Bruins Training Camp

I went over to the training camp for the Boston Bruins the other morning. The camp is up at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington. In terms of crowds, it wasn't exactly Spring Training in Fort Myers with the Red Sox. And the temperature inside definitely wouldn't remind you of Florida. It was freezing.

There were probably 15 fans, max, in the stands. That may be indicative of the team's results in the last few years and a distinct lack of buzz going into this year. The upside of the small crowd is that you can get real close to the players. In fact, stand next to the boards and the only thing separating you at the players is a thin sheet of plexiglass and, well, talent. (And for people like me, the ability to skate.) I'm not a huge Bruins fan, so I didn't recognize too many players outside of Zdeno Chara, who towers above everyone at 6 feet 9 inches and looks even bigger in person. The lack of numbers on the practice uniforms didn't help me either.

I was there for maybe an hour before the frostbite began to be a bit of a concern. (Did I mention it was cold?) The players spent most of the time doing drills. Some of the drills were full-ice skates. On other drills, the squad was split in half with practice on both ends of the ice.

Unlike Patriots training camp, there was no $7.50 beers. Just a few vending machines near the lobby.

Today's the last day of training camp before the season starts. Not sure if the practices are open during the regular season, but you can try calling the media and fan phone number at 617-624-1910 to check the practice schedule. If you go, bring warm clothes. (Did I mention it was cold?)