and skate one day; NHL veterans like brothers Luke and Brayden Schenn and Brendan Dillon were there, too.​

Jeannot is getting ready for his eighth season in the NHL. The 29-year-old forward signed a five-year deal with the Bruins in July 2025 and has a clear understanding of his purpose in the lineup. It helps dictate what his offseason work looks like.

​“I think you just dial in more what you need to work on and what works for your body and what you need to feel good going into the season,” Jeannot said. “As you get older, you figure out those things a little bit more, and you hone in on those and focus on that instead of doing just everything that you can. You want to put more time into the things that give you the best bang for your buck, I guess."

Jeannot and Minten were paired up for a handful of the on-ice drills in Kelowna, displaying their Bruins chemistry on some successful 2-on-1 rushes, ending in a goal. While it was July hockey, you could almost picture them back at TD Garden.

“He is a younger guy on the team, but he’s a pretty mature kid. It’s great to have him out,” Jeannot said. “It is always fun seeing the guys in the offseason. It is so weird when you spend every day with guys during the season, and then you don’t see them at all in the offseason. It was nice for him to come out and get to have a day like this.”