BOS opening night roster becoming clear following Thursday's Group A practice

(Photo Credit: Boston Bruins via X)

Following an off day on Wednesday, Boston Bruins training camp resumed at Warrior Ice Arena on a rainy Thursday morning in Brighton, MA.

Since the start of on-ice camp on September, 18, practices each day have been split up into two sessions - Group A, and Group B.

Both groups featured a pretty even mix of NHL players, and AHL players.

That was at least, until today.

Having a handful of practice sessions, and two preseason games under their belt, there was a sense of curiosity heading into Thursday's session.

Would Group A, and Group B remain the same as last week?

Or would the groupings change in a more purposeful way geared towards finalizing the NHL roster?

Sure enough, it was the latter.

Group A took the ice featuring 25 players (23 skaters, 2 goaltenders) almost all of whom are locks to be on the opening night roster, and a couple who have a good chance to be but appear to final cuts.

Forwards: Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm, David Pastrnak, Matej Blumel, Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Casey Mittelstadt, Matt Poitras, Michael Eyssimont, Sean Kuraly, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves

Defensemen: Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov, Henri Jokiharju, Jordan Harris, Victor Soderstrom

Goalies: Jeremy Swayman, Michael DiPietro (Joonas Korpisalo didn't skate in either session today)

Here are the lines, and pairs that were featured for Group A - which appear to be the first real peak behind the curtain as to how Marco Sturm is initially thinking about lining up this season:

Again, it should be noted that Dipietro was more than likely just filling in for Korpisalo who didn't skate at all on Thursday during Group A, or Group B sessions.

Now while there aren't a ton of surprises as to the players present among this cut-down group (I'll touch on some notable omissions further down) here are some interesting developments deriving from these line combinations.

Namely, Casey Mittelstadt centering a third line with Matt Poitras on his right wing.

Their combined lack of size, physicality, and shot first mentality has me a bit skeptical about their potential fit, and effectiveness because while Jeannot has size and physicality, he isn't exactly a major shooting threat - which means one or both of Mittelstadt, or Poitras will have to become something they historically haven't been - a finisher.

Poitras, and Mittelstadt are both smart, creative players who can skate well - so they have similar strengths but time will tell if their similar weaknesses will prevent them from meshing and complimenting each other.

Blumel, for example, does possess a shot first mentality and I liked how that complimented Mittelstadt's playmaking ability in BOS most recent preseason game at NYR, and during power play two reps in practice on Thursday - but he appears to be getting a look on Zacha's line which to be fair, is a pair we have yet to witness in game action and could be impressive as well.

Beyond those observations, the rest of the forward lines are close to as expected.

Looks like there's still two skater cuts to be made to get down to a 23-man roster and right now it appears those will be Victor Soderstrom, and one of probably Alex Steeves, or Fraser Minten.

If it is Minten, it's going to be because BOS would rather he get reps in all situations in PRV rather than sit in the press box.

Khusnutdinov is likely safe as an extra forward to start the year.

Before mentioning notable absences from Group A practice, here were the power play units:

Now, let's talk about some telling exemptions from Group A.

If you're a big fan of John Beecher, Fabian Lysell, Dans Locmelis, or Michael Callahan - you'll likely have to tune in to Providence Bruins games to watch them this year, at least to start.

That is, of course, if Beecher and Callahan presumably clear waivers.

Lysell, and Locmelis are waivers exempt and can report to PRV, no issue.

Callahan, in my opinion, has had a better camp than Soderstrom and probably deserved to be in Group A over him, but I think they're both behind Harris on the depth chart as BOS 7th defenseman, and waiver bound.

Locmelis had a decent camp up until this point but nothing that showcased he's ready to make an NHL impact right now. He's only played 6 AHL regular season games, and could still very much benefit from more time in the minors.

Lysell looked to me as though he was making notable efforts to be physically engaged in practice and in games, but it doesn't come natural to him and therefore looked like someone trying to do the right thing but wasn't very impactful at it.

But ultimately, his greatest asset is his speed and he continues to not use it nearly enough in-game.

Four years after being drafted he still tries to go through defenders legs in one-on-one situations rather than using his speed to drive wide, or dump the puck in with the intent of retrieving it.

More often than not, when a player has the puck on their stick there isn't some grand, scoring chance or play to be had or made.

The game happens fast, teammates can be changing, tired, and out of position, or the opposition is simply defending well and taking away time and space.

That's where hockey IQ comes in to play, and knowing what to do with the puck when there isn't much available so as to live another day, and not turn it over.

Lysell still struggles to be a responsible player at the highest level, while simultaneously not utilizing his speed and skill (nearly consistently enough) to show coaches and management he's ready to not just keep up, but be an impact player at the NHL level.

He may get another chance during the year with a call-up, but Lysell seems AHL bound again.

As for Beecher, he quite frankly has had a poor camp so far.

He hasn't stood out in any practices prior to Thursday, and recently had a detrimental preseason game performance against the Rangers that in a short camp, and as a bubble player, can get one cut.

Turning the puck over at your own blue line is a mortal sin in hockey, especially when you're trying to make a team. Beecher also had all the time in the world to ice the puck on a penalty kill down 4-1 in the third period and failed to get it out leading to more Rangers zone time and scoring chances.

But even outside of inexcusable mistakes, Beecher simply hasn't been an impactful player over the last calendar year. The 24 year old, former first-round pick tallied just one goal in his final 73 games last season and had a total of 3 goals, 8 assists, and 11 points in 78 games played.

He can't afford to have that type of season, and then follow it up with a poor training camp.

That's exactly how, and why he now finds himself assigned to Group B.

To make matters worse for Beecher, Michael Eyssimont (Beecher's direct competition) scored a beautiful shorthanded goal on an individual effort to bring the Bruins within two against the Rangers, then scored again on his next shift, and to cap his night off, had a primary assist on the game tying goal with the goalie pulled:

In addition to his productive scoring efforts, Eyssimont also brought physicality:

Boston of course went on to complete the comeback with a 5-4 win on Nikita Zadorov's overtime winner featuring a viral celebration:

That does it for developments and observations of training camp on Thursday - a very telling one compared to what we've seen so far.

BOS will hit the practice ice again in two groups on Friday before traveling to Philadelphia on Saturday to face the Flyers in their third of six preseason games.