Bruins Beat by Bob Morello
Bruins Warrior Ice Arena opening
Next Thursday (September 8th), the Boston Bruins will officially cut the ribbon on their new practice facility, the Warrior Ice Arena (80 Guest Street, Brighton) at 7:00pm. Currently a handful of B’s players have been participating in ‘Captain’s Practice.’ The grand opening will have, from the Bruins organization, Owner Jeremy Jacobs, Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs, President Cam Neely, General Manager Don Sweeney and a few current Bruins players. Political attendees will include Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, and Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo.
Following the formal portion of the event, Warrior Ice Arena will host the “Boston Youth All-Star Game featuring Bruins Alumni” with local squirt players from the Boston communities of Allston-Brighton, Charlestown, Dorchester, Hyde Park, South Boston, West Roxbury. The Youth All-Stars will team up with Bruins alumni and together they will play the first official game on the Warrior Ice Arena surface. Doors will open at 6:00pm with festivities set to begin at 7:00pm.
On the business end, general manager Don Sweeney continues to be a ‘busy man,’ announcing that the Bruins have signed four players to one-year deals. Amongst those signing were former Harvard University star, Dominic Moore, to a one-year, two-way contract. The 36-year old Moore has a lengthy travel history, having already made appearances with nine NHL teams prior to signing with Boston, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the San Jose Sharks. His most recent stay was last season with the New York Rangers who originally drafted Moore in 2000. The Bill Masterton Trophy winner in 2013-14, Moore was honored for exemplifying the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
In addition, Sweeney also announced the recent signings of defenseman Chris Casto, three year Providence Bruins, forward Brian Ferlin, two-year Providence Bruin, and defenseman Alex Grant, previously with the Arizona Coyotes organization, all signing one-year, two-way contracts. July signings had: defensemen Colin Miller and Joe Morrow, defenseman Tommy Cross, former Bruins goaltender Anton Khudobin, defenseman John-Michael Liles, forwards Riley Nash, Tyler Randell and Tim Schaller. Not to be lost in the mix is the July 1 signing of free agent, winger David Backes, who spent ten seasons with the St. Louis Blues before agreeing to a five-year, $30 million deal with the Bruins. Backes’ five seasons as Captain of the Blues, should put him in a good position of a leadership role with the Bruins.