BOSTON — The Bruins officially got back on the ice on Saturday, but what greeted them at the Garden was a bit surprising.
A large and boisterous crowd filled much of the lower bowl of the Garden for the opening sessions of training camp. Such workouts had usually drawn just a few diehards in past years, but winning a Stanley Cup tends to attract a few more fans, who made their presence known as last year's playoff heroes took the ice.
"It's different," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said. "You're not used to guys getting a standing O like Horty [Nathan Horton] did when you walk out on the ice for practice, but it's good to see that people are happy we're back. They seemed pretty excited to watch practice. I think that's something new for them at this place. So I'm glad we could let them enjoy it."
Horton definitely enjoyed the warm reception as he skated on Garden ice for the first time since having his postseason cut short when he suffered a concussion from a late hit by Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome in Game 3 of the Cup Final.
"It was nice," Horton said. "It just feels good to be back."
While the players appreciated the support from the stands, Bruins coach Claude Julien was just as pleased with how the players performed on the ice in their opening workouts.
"It was a good first day," Julien said. "I thought our guys worked hard. They had the right attitude. They were focused."
Thornton was focused on one difference beyond the number of fans on hand, as he found himself separated from his usual linemates to start camp with Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille skating with rookie Jamie Arniel.
"They're not on my line anymore," Thornton said. "They gassed me for Arniel. I'm going to have to have a little chat with them about that. There's a coup, they got rid of me."
Naturally, Thornton found a suitable reason to his skating with new linemates, as he was teamed with highly-touted Russian prospect Alexander Khokhlachev and Swedish forward Calle Ridderwall.
"They wanted to put me with more skilled guys, so they put me with the young Russian guy," Thornton joked. "They thought my game suited his better."
Beyond the line switches, which Julien explained Friday were actually done to give the youngsters a chance to work with the veterans and show what they can do, Thornton was also pleased with how the team looked at the start of camp.
"There's rust, but it's Day 1 rust," Thornton said. "I wouldn't expect anything else. Everyone will get better. It's the same every year."
