It's hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is right around the corner. The summer was a short one, or at least it was short for the Boston-area people. The Celtics concluded their Championship run the same week as the Bruins draft party. July was more of a thorn in my side than a month of relaxation. August was the recovery of the thorn and getting the home life back on track from the derailments of July. And now the Boston-area will start getting active again when football, both college and NFL, start in the upcoming weeks.
With that said, what better time to do a summer Bruins recap than now. My lack of posting hardly means I have been out of the Bruins loop, but at the same time, this might serve as a reference post for me (and others) down the road with everything that was missed.
There really hasn't been any Earth-shattering breaking Bruins news, but at the same time, it was a long summer of events and news.
Old News is Still News
Regarding the status of Carl Soderberg for training camp, he won't be coming. Soderberg was acquired for goaltender Hannu Toivonen.
The Bruins were hopeful that Carl Soderberg, whom they obtained in last summer's swap with St. Louis for Hannu Toivonen, also would be part of the forward mix. But the 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound center notified Chiarelli some 10 days ago that he has opted to remain in Sweden for one more season. A few months earlier, Soderberg said he would be here in September, and was willing to assume the risk that he could be assigned to Providence."It's disappointing, but we had a good talk," said Chiarelli. "At least he was persuasive in what he said - he doesn't want to come to North America and be a marginal player. 'When I get there, I want to contribute,' is what he told me.
"And, hey, the fact is, he is only 22 - the age of maybe a college senior - and it wasn't until the playoffs over there last year that he really had his game going. He wants that one more year over there."
A little tidbit about the Bruins home away from the Garden.
Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington again will serve as the Bruins' base of off-day operations in 2008-09, but rumors persist, as they have for more than a decade, that the team will seek a swankier training facility. "Everyone in Wilmington has been great to us, and very flexible, too, and we appreciate that," said general manager Peter Chiarelli. "But we continue to talk about a lot of things, including a possible restructuring with Wilmington. So much of this now has to do with recruiting, not just with UFAs, but your own players, too." By today's NHL standards, Ristuccia is spartan, chillier than the top of Mount Washington, and offers only one sheet of ice.
Chara Climbs
I neglected posting anything about Zdeno Chara's trip to Tanzania as an Ambassador for Right to Play, something Andrew Ference participated in last summer. In addition to that, Chara was going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Our goal: the 19,350 foot summit, Uhuru Peak, of Mount Kilimanjaro in northeast Tanzania, the highest point on the Africa continent.The preliminary spot to reach is on the volcano’s crater rim, at Gilman’s Point, 18,650 feet.
The main reasons for the climb, was to raise awareness and money for the humanitarian organization Right To Play, for which Zdeno Chara is an Athlete Ambassador – throw in a little personal adventure/accomplishment and you have a heck of a trip.
Rob Simpson chronicled the trip on the Bruins website [ day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6 ].
You can donate to Chara's campaign here.
Providence News
The New York Islanders had a coaching vacancy. They interviewed candidates and manage to pluck yet another out of the Bruins organization. Scott Gordon, coach of the Providence Bruins for the past five seasons, got the job behind the Islanders bench following in Peter Laviolette's footsteps.
Rob Murray, assistant to Gordon for the past five seasons in Providence, was promoted to head coach.
The home of the Providence Bruins will be celebrating the grand re-opening of the arena on September 6th.
Ryder Wagon
Michael Ryder, the Bruins' biggest signing of the off-season, was in Boston a few days ago. According to the Globe, Ryder opted to purchase a condo downtown. Hopefully Ryder won't get lost during the season because the Bruins will need his offense.
Bruins Four
A Bruins fan gave me the heads up about a new Bruins commercial. I hadn't seen the commercial as I'm ignoring all Boston sports right now, but it popped up on the Bruins website when I was browsing around.
It seems the Bruins only have one foursome of actors who will have recurring roles in commercials.
Summer Healing
It looks like the off-season recovery for Bruins players is going well.
Zdeno Chara had shoulder surgery, and "may need some time to feel his way into [preseason]" according to Chiarelli. Patrice Bergeron, Manny Fernandez and Chuck Kobasew are all close to 100%. Bergeron was recovering from a severe concussion. Fernandez had knee surgery last season. Kobasew was set back with a fractured tibia. Make sure Kobasew stays out of the way of Chara's slapshots this season. Shane Hnidy had surgery to fix his knee and is reportedly a little behind in his recovery.
Bruins informal workouts will be starting up during the first week of September. The official opening of training camp isn't until September 19th.
