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Bruins PBP Judd Sirott joins! ||The Greg Hill Show
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00:00Judd Surratt. Judd, good morning.
00:01Good morning. Welcome back.
00:03It's great to be back, but I think of Brick when you
00:06say that stuff. He's actually the
00:07face. I told him he's not listening.
00:09I said before we... Shime, they're all...
00:11You've got to get right up close to that microphone.
00:13I told you that before we started this.
00:16Is this like karaoke?
00:18Yeah, well, Shime does love
00:19karaoke. Absolutely. One of my favorite
00:21things of all time. What's your go-to?
00:24Drops a Jupiter by train.
00:28He also took a soccer ball
00:29to the face yesterday while coaching
00:31youth soccer
00:32and got stitches, which
00:35is not paid. No stitches yet,
00:37just like those little butterfly stitches.
00:40So,
00:42these guys begin the
00:43season with a win against
00:45the team that they should
00:47and needed to beat, and
00:50they're off to a good start here.
00:52They look great.
00:53Again, it's opening night. Jeremy
00:55Swamin looked fantastic.
00:57Looked solid. That was basically
00:59the form that we saw from him last year
01:01when he was a Vezina finalist.
01:04But you love the way that the Bruins
01:05played defensively, and I think that that's one
01:07of the things we can talk about a little bit more.
01:10They were patient.
01:11You know, they did allow a few chances
01:13to the Rangers, like, early in the third
01:15period, but for the most part, they kept
01:17the shot totals down. I think they only allowed
01:1924, which is
01:21a pretty sizable number below
01:23what they allowed last year.
01:25They allowed a lot of high danger chances
01:27last year, and there's some guys that you're counting
01:28on to step up. Guys like
01:31J.J. Paterka and Fraser Minton
01:33scoring some huge goals for this
01:34team, and they took their time. They were
01:36patient about it, and ultimately
01:38registered the win, but the schedule's going to get
01:40a little bit harder. You're going to go on
01:43the road. You've got two home openers.
01:45So, Winnipeg's first game is Friday.
01:47Minnesota's first game is
01:48on Saturday. That's a back-to-back set.
01:51Those are never easy, and if you look across
01:52the month, the Bruins have to take a long
01:55trip out to California.
01:57That's a lot harder than it's been in the past.
01:59You're going to have to face Dallas on the way
02:01back. You're going to have to be in Carolina
02:03a little bit later in the month. So, this
02:05is going to be a challenge, but you want to get off
02:06to a good start, because as the season
02:09rolls on, the hockey gets harder,
02:10and it's a lot harder to make up points.
02:13When you look at
02:14this Bruins team, I think we had the conversation
02:17yesterday about
02:19expectations. You
02:20coming in, looking at this Bruins
02:22team, what in your mind
02:25is a good season
02:26for the Boston Bruins? Making the
02:28playoffs. That's it? You don't think,
02:30what about winning a round? Well, I think that you have
02:32to go further. You know, the whole idea behind
02:34this team, and I think whether it's Cam
02:36Neely or Don Sweeney, they want this
02:38team to take the next step. So, last year, I
02:40think they may have surprised some people.
02:43They're not going to surprise people this
02:44year. That was a 100-point team. They were
02:46no fluke. Made the first
02:48round of the playoffs. I think what was a little
02:50upsetting was that that Buffalo series,
02:53and that was a good team that they faced,
02:55that series was there for the taking.
02:57Bruins did not take advantage of that.
02:59We talked about that yesterday.
03:00So, now they're deeper
03:02and younger up front in their top nine.
03:04They have a better group
03:06of defensemen. They added a couple of guys
03:08on the right side, and Will Borgen and Connor Clifton,
03:10and that should help because when Charlie McAvoy
03:12does come back, because
03:14you want to bank as many points as possible
03:16while he's out for his six-game suspension,
03:19I think that
03:20that's going to take away some key minutes
03:22for him, so he's fresher to
03:24play in maybe some more
03:26offensive situations during the course
03:28of the game. I think it's going to, it will
03:30lighten his load a little bit, but
03:33it's not just getting into the
03:34playoffs, Wiggy. I think to your point, can
03:36you start to go deeper and
03:38do some damage? That's going to be the goal
03:40for this team, but the first one is
03:42making the playoffs, and that is never a given
03:44in the National Hockey League. You bring up the young guys
03:46on this team, and you look at the captain
03:48situation, and we've been talking about it
03:50for so, so long. Does David
03:52Pasternak have the ability to
03:54lead a dressing room
03:56like that, and what went into the
03:58decision, and why did it take so long to name him
04:00as captain? All right, well, there's a lot of different layers to
04:02that, but do I think that
04:04he has that ability? Yes. I think the other day
04:06even James Higgins was
04:08I don't know if caught off guard is right,
04:10but I think he was pleasantly
04:12surprised that those two guys were
04:14there early. Pasternak asked him, hey,
04:16would you come out and help me with some one-timers?
04:18So all of a sudden, you've got this 19-year-old kid
04:20who feels like he's embraced, and he's
04:22part of the room, and that was the culture
04:24that a guy like David Pasternak grew up
04:26in, because Zidane O'Chara
04:28wanted to include everybody, and
04:30that's part of the reason that he never used the word
04:32rookie. He was always first-year player.
04:34He wanted an inclusive room,
04:37but as far as the
04:38captaincy, I think the guys in the
04:40room that will tell you, even though Pasternak wears
04:42the C, nothing necessarily
04:44changes. It's going to take everybody
04:46in that leadership group
04:48and the guys beyond that
04:50to pull on the rope and pull
04:52in the same direction to try and achieve the
04:54goal that they want, as far as the timing
04:56of it. So Courtney, go back, you know,
04:58and everybody, you know, sort of go back.
05:00So you trade Brad Marchand at the end
05:02of 2025. You trade your captain. Not
05:04only that, you trade a couple of guys who
05:06were a part of that leadership group, Brandon Carlo,
05:08Charlie Coyle. So you've
05:10got a lot of tumult. How does he react?
05:12Now you change coaches
05:14the following season. Then you bring in
05:16some more added players. So how does
05:18everybody respond? And I think the Bruins, what
05:20they wanted to try and do was use the
05:22time that they had to see,
05:24and that's part of the process. They wanted to
05:26see who stepped forward.
05:27How would it look? Because the most important
05:30thing for the team was to reestablish
05:32their culture. They were able to
05:34do that. And
05:35I think the way that David
05:38Pasternak performed at the end of 25
05:40after Marchand left, the way he
05:42performed all of last season, I think
05:44he stepped to the fore and he becomes the
05:45scene. One of the things that you can
05:47talk about with Ray Bork, because he's
05:49had this conversation in the past. It
05:51takes a while to be comfortable, even
05:53if you're a great player, to become a
05:55captain. Also, I don't know if you know
05:56this or not, but one timer is what the
05:59ladies at BC used to refer to Curtis
06:01says. Better than no timer. Can I get
06:05the story behind that? No, you cannot. It's
06:08too short. I'm just confused, though,
06:11because you bring up like he did great
06:14in the absence of Brad Marchand in last
06:16season. So why not name it at the end of
06:18last season? Like, why wait so long and
06:20have all this build up when it seemed like
06:22everybody knew that it was going to be
06:23David Pasternak? Well, there was so little
06:24time, you know, and I think that the
06:26Bruins wanted to use that and it's not
06:27unusual around the National Hockey League. So
06:29if I looked at the start of September
06:311st here in the NHL, so this is before
06:33Pasternak got named, there were nine of
06:36the 32 teams that did not have a captain.
06:39So it's not unusual. And I think the Bruins
06:41wanted to take their time. They wanted to
06:43make sure that A, someone sort of stepped
06:45forward and B, was that guy ready for the
06:49responsibility? He's the most tenured
06:50Bruin at 13 years and they felt that that
06:53was the choice. Judd, when you look at this
06:55team, right, every year, regardless of the
06:57sport, we look at, okay, which guy has to
07:01step up? I mean, I think we all feel good
07:03about Paster, he's going to be there. But
07:05who are the players that you look at on
07:08this team, whether they're new, they're
07:09returning, that you go, okay, these guys
07:12have to step up and play to this level for
07:15the Bruins to really be successful and make
07:18a run in the postseason? The Lindholmes, in
07:21particular. So I think anytime you're
07:24looking at any team to be able to achieve
07:25what they want, you've got to look at the
07:26core guys, the guys who are playing the
07:28most minutes. And that's obviously going
07:30beyond your goaltender. But I think that
07:32the Bruins, when Elias Lindholm and
07:35Hampus Lindholm are playing to their
07:37capabilities, it makes a substantial
07:38difference in what the Bruins were about.
07:41With Hampus Lindholm in particular, and this
07:43was a conversation that we had during the
07:45course of training camp, if you go back to
07:47his first full season as a Bruin, Charlie
07:49McAvoy was on the shelf recovering from a
07:51shoulder injury. That may have been, you know,
07:53I think that, you know, if you ask Bruins
07:55management, that was the best they have
07:57ever seen Hampus Lindholm. That was the
07:59team that set a record for regular season
08:02points in the National Hockey League. Can he
08:05get back to that level and be that alpha
08:08dog and sustain that even after McAvoy
08:11comes back? And with Elias Lindholm, he's
08:14had some productive seasons with the Bruins,
08:16but the Bruins signed him for more. There's
08:19more in there. Do I think he's going to be
08:21the 40 goal scorer that he was from Calgary? Not
08:24necessarily, but I think that there's a lot
08:26more in there if he can stay healthy. He's
08:28been hampered by back injuries in each of
08:30the first two years. He changed the way he
08:32trained here during the off season. I think
08:34if he's able to help and push his game, it'll
08:37make a substantial difference for the team.
08:39You brought up Fraser Minton and that goal to
08:41start everything off the other night. That's
08:43a long deal that they did with him seven
08:45years, which was, I think, very similar to
08:49the length of the Charlie Coyle contract. Any
08:52concern there or you think it's a smart move?
08:55Oh, no, I think that that's a smart bet. And
08:57I think you can see that. And you can ask
09:00Raymond on Friday. I think down the road, and
09:03this is a long way from now, Fraser has the
09:06makeup of a guy who could be a captain down
09:09the road. He's only 22 years old. He had a
09:12great year last season scoring 17 goals, but
09:15it was about reliability and trust and
09:17playing in high leverage situations. Let's
09:20see what this second full season is like
09:23for him. But I think the Bruins like his
09:26promise. Can he also push his game a
09:29little bit more offensively? He's a guy
09:31who tracks like Charlie Coyle and Charlie
09:34was anywhere between a second line center
09:36and a third line center. Can Fraser get to
09:39that point? Do you feel like, and I know
09:42that last year was a great year for
09:44Swayman. Yeah, prior to that, there was the
09:46whole contract thing. Do you feel like, you
09:48know, I know it's only been one game, but
09:50do you feel like Swayman is the guy that we
09:53saw last year and will continue to be that
09:56guy that year in and year out, he'll be one of
09:58the top goaltenders in the NHL? Oh, I do.
10:01You know, remember when, when he struggled
10:03two seasons ago, there was sort of an
10:05aberration in there because you had the
10:06contract dispute and the fact that he
10:07didn't participate in training camp. So I
10:10don't think that there's anybody around the
10:12National Hockey League that can miss all
10:14of training camp and be at their best. And
10:16so, you know, and remember there were a lot
10:18of issues that were going on with the team
10:20in addition to that. But I think that a guy
10:23like Jeremy Swayman, now that he's settled,
10:25he's a family man, he's more mature. I think
10:28he understands. That's one of the things that
10:30we had a conversation about in training camp.
10:33I think that he is trying to bottle up the
10:35experience that he had last year. The intensity
10:38to start games, the intensity to finish
10:40games, the intent, the, the focus to not
10:44go on the emotional roller coaster that it
10:47can be, it's going to be a challenge for
10:48him. Now, remember it's an 84 game season. I
10:51think the Bruins have a number in mind that
10:53they don't want to push him beyond because
10:56then you start to get diminished returns. I
10:58think they felt like they got that with a guy
11:00like Tuka Rask in the past, who I saw by the
11:02way, yesterday. Get ready for that, bro. No,
11:05we're getting ready for Winnipeg. Had to do the
11:07polar plunge out at the seaport for
11:10Massachusetts Special Olympics. Oh, how
11:12cold was the water? It was warmer than you
11:15thought. Oh, really? It was warmer than you
11:17think. It's definitely warmer and it's going
11:18to be in Winnipeg. Do you have to do
11:20anything special with the Chrome Dome when
11:22you're going in cold water? No, no, no.
11:24Cannonball. Here we go. Ready to go.
11:28Just let him know he was in the pool. He was
11:29shrinking. That was in the pool. But I think
11:34with a guy like Swayman, you know, the
11:36Bruins, you know, and this is another thing
11:38that I don't know how much you guys have
11:39talked about it, but Michael DiPietro, who
11:42assumes the backup role for the first time
11:44ever in his career, even though he's been
11:47around and he's paid his dues, the Bruins
11:49will need at least 27 really good starts from
11:52him because you can't push Swayman beyond. I
11:57think, you know, they have a number in mind.
11:59They haven't said exactly what it is, but I
12:00think if you, if you push him too much, it's
12:03going to take away from his game. Judd, I
12:05loved the addition of JJ Paterka, but it
12:07does change some things for Morgan Geeky a
12:09little bit. He's now playing in a new spot
12:11on the power play. Also probably not going
12:13to be playing with David Pasternak nearly as
12:15much as he has in the past. Do you still
12:17expect, you know, another 30 goal type
12:19season out of Morgan Geeky on that second
12:21line? I think that that's the hope. And
12:23remember, he has a guy in Pavel Zaka who
12:24can also set him up. So it's a little bit
12:26different because if you remember last year
12:29and even the year before the guy who was
12:31the primary setup man for Morgan Geeky was
12:33David Pasternak and even Pasta's talked
12:35about it in the past because of the way
12:37that Geeky can shoot the puck in that
12:39release, he will often look for him or he
12:42did in that spot. I think Pasternak, by
12:45the way, is a guy who'd like to get in the
12:47goal scoring column a little bit more. That
12:49said, he's like, if I see somebody who's in
12:50a better spot than I am, I'm passing that
12:53puck. So I think Geeky's in a good spot
12:55playing with a guy like Pavel Zaka. Let's
12:58see how that line and really the
13:00combinations in the top line, the top
13:03nine for the team, because they're going
13:06to change. How long do they stay the
13:09same? I think one of the things that a
13:10guy like Pavel Zaka really benefited
13:12from last year is he knew every night
13:15who he was going to play with. It was the
13:17other lines that would maybe get broken
13:19up a little bit, you know, and you know,
13:21the Bruins are going to miss Victor
13:22Arvidsson. He had a very good year for
13:25this team last year. He had 25 goals. So
13:27right now it's, it's Geeky, Zaka and
13:30Middlestad. Let's see how effective they
13:33can be. Zaka is going to draw a lot of
13:34those hard matchups, but Lindholm can do
13:36it as well. Okay. Oh, Courtney, you got
13:38one more? Just obviously we won't see
13:39him for five more games, but McAvoy
13:41dealing with the injury ridden season
13:43that he did last year. Do you worry at
13:46all when you, when you look at him this
13:47season, that maybe we won't be able to
13:48get back to the Charlie McAvoy have
13:50passed? No, I don't. He had a career
13:52year offensively last year. I think he had
13:5461 points and granted he missed what
13:5613 games after he got, took a puck in
13:59the face. And last I checked with him
14:03during training camp, I think he still
14:04has dental work that he still has to do.
14:07So, you know, if, if you pull him aside,
14:09you can ask him to show you like what
14:11those teeth look like. So he spent a lot
14:13of time in the dental chair. You know,
14:16beyond that, he really didn't have too
14:17many injuries. Granted, he did have the
14:19broken hand in the playoffs, which may
14:22have taken away from some of his game.
14:24But I think if Charlie, and this is one
14:27of the things that Bruins management has
14:28talked about in the past, if he's able
14:31to govern his emotions, I think that he
14:33is an impact player and among the very
14:35best defensemen of the National Hockey
14:36League. No concerns. Okay. All right,
14:38Judd. Great to have you back on the
14:40show. You guys have the game tomorrow
14:43night. I will probably, unfortunately,
14:46be watching Red Sox playoff baseball. Oh,
14:48no, I'm sorry. I won't. Oh, man. So
14:51the schedule's cleared for hockey. Bring
14:54it on. Yeah. You're joining us from the
14:56peg. Yes. And we will talk to you every
14:59Thursday during the season. Really look
15:01forward to it. Thanks. That is Judd
15:02Surratt.