WASHINGTON, DC—The Bruins tied up their final loose end in their leadership group.
After David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy were named alternate captains over the summer, Hampus Lindholm was named the third alternate in a team meeting on Tuesday.
It wasn’t necessarily a big surprise but it was still meaningful.
“You have you’re feelings that it might come but then obviously when it’s announced like that it’s special. I’m honored to wear it and excited about the season to start here,” said Lindholm after the B’s morning skate at Capital One Arena prior to the season opener against the Capitals.
“It’s an honor, especially for a team with a history like this. It’s obviously very special.”
While it seemed like a last-minute decision, coach Marco Sturm said it was a long time coming.
“He deserved it. He stood out to me right away, starting actually with my first conversation I had with him on the phone when I got the job and reached out to him. He’s very into it. He cares. He wants to get better, he wants to be the difference and he wants to win. And he wants to be a leader. So I think he pretty much rings everything,” said Sturm.
“It’s not what he said. You could hear it in his voice. Right away, he said ‘We don’t need help. We can win with this group.’ He just has a different mindset. That’s something I was very impressed at.”
The B’s management and coaching staffs have chosen to go with three A’s as opposed to one captain and two alternates. If they feel an obvious ‘C’ emerges, they’ll address that at the time.
The big Swedish defenseman feels the three alternate captains will complement each other well.
“I think I lead by example, especially how I carry myself on and off the ice. At least that’s how I’d want to be remembered as a leader,” said te 31-year-old Lindholm. “I think me and Chucky and Pasta are different personalities and we can help each other in different ways. So I think we’ve got a good mixture. But I’m just going to be myself and lead the way I’ve been doing in the past and it’s really exciting.”
He said he’s been influenced by a wide array of leaders during his career.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of guys,” said the defenseman who missed almost all of last year after suffering a broken kneecap last November. “First couple years in the league, there was Teemu Selanne. That was one year (in Anaheim)) and you’d see how he carried himself off and on the ice. Saku Koivu was also a guy. Just how they carried themselves. I learned a lot from watching those guys and how professional they were. And obviously (Ryan) Getzlaf, and (Patrice) Bergeron here and all the guys who were fortunate to pull on this jersey. I’ve just got be myself and it’s going to be exciting.”….
A year ago at this time, Elias Lindholm was dealing with a back injury and, though he played through it after missing much of training camp, he wasn’t himself. He was slow to engage and dig into battles. It put him in catch-up mode and never really got out of it until the season was out of hand.
He expects a lot more out of himself this season.
“(I feel) way better. At this point in time last year it was not great and I obviously didn’t play my best. This year I feel better and been part of the camp, got some games in and I feel ready,” said the centerman. “Last year is one of those seasons you want to put behind you.”
Sturm expects more out of him as well.
“One of the conversations I had with him is, I remember him when he was in Calgary playing with Johnny Hockey (Gaudreau) and damn, he was good,” said Sturm, referring to the line that also boasted Matthew Tkachuk. “Both of them were excellent. Not just on the power play but 5-on-5. They played a pretty simple game, straightforward. They used their speed through the middle. And that’s what I want to see a little bit more from him. Not just wait for Pasta and the other guys beside him. I want him to drive the bus a little bit more and go back to the Calgary days like I saw him, to take charge.”…
His skill set may not scream out fourth liner, but that’s where Marat Khusnutdinov is set to start the season, skating with Sean Kuraly and Mark Kastelic. It’s a bit of an extended tryout.
“I trust him,” said Sturm after the morning skate. “He brings us a little bit of a jump and speed on that fourth line but also he’s on the second unit power play as well. We’re going to try him out today. He played last game, too, on the fourth line and he did his job so that’s why he’s going to get another crack at it.”…
The 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin was beginning his 21st season. Sturm played both against him and for a brief time (18 games) with him on the Caps in the 2010-11 season.
“You can’t relax,” said Sturm. “It doesn’t matter whether it was 20 years ago or now. You just can’t relax whenever he’s on the ice. We saw it last year. He can still score, not just on the power play but even 5-on-5. You just have to know when he’s on the ice and where he’s at because sometimes he only needs one chance.”
