Jeremy Swayman Talks About His Extra Motivation For Next Season

Jeremy Swayman Talks About His Extra Motivation For Next Season

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Welcome to Hockey Hub. Sophia and Casey, we’re like regulars now. Casey, you and I, we get Adam in the mix, but I feel like uh you and I got it going. Yeah. I mean, you’re everywhere. The uh Casey is the the face of Essen right now. You’re doing it all. Just finished Clawson has entered the chat, but on the hockey hub today and you’re going to be really excited about one of the segments because it was your idea, but we’re going to be talking goalie masks, best ones. And there’s like what a random thing to talk about, but there’s a reason because we had Jeremy Swayman on the show. He talked about his upcoming. He gave us a little teaser, right, about his goalie mask. Yeah. Thanks to the question you asked. Uh, so we had Jeremy Swayman on the show, guys. Big deal. Obviously, everyone knows about the season that the Bruins had last year, including Jeremy Simon. And he addressed that. He addressed the growth. He addressed the excitement uh coming up for this year. So, there’s a lot of good stuff. So, without further ado, I think we’re just going to throw to it. We talked to him yesterday. uh you’re going to look a little different in the outfit department, but let’s throw to Jeremy Swayman and then we’ll come back on and kind of uh have our thoughts on that on that interview. Jeremy Swayman joins us on the Hockey Hub. Jeremy, you’ve been a guest we’ve been circling for a long time. So, first of all, thank you for taking time out of your summer to be here and being on the show. No problem. Good to be here. Yeah, we were just chat a bit off camera. You were doing some work in your garage. I kind of just wanted to start with summer in general. I know a couple seasons back you made it known that you no longer went home for the whole summer to Alaska. You kind of stayed in Boston. You said the guys that uh train that you can train with with the Boston Bruins, the staff has been fantastic for you and for your games. So, just wanted to know how training and the summer was going so far. It’s been great. Uh we’ve been really happy uh being able to stay here all season long and all summer long, too. And I just think uh you know the East Coast has so much to offer. Uh we got the Great Mountains in and Lincoln, New Hampshire we’ve been able to get up to as well as just having some elite training you know at Warrior with Kevin and Tim. Uh you know helped me out off the ice which has been really good this season. Um, but we been also been able to get out in the community a lot and that’s like a big reason why, you know, I’ve I’ve really liked staying around Boston is because, you know, Boston Bruins fans and obviously community has made it so special for me and my family to move here. So, it’s a great opportunity for me and uh my family to get back out and and just give back as much as we can and it’s been a really special summer for that. I’m new to New England, but I can vouch for the fact that the community in the summers here seem pretty sick so far. Um, probably something cool to add to the resume for the summer is collecting a gold medal. So, just talk to us a little bit about that experience. The cool two shutouts make it look easy, but a lot of people back here were psyched to talk about it and get your your pick on it. It was really special and uh, welcome to New England by the way. Thank you. And, uh, yeah, it was really special because obviously a year that, you know, I really wanted to grow from and and move past and it was a great opportunity. Um, you know, the coaching staff, obviously, all the the front staff for USA Hockey believed in me and and they gave me a call after the season. They said, “We’d love for you to come compete in Worlds, and I’m never going to say no to USA Hockey.” So, uh, the the team that, you know, we had there, we kind of could tell was right away pretty special. And, um, a lot of guys that, you know, typically wouldn’t have said yes said yes. So, we had, uh, a lot of talent, and that was something that, you know, we really rallied behind. And um I think it was just a great opportunity for all of us to get together and understand that enough’s enough. Uh USA hockey is something to prove and and this is a great platform to start it with. So uh being a part of the team that finally brought it home uh all the way was you know something that I’ll never forget of course but it really did uh completely boost uh a set of confidence that I know I needed personally and as well as everyone on that team that you know we’ll have that forever. and um something that we’re going to really build off of. I’m so happy for you and for Elias Lenholm as well who was saying he wanted, you know, that boost of confidence as well in his performance. Um only because you brought it up and like Casey, you know, we were just talking Casey hasn’t gotten the the pleasure of getting to know you and how personable you are. Um we’re going to move past it. I just want to talk about last year really quickly and just about what that growing experience was for you. As you know, and I don’t want to bring myself into it, but in a way could relate. I had a very difficult year personally. Got to I had to take time off, but I want to say I got to take time off and pretty much I was pretty private about it and got to maintain that. Whereas like people forget athletes are in the public eye and day in and day out you have to answer questions and you have to like relive things you don’t want to relive. I got to remove myself from that and then come back and get a fresh start. Can you just talk about the maturity and the growth it took for you this season and now to turn a fresh fresh page, excuse me, this past season looking ahead to next year? I mean, you kind of nailed it. It’s it’s it’s a privilege to have the eye on you all the time, and I really do take that to heart is uh the criticism, all the, you know, knocks are are a privilege to have. And and as much as you don’t want to hear it, it’s it’s important to, especially at this level. And I think the one that’s the guys that can really separate uh themselves at the pro level to be elite are the ones that can understand that it’s a privilege. And uh that was I think this year in a nutshell for me understanding it’s a privilege to have you know the eye on you and the expectations are high. Uh what everyone needs to know is that I have even higher expectations and that was something that I had to battle with and understand when I wasn’t getting the results I wanted for my team. I took it personally and feel like I was letting a lot of people down that don’t deserve to be let down. And uh you know again for me I think that was something between the years that I needed to figure out and I put in the hours. myself. I’ve I’ve I’ve reached out to the right people. I have so many people in my corner. I have an entire army behind me. And uh it really does start with uh the team that I have here. And that uh for me, I think released a lot of uh unnecessary thoughts, unnecessary stress. And I’m in such a better place now because of it. And the maturity that I’ve gained, you know, through the ups and downs of the season like that, I do it 10 times over again because I feel like I’m a completely new human being from it. And I know that Uh the confidence is at an all-time high and I just cannot wait to play again. Uh and that’s an exciting feeling especially coming into September here. Yeah. Really taking that pressure and or making it more of a privilege and putting a chip on your shoulder with it. I love that you kind of mentioned the human aspect of it as Sophia brought into it and everything that you’ve kind of taken from this past season. But a lot of guys when they get a chance to wear, you know, their country across their chest, one of the things they talk about most is getting to play with guys that they don’t get to play with all the time and getting to learn from guys that they don’t get to learn from all the time between four nations, between the summer. Is there anything that you picked up on that kind of motivated you, inspired you, or just give you a different perspective heading into this season? Absolutely. It’s such a good point and I think, you know, as hockey players, I mean, professional athletes in general have such a privilege to meet the world’s elites and I felt like I was able to be exposed to that this year twice. Exactly what you said, Four Nations and at Worlds. And I completely went in there as a trying to soak everything up like a sponge. And I learned so much on how all these guys, you know, carry themselves on and off the ice, the way they treat other people, the way they treat themselves, uh the preparation, their body work, uh obviously everything mentally. And you know what, it goes beyond the players. It’s it’s the staff and the coaching the coaching staff that I was able to be exposed to. And um you know, the relationships that I was able to build, uh they’re never going to be broken. And I’m just so grateful for that. And that’s why I’m so happy to be in this position of being a hockey player for life. And uh it really doesn’t feel like I have to work a day in my life because I get to meet people like you know you you two but also the the kind of coaches and and the quality of human beings that I get to play every day with. Listen, I can feel uh I’m a big vibes person, energy person. And although we’re like digital right now, I can feel the positivity and energy and like excitement for this season. And uh coming from you and we’ve had several Bruins guests kind of leading up to training camp. Jeremy Jay Leech. Um, we’ve had Sean Corrali, Mason Laurai, and every time we have another guest and then now you’re one of them. My vibe and my expectation for next year gets I just get so much more excited about um turning, you know, a page and a new leaf in terms of this retool that the the management is calling it into like alchemizing it into such an exciting opportunity for the guys trying to crack the roster and for you guys. So from your perspective, what is even though people haven’t reported for training camp yet, what’s the energy and the vibe around the Boston Bruins from an inside perspective? I think there’s just opportunity like you said and what we like about it is it’s a clean slate. Every every year offers a clean slate, but this year especially, I think, uh, with, you know, there there’s established positions, but there’s also positions that are open to be established. And I know for me personally, I want to set a new bar for myself. I know that every guy in that room wants to set a new bar for themselves too. And that’s kind of the culture that you know is our job as as players and now uh you know a veteran guy to really set and you know we lost guys that were carrying that culture for a long time and that’s something that I think it’s my duty and all the other guys that have been there for five plus years to to incorporate and also just understand that we have a job to do and uh we have a lot to prove and that’s something that that’s really exciting to be as a player right now. A lot of people don’t realize kind of the the the weight that plays into everything for players when there’s a lot of moving pieces and then especially as a goalender and I’d really love to get your insight on this. Brandon Coburn once told me that whenever your defenseman pairings are changing out quite a bit or guys are getting the call up or injuries happen which they faced last year that the communication can change and that can be really difficult because you got to get everything right and ready for that game ahead of you. So, have you experienced a lot of communication changes because I know coming into the upcoming season a lot of guys are going to be battling for their positions and there’s going to be a timeline to some guys returning too. I think so. I think you know that’s that’s our jobs as players to adapt and understand that we’re all doing a job and I think the biggest communication issue is that some guys try to do too much and we’re all there having a reason to be there. You know, management trusts us. we’re there for a reason and so we just had to do our job and allow everyone else to do their job and I think what can be misconstrued sometimes is that there’s too much doing almost and uh that’s something that you know we all can communicate about and understand from each other but again we’re really excited about about Marco coming in too and I’ve heard nothing but incredible things the way that he is a team oriented guy that’s something that we’ve needed and uh I know that we’re going to really rally behind that and I’m excited about that too. So, that’s something that again I think with, you know, communication with the guys, it’s only going to get better and and, you know, solidify itself through the year. Uh, you mentioned Marco. I’m sure we’ll bring him up, but I just want to ask you one more kind of technical question. Since I was a kid and watching hockey and since you were, you know, a little kid watching hockey, we didn’t see as many tipin goals as we see now. like that is just becoming some players bread and butter and teams are practicing it and the deflections are you know impossible to predict as someone who doesn’t play and especially who isn’t a goalie like to me it just seems like this is impossible and unpredictable but it’s something you guys have to prep for and train for. How how do you do that? Is it just getting your own teammates in practices to to practice tipping in shots or is there now techniques being developed to like get ready for for tipped in goals? tipping’s out of control these days. Yeah, that’s my one that’s my one ever Yeah. Great commercial. Great commercial. Yes. So, I was just thought about right away. I’m like, of course, no. Um that’s something that again, you know, us goalies have to evolve with and I know uh we’ve worked on it in practice. I’m always trying to hound things like I love staying after practice and working on stuff like that. But the biggest thing for goalies, I think, is positional saves. You know, it’s pretty hard to have the reflexes that quick. Um, you know, and a lot of the saves that, you know, we make as goalies with a tip puck, a deflection puck is is a positional save. That means I’m just putting myself in a area where hopefully that puck hits me. And, you know, I think it can complement when I got guys in front of me. I’m telling them how to tip puck. I’m telling them, you got to get in front of my eyes. You got to do this. So, it’s only going to make us better as a team. So, uh, I don’t care how it goes in for us, but I want it to go in this year. So, I think that’s going to be a way that we could really rally behind and and focus on and practice with. And again, if I’m telling the guys in front of me to to really work on it and practice on me, I know I’m going to elevate my game because I’m going to try to save as many as I can, but also it’s going to elevate them because they’re going to try to score. Has the game changed a lot in front of you over the past couple of years? Because we talk a lot about how the NHL is kind of changing. Vassie talked about the fact that players aren’t really wasting shots anymore, so sometimes your reflexes are being challenged in different ways. So maybe over like maybe the last two, three years, do you feel like it’s changing? I think obviously the speed is the biggest thing, you know, going from level to level is is the speed of the play. Uh obviously these guys shots, you know, first line through fourth line, all these guys can shoot a puck. And that’s something that for goalies, you know, we really can’t take a shift off. And I love it for that because, you know, it keeps you engaged 60 minutes every single night. However, it’s it’s also you got to be engaged and that’s something that with fatigue, with travel, all this stuff, you have to understand that, you know, we’re all going through something, but that the fans don’t care about that. I don’t care about that. The results are what they are. And that’s what we need to do is is get the right results. And so, uh, the game is is evolving the right direction in the aspects of raising the bar. And so, as soon as the forwards are raising the bar, so do the goalies. And that’s what, you know, I that’s what excites me is because I know I can get better in something every single day. And that’s what I really strive to do. Jeremy, I promised you 13 minutes. We’re almost there, but I get one final question and I’m going to try to loop it. Uh, we wanted to get your thoughts on Michael Dpro and then of course your partner, Yonas Corposalo. Um, but just as a general like they’re great guys and I I know you guys have a different relationship than you did with Lenus, but still there’s this friendship there, but Corposalo, there’s this internal competition as you would understand. He wants as much time in the net as any goalie does. So, how does that how does that motivate you? How do you guys motivate each other and just push each other uh to get better heading into 2025? That’s exactly what we want. And, you know, we’ve had conversations the second he got here. We’ve talked right away and we said, “I want to compete as hard as I can against you every single day.” Uh because that’s only going to raise our level of play and indirectly our team’s level of play. And so that’s that’s a standard that, you know, I want to have with with the goalie tandem. And I know that’s the same thing Yonas did, too. So that’s what we’re really excited about moving forward is that, you know, I had the same thing with Lenus and that you could tell, you know, how much it elevated both our plays and indirectly the team’s play. And so, uh, the competitiveness is always a healthy, competitive, competition, which is what we want on the on the Bruins. All right, really quickly, because we’re going to stick to the time here. Do you know what your mask is looking like for the upcoming season? Are you changing anything? Can you drop a hint on it? Because you had a sick one for Four Nations, and I I was just very curious to ask you. Thanks. I love that. Yeah, I think the goalie mask and pads are the reason why I chose goalie. So, I love that stuff, too. But, uh, I was able to to do a mask this year. Um, and it’s going to really represent, uh, the new jerseys that we have, kind of having that retro look. And can’t give too many details away, but I know that I got a special, uh, a special tribute to, uh, the Charles Town monument. And, uh, just I always love implementing, you know, pieces of the city that mean a lot to me in every mask. So, uh, every mask seems to have that kind of effect. and you know the little details as far as uh the logo, the vintage logo that our jerseys have. There’s going to be a really cool scripture on there, too. So, I hope uh hope that everyone’s going to like it. I’m sure they will, Jeremy. It was so nice for you to make time for us. Go fix your bike or whatever you were doing. Uh and I can’t I can’t wait to see you in person. I’m going to bring Casey around a lot to the Bruins dressing room so you’ll have a chance to meet her. Thank you again so much for your time and we’ll talk to you at training camp. Likewise. I can’t wait. Thank you guys. Likewise. See you. What a gem. Uh Casey, your first We’re going to toss it a break, but quick thoughts. Your first, I guess, real interaction with Jeremy Syman. Is that right? Yeah, I guess it counts. Everything’s virtual these days, but you warned me. I mean, incredible human being. Very easy to talk to. I feel like there’s so many different things that we could have chatted about, especially bird’s eye view for the upcoming season. So, that was super nice. Uh was glad to get his a little bit of insight on what might be going on with the goalie helmets. Yeah, that was a great question. question. I told you I’m a nerd about art sometimes. So, I was like, if I could sneak this one in really fast, then that’d be great. But, no, he’s incredible. Well, guess what? We’re not going to be done talking about it. We’re going to talk about it after break. We’re going to take a look at the best goalie masks, I think, of all time or around the league. Casey’s super passionate. I’m just going to sit back and comment on whatever she brings up, but we’re going to talk that and uh discuss Hampus Lynholm, a new article that came out at the Boston Globe. Some good insight there. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right back after this. back on the hockey hub. We just heard from Jeremy Swayman, who we had one-on-one yesterday, Casey, and he talked to us for we had a timer on cuz he had to go. Uh, but we You properly timed it. I have to I have to get better with time. Yeah, I pushed it. He wanted 13 minutes. Somehow we compromised and uh we got 16 minutes out of Jeremy swimming. So, that’s great. And you snuck in. I was getting nervous. I was like, “Oh god, she’s sneak sneaking in a question.” I was nervous, too. My first time meeting him. I’m like, “Ah, I’m going off script here, but it’s just one question I think you’ll be okay with.” And he loved it. No, he loved it. He loved that you asked about it, and he gave us a little insight about what his upcoming goalie mask is going to look like for the 2025 season. He said a little bit of homage of the Charleston Charle Town, excuse me, monument. Uh, have you been there yet, by the way? I’ve been through a few times. Uh, I need to go eat there. That’s another thing that I was mentioned to me. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Uh, it is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. So much history there. So, we’re going to have to see what it looks like. But you, this question that you asked him prompted us to talk about favorite goalie masks. I’m kind of going to sit back cuz you were passionate about this. So, you tell me. Like, I actually was thinking about it. I don’t notice goalie masks when I’m watching um hockey. Like, this is maybe bad to admit, but like it’s not I don’t think anything stands out to me really unless I see it in photos or on Instagram, but I feel like you notice it when you’re watching the game. I do. And I feel like I joked with you and Brendan about this after we talked with Swayman yesterday is like I think I gravitate towards seeing what goalies are going to do with their mask because like I’m an appreciator of art or what did I call myself? An ink girl. Yeah. Like you know tattoos. So like of course you put thought behind it. Some people look at it and they’re like that’s lame. Don’t put that on your body forever and then realize after they talk to you for two minutes it has so many layers of meaning. I mean I’ve got 23 with a lot of meaning behind it. So wait wait wait wait. You have 23 tats? Yes I do. Oh damn. Okay, I that’s probably why you were like ink girl cuz you’re like I see three, maybe four, but no, I’ve got 23. Can we just talk about this on the show instead? Um I’m going to talk to you about that. That’s pretty cool. Well, what how old were you when you got your first one? Uh my first one I got when I was 17, and it’s because I thought I was like a wicked awesome soccer player. I mean, I was okay. Um but I got like I got a whole thing tribute on my ribs because of my soccer number and stuff and my soccer number played into things with family. So, it was all really nice. Um, and then my next one I got my freshman year of college and it just kind of dominoed after that. Snowballed. Okay. So, anyway, I digress. You’re an early so you notice the kind of the art. You notice art pieces because I’m always looking like, okay, you’re you’re looking at something and you see like a wolf head, but it might not just be a wolf head. It could mean, you know, an alpha thing to this guy or whatever the case may be. So, uh, maybe a good pivot into some of the people that I pinpointed when it comes to the goalie mass discussion. Trying to narrow this down to three was an insane in insane task. I threw a couple other ones in there for producers to pick pictures of just in case. Um, the first one I’ll go with is Jacob Marstrom because he has had great mask after great mask after great mask. I’m going to start with the one that I wasn’t sure I was going to use, but it’s just too sick. So, when he was in Calgary, he had a mask that was a tribute to Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire. Johnny, it was detach, but still he just emulated just a music icon as well as the fact that like everything in Calgary is Fuego straight on fire. Yeah. I Oh. Oh, yeah. Right. The fire duh. Flames. Flames. Ring of fire. No, no. That’s That’s pretty sweet. That’s a good tie in right there. Right. And he was able to mix in a couple of things. And I’m sure you picked up on this by now, too, Sophia. I’m a nerd about music, so he gave me like the best of both worlds here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. No. This is a great I don’t know if I’m going to hate any of these. Like this is a great mask. Okay. Next. Next one. Sticking with Markstrom. When he went over to the New Jersey Devils, he really wanted to encompass just like all things for the Devils. So, this one was pretty cool in a way. I mean, yeah, kind of creepy cuz of course he’s got to have the devil on there, but he’s got like story books. He’s got pages of places of significance throughout New Jersey. So, it’s like ripped newspaper are uh formulated throughout the helmet. cool in the midst of like the devil face and like all these things. So, I feel like this one just looked like wild. But to think about the layers of artwork that had to make this make sense. I was just like wild. And then it says, you know, Marky mask master class. Can I pop off on something really quickly? Just a weird fun fact. It’s terrible. It’s not a fun fact. It’s a weird fact. Uh remember the movie The Exorcist? Yeah. Okay. So, when that came out exactly and I didn’t shouldn’t have watched it. It was in the VHS. My older brothers who were like 10 years older than me rented it. I was like five and I popped it in and I watched some of it and I still am terrified. My heart just sped up for you. No. And I was like what is I remember crying running to my mom’s room being like I’m watching a scary movie. I want like this is terrible. Anyway, great. Siblings are the worst. Uh siblings are the wor I mean they left on the VHS. They shouldn’t do that with a little sister around. Um but long story short, anything devily scar like I’m so scared of getting possessed. I would say exorcism in Emily Rose ruined my life. I used to stay up until 3:02 in the morning to make sure I survived. I’m What do you mean 3:02? Because like witching hour was 3:00 a.m. So I had to make sure that I made it. So after watching that and like I didn’t choose to watch that movie. I was not well for months months after that years. I’m almost 40 and I’m still scared. So anytime someone like play like homage to a devil or like wears devil horns, I’m like, “No, you’re going to get possessed. I can’t do it.” So I’ I’ve I’m That’s one I don’t like. I don’t like that mask. Just hit it with a Chris. Oh, quick. Our father. I do. I do. Anyway, um moving on. Good to know, though. Don’t like that one. All right. So, certain things to stay away from for Halloween for you. Uh the next one, Elilia Sroken, good friend. Actually, uh Siroken did a tribute to one of his favorite goalies, but he’s got the snarling skeletons. And I mean, uh it was really really cool to see how much he was like loving the skeletons, but obviously um it had bigger meaning to it for his play. I have a skeleton tattoo. So, in Latin culture, um, skeletons, not just like, but it’s also the fact of like when you lose someone close to you, it’s an homage to like maintaining and honoring who they were in your life. So, skeletons just play a little bit more of a spiritual meaning. Not that that was particularly his thing, but the minute that I saw his skull, I like texted. I was like, “This is sick. Keep it forever.” Um, then got to get some Bruins in there. Yes. Yes, we do. homework. I thought that his centennial helmet was brilliantly pieced together and I say that with the utmost respect because of course I wasn’t here uh you were here Sophia but to know about to see how he blended the stories I feel like if you’re not around it he still did a great storytelling job on his helmet to make you like see like wow this is amazing so you know to have the Bruin signal to have the um sulases of the different big time Bruins players on it and everything in just such finite detail. I thought this was amazing. It would have been so hard to I agree with you and it would have been so hard to choose like you’re celebrating 100 years of history original 16 like that that’s not an easy one to like pick the art and then obviously they get to pick it. Um but I think he he did a great job. Like you said, he didn’t make it about him. He made it about the past and then he’s just wearing it. Uh but what an honor and like I’m uh I think you know this by now. I think I’ve talked about on the show decision paralysis. Like I cannot make a decision to save my life. Literally in therapy for that. Uh making decisions like how do I do that? Some of that yesterday. Uh yes. Deciding things. So if I’m if I’m trying to wear a mask that represents the last hundred years and then it’s you know all over the internet like I I don’t know. I’d freak out. So I I think he did a that would be a tall task. Yeah. He did a really good job. Did you have other Bruins ones or was that the one? Not others Bruins ones. Others Bruins ones. Words will be good for me one day. Um one that I thought was kind of funny. So, just kind of taking away from all of the intensity of the meaningful things for the LA Kings. Uh, Will Frell gets a little bit of love. I We were trying to find better pictures, but Ron Burgundy uh entered the chat here on the mask. Yeah. And it was just kind of like it was like you see him on the glass for every game he could possibly be there for. So, like I thought that this was pretty brilliant of him be like, “Hey, you’re one of the faces of LA and also going to make it on my goalie mask.” Do you know if he ever acknowledged it? Like, yeah. Yeah, Will Ferrell did on uh some late night show or whatever and he he used the Ron Burgundy joke. He’s like, “I’m kind of a big deal if you hadn’t heard.” And then it cuts to the helmet and all the different shots on there. So, I was like, I love that. Well, I again, I love when things can meet. Entertainment and hockey, music and hockey. There is room for all of it. So, I thought this was a good ad. I mean, the players don’t really get and this it’s going to change with the new CBA and like their outfits, but they don’t really get that much artistic expression, right? So, um and they’re covered up like soccer players. You can see their legs and you can see their arms, but hockey players are covered up. So even if they are tatted up, like you don’t get to really see that in the game. Yeah. Uh so yes, they don’t get a lot of artistic expression. So if you’re a goalie, you get to do that. I think that’s pretty cool. Now with the outfits, that’s a whole other discussion, but I’m excited to see that in two seasons. Uh what kind of fits. I wish I mean, we didn’t plan for this. We’re going to keep talking about the masks, but uh I do like the standard of like dressing up and hockey. I do really like I know I’m kind of a bit sad. I feel like it would be cool if they got to do like one or two games a month. Like for two games a month, you dress whatever you want, but then there’s still that suit standard, but I wasn’t or maybe like away games or that flex home games suit up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Something like that. Uh we weren’t invited to the CBA negotiations though, so maybe next maybe next time. You guys just want some extra thoughts that matter and make sense. I mean, hey, we’re here. Yeah. Um but anyway, either way, we’re going to see that expression. I think our producer Brendan has a couple of Brunes masks that we want to throw out there. So, I don’t know where we’re starting, so just throw it up on the screen and we will react to it. But, okay. Obviously. Yeah. So, I was going to say if I’m going to pick one cuz I told you I’m kind of indifferent to this. It is going to be Jerry Chvers and uh his OG mask, as you know, he’s the guy who started wearing masks. I cannot believe that goalenders uh didn’t before that. Thought of not. Exactly. And then that representing all the the cuts, the stitches, the bruises that they actually had on their faces when they didn’t. So that’s that’s probably for me the OG the best one of all time. What do we have next? Brendan, we’ll get to it. Okay. Um Oh, yes. This is awesome. The bear. Okay. Look at this. Does he lift up? Okay. I was waiting. It’s a gift. It’s just a gift. He does not look up. But this Tukarasque who we’re going to have on our show um at some point in the future but this is definitely up there for all time Bruins masks. And then what else do we got? Where are we ending? I think we have one more that we’re going to show. And this being Andy Moog. Best mask, best name. Yeah. So this too, like super class, not this like um abstract art, just a bear growling and then obviously the cage kind of representing the face. See, you can see at the bottom it’s like a wide open Yeah, wide open mouth. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It took me a minute to realize that. Amazing. That’s pretty good. Yeah, that is pretty good. And um we’re going to see what what the other You kind of got me into this now. Now I’m going to be paying attention. See, now I’m going to be paying cuz I feel like like some guys you feel like you learn something. others. It’s just like it just emphasizes some of like the fun things around the team. Like uh I want to say that Saros has um a predator on his and like the bottom of the mouth is also on his helmet, but it’s just an extreme intricate detail of like the skeleton of a of a predator, a panther of some sort. Yeah. So, it’s really cool. But then like there’s a few guys where like they tell stories where like I knew it wasn’t Bassie. I think it was when we had um Michelane on our team. Okay. and he like had his kids draw up some things and then had it as like a portion of his helmet. So, it’s just like, yeah, you never know. You never You know what? I’ll be paying more attention to that. Great question. It’s a conversation starter. Yes. And great question to Jeremy Syman. He lit up when you asked him that. But we did ask him a bunch of other things, Casey. So, uh let’s roll back and just think or talk about what stood out to you. Uh if you don’t mind, I’ll go first. Yeah. Uh I’ll go first. No, I mean honestly, I was curious about his vibe. Like so he’s known and been known as like this smiley kid and he’s you know not really a kid anymore but when he started that’s what everyone talked about this glass half full positive and he talked about his mentors and I was you know curious to see if that after this year if that would stick through in his interviews if he’d be a little bit more protective uh but no like he he I think he was a bit protective in the locker room as he should be like I I get it this is your life and like I said in my question you’re criticized all the time whereas I got to like take a just go away for a bit and not answer any questions. You know, he has to answer day in and day out as his part of the job. But anyway, I think what stood out to me, not one answer in particular, but his energy and his vibe and then how genuinely excited he seemed to to start again and not almost as a reset, just like I’m excited to keep going. This is part of the journey and I’m excited. What about you? Anything stand out to I think that’s a great point out that it is part of the journey because I mean you make a great point to also mention like his vibe not changing even though the criticism and like you think that he’s going to want to take a a clean swipe from last year but acknowledgement is a big thing. Accountability is a big thing and I think we learned that and um what I took away from it is you know it’s tough to get established in a new market, meet new players in locker rooms. I mean, I’ve had the opportunity to cover the NHL for a couple years now, but you still never know and you always want to be cautious of certain questions and answers and um not to create an an excuse by any means, but I wanted I was appreciative of him responding to the whole like communication. And what I didn’t get a chance to better verbalize was like uh Coburn talked about the fact that communication changes specifically between the goalender and the defenseman. And so, he didn’t take that as an avenue for an excuse. Not that I was giving him one, but you know, it is a realistic situation. they have to either cut down on their verbiage, they have to change how they’re doing things and just considering the amount of bodies that were going through those deep pairings last year. Like you’re talking about somebody who had a consistently get acclimized to what was going on in front of him while the other factors of like scoring, not scoring, and everything the Bruins went through last year. So, uh it’s nice to hear from the goalie. They’re a leader in their own form. Um and also really cool to be able to ask these questions when you’re getting to know somebody. So, uh thank you for making that easier as well. Yeah. No, he was great with that. And I like that he also when he talked about the tough year, he said, “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Like I wouldn’t I would do it over again or I wouldn’t undo this whatever whatever quote he used. But um I liked that and I don’t think that’s like a PR thing either. I don’t he’s I don’t think he’s like I got to get in front of it. I again came late to the season so I didn’t get to be part of all of that but like near the end of the season I was really had a lot of like chats with him waiting for the bus or whatever in the hotel lobby and like I could and with his family. and his family always comes out to games and stuff and I think he really meant it. It’s like you’ve you’ve been there. We’ve all First of all, I’m going to go on a rant here. We’ve all been there people. Like we’ve all had really hard moments where it’s just like this stinks. I’m going to get through it. And sometimes you wish maybe things didn’t happen the way they do. But often when you’re finally on the other side, you’re like, “Yeah, I’ve I’ve become a different person and a person that I like more now or I know more now and I’m excited to see how he’s going to apply it.” I feel like I’m kind of getting too philosophical here, but like that’s true. He probably learned a lot about himself this past year. Um, which leads me to something else that he talked about that I appreciated when I asked him about, you know, what he potentially learned or what inspired him being amongst those other players, especially, I mean, Four Nations, you’re with Habibuck, who’s one of the most intense goalies out there. And then Audinger, which like talk about taking heat on your back. Ainger has been one of those guys that fans have been like, I don’t trust you in the postseason. and yeah, he’s had his struggles and then this past year just shows you the tremendous growth that a goalie can make regardless of fans trusting him or not trusting him, even his teammates trusting him and not trusting him. So, I feel like it was probably really crucial for him to have that opportunity to be around a guy like Oddinger because he had one of those unique journeys where it’s like so much potential. We’ve seen great things. We need to see great things consistently and see if they can carry over into key moments and this whole season coming up is a key moment for Swayman. So, I feel like what better guy to rub shoulders with than Audinger because he had a showing this past year and he showed up in the postseason for his team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just enough. And uh you asked about the I was going to say foreign nation, but the champ the champ the world championships and how he you know performed and what that did for his confidence and he said it you know you didn’t you didn’t need to say it. He was like, “That was huge for me.” And that’s kind of what we all assumed would have been really big for him and and all the other Bruins who got to play. But like, thank God just for him on a personal level, you know, Team USA performing the way they did. But having a season like that, I always used to I always used to think when I was a kid and I was like, you played a full season. Um, why would you want to go like does this mean anything to you to do more? Because I this is before like I had competitive juice in me. This is when I’m like 9 10 11 like was thinking about it. I was like, “Don’t you want a break? Don’t you want to be with your family? These players are competitive, but for also uh and you’re representing your country, all that, and they love the game of hockey. They want to keep playing. They’re not in the playoffs, so they’re annoyed.” But I realize now like for a player who either had a great year and wants to keep that going or didn’t have the best year, like this can be huge for them. And then you go into the summer with that attitude or with that memory instead of being like, “We’re out of the playoffs.” And maybe it’s because of me or you know, people internalize things. So, this I think is is going to play a way bigger factor than than I think we we might even be able to put into words. You can’t measure it. It’s not tangible, but I think it’s going to be huge. Yeah. Because he even went as far to kind of talk about the coaching staff that’s out there. And so, like, not to compare it to summer camp. This is way more cool. But, um, the think back to summer camp, like I loved when I went away for soccer stuff because I was around, you know, these brilliant Brazilian coaches that only have one form and fashion to attacking in a certain way. and you try to figure out what you can apply to your game while still being yourself. Um, so I feel like, you know, with him crediting the coaching staff and everything, like you’re around different minds, you’re gaining different perspective and like he might come in and try things that he naturally never gravitated to that can make him that much better because again, not from around here, but Swayman and you know how well he was performing and how much fans were loving him like that was heard across the nation. So something that I was very privy to regardless of, you know, being on the scene or not. So, I feel like it’s very exciting to think about like how a guy like that can take the next step and also learn from a big year of growth. Yes. And final thought because I think we got to send it to break. Uh final thought on that. Like you said, we were talking about it here. It makes headlines. People are especially in the hockey scene are paying attention, but the pressure is also so different. It’s like you’re not answering uh you’re not in scrums of 30 people, at least I don’t think. And it’s not that like here at the garden or at warrior they’ll answer the questions and then they’ll step out and like live amongst it. There I think you get to take a serious break you come back home like it’s it’s different. So yeah it’s it’s probably just like take a load off and um play and play loose and love the game again. Sometimes I think guys fall back in love with the game with these scenarios 100%. You can very easily fall out of love if things aren’t going well and then uh get back in. But anyway, great interview with Jeremy Swayman if we do say so ourselves. Uh thanks to him though, thanks to his answers. We loved have having that. If you’re just joining us now and missing it, you know, it’s going to be on Nessa Nation and uh all the social channels to you so you can get a recap of what Jeremy Swain said. On the other side of the break, we’re not going to talk to Hampus Lynholm, but somebody did. Kevin Dupont of the Boston Globe. We’ll just summarize his article because there was some good information and details about what kind of season Hampus is expecting to have. So, we’ll discuss that after the break. Welcome back to the hockey hub. We have been talking about Jeremy Swayman and the season that he’s anticipating. Um tough year for him uh personally but obviously on to better things. Another player on the Bruins had a tough year in a very different way. That being Hampus Lynholm because he couldn’t play and had this season ending injury, try to come back uh couldn’t and basically had to watch his team uh struggle through it without him and then you’re rehabbing something that you’re not sure is going to affect your career for the rest of your life. We’re gonna get into that, but just side note, so many players who have these long injuries, the mental battle is insane. Like you can’t, first of all, you’re in pain. you’re rehabbing, whatever happens to the best of us, but and you have this amazing team. We get it. But you can’t really be around the guys in the locker room. You’re far away from your family. I believe his girlfriend was living with him, so at least he had her and their dog, but like you’re alone. Uh your your whole job, your whole day is like around thinking about your injury. Like it stinks. So on a on a personal level, very tough for him, uh Casey, but the article seemed positive that he’s really pumped to get back in it. Uh any thoughts on we can summarize it but any thoughts? By the way, Kevin Dupont of the Boston Globe wrote the article. Oh yes, yes, yes. Um no, my initial thought to add to is just the fact that like whenever there were certain interviews and conversations that took place throughout the season while he was trying to figure out and get past surgery and then of course, you know, the followup on that being what it was, it was very generalized in terms of I’m doing everything to get back. So, I feel like we shouldn’t take it with a grain of salt when he’s like, I’m ready to get started and I’m ready to be a part of training camp and these things that very much indicate like he’s going to be back. And I feel like great touch on the mental journey because this is a tremendous injury and journey in itself, but uh if I’m misquing this, please let me know. I’m pretty sure he was battling through an injury last year also um or the previous year depending on how you properly phrase that 23 to 24 and then this past season 24 to 25. Yeah. And he had some ups and downs for sure personally. Yeah, exactly. So like to already have that um you know I’ve talked for I recently talked to the Red Sox player where it’s just injury after injury and like you just have this gratitude for actually being able to play the game again. So I feel like that’s going to be a breath of fresh air to his game. Somebody who’s already so dynamic and dominant defensively like to have this appreciation and this gratitude to be able to play to be able to contribute like that’s exciting and I think that that was noted throughout the article also. Yeah. So basically to sum it up and at some point you know I got to reach out to Kevin Dupont. I don’t like talking about an article that I didn’t write and making it you know seem like um we found this out. Exactly. Yeah. These are from Kevin Dupont’s article of the globe. We’re going to have him on in on a future show to talk about that some of the other things he’s writing about over the summer. But to sum it up, you know, you mentioned the excitement about his um he talked about his communication with Marco Sturm, new coach. He’s very excited about that and what he’s gotten so far out of it. He’s talked about when he’s coming back, which is going to be the first week of September, getting ready for training camp, how his summer’s looking differently, but the motivating factor to like come back into his game, get make the Bruins better. But let’s not forget that literally every single player in the NHL is also going to be extra motivated by playing for their country. And he mentioned that he wants to be, it’s not announced that he would be, of course, on playing for team Sweden, but every player is going to have that extra buzz. And I want to dive into that, but I’m just going to throw in the fact that I definitely thought Brad Marshian was motivated by that as well already in the postseason with the Florida Panthers. And I think like I remember when um CO happened and the the players didn’t get to go to the Olympics, the NHL players, and that was Patrice Bjon’s last window. And I know Brad Marsh, I wanted to play with Patrice Bersron uh over representing Team Canada. And I remember how sad they were and they were like, they were pissed. I mean, they understood it was a pandemic, but they were pissed. And um and I remember just like how much that hit. And I know that Brad is getting up there in age now, six-year contract, but this could be his last window. Like don’t let him he would never say that. I know he’s going to want to play till he’s 50, but um so I know that he was super motivated by that. And I feel like that made him just that much better in the postseason. Hampus Lynholm wants that as well. And I feel like we’re going to see a lot of players take it to the next level to crack the roster. And I’m not complaining about that. Yeah, it’s a different kind of emotion. I mean, to be able to play for your country. We we talked to Jeremy Swayman about it and a lot of guys I feel like as stoic as hockey players tend to be or kind of the verbiage that they stick to in interviews most of the time when that whole co situation took place you saw a lot more of the emotions. I mean Steven Samos had a very emotional reaction. Um Victor Hedman, fellow Swede, he was very vocal as to like what that meant, how frustrating it was to not be able to suit up for his country and there was still so many question marks as to how they were going to resituate that. And um I just think to myself like Victor Hedman, Swedish defenseman, you got Hampus Lynholm and I know that Swedish players, it’s very much their DNA over there just like Canada. So like not to try to make one better than the other, but it’s something that they eat, sleep, and breathe and like their family is always intertwined into it to such an intense degree. So it’s going to be an extra motivator. I think that’s a huge point out. And I couldn’t agree more. I remember you mentioning it months ago that like for Marchie it was going to be the fact that like he’s going to want to represent his country and he made a case for it. So this is the time to do so. Yeah. And I mean the the teams in charge of the the staff in charge of like picking for team Canada or Sweden like they’re they’re they’re watching no matter what. But like it’s hard to ignore when you’re making headlines and you’re having you know gamewinning falling down goals and like Marshy did and you’re you know 37 years old. Uh so and and after you’ve been traded, you know, so they they’ve definitely he got some attention there internationally. Um but not only Hampus Lynholm, Jeremy Sway is going to be motivated. Andrew Peak is going to be motivated. Uh Mason Laura, like I mean everyone, like I said, everyone who feels like they have a legitimate chance and I like what that’s going to bring to the Bruins. But we also remember that’s also going to bring a lot to other teams. Oh, and Charlie Makavoy, let’s not forget Charlie Makavoy who’s trying to rebound as well. So, I feel like we’re going to see some some real intense, you know, how the first like 20 games sometimes could be a bit sloppy. Yeah. Because those rosters have to be chosen soon and because the Olympics happen in February, I think we’re going to see some like really hot starts in the NHL. And like again, that’s entertaining. I’m not mad about it. Like, that’s good. Well, I think it’s the perfect year for it, too, like leading up to the Olympics because um I don’t remember who I was chatting with about it, one of our producers, but I was just like, what a weward but really cool off season. like you got some of these teams that have been counted out for at least the past two, three years that actually have attractive rosters heading into this upcoming season. So, there’s a lot of underdogs, I want to say, in a sense. So, I feel like that’s going to ramp up the competition. But, um, I think what I’m most excited about is the fact that, like I said, I’ve known from a distance, uh, how dynamic a guy like Campus Lynholm is. And to think that having the right defenseman in the lineup can elevate things. And I feel like at this point, Bruins fans are just kind of holding their breath to figure out where does reality lie from expectation to kind of imagery. So like a lot of questions can be answered here. And um something that was super cool about him and his skill set is just kind of like him and Makavoy together, like their ability to generate rushes and like when they’re both healthy, they were one of the leading uh defensive pairs out there to make that happen. And like when you got that going for you, look at the Flyers. Not the sexiest team, but they were very hard to play against this past season because they led in rush chances. So, I feel like there’s just like adding sprinkles of hope throughout all of it. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I’m really excited. And side note, I think we’re going to send it to break and um and come back obviously answering some fans questions and talk about a favorite goalie song. But I do want to say something about Hampus. We had him on a show that we used to call back to work and it was like during the um not training Yeah. training camp during training camp and players would come up off the ice and like sit and chitchat with us for like 30 minutes. It was really nice. We had a long time with him and it was the year after he led the league in plus minus. He was a plus 48 and so we I brought like I brought him back on camera and I’m like Campus Lynhong joins us led the league in plus minus plus 48. I was like pretty good. And then he looked at me he’s like pretty good eh like like I’m like just pretty good. I started laughing. I’m like sorry that’s really good. And now every time he sees me he’s like pretty good interview so that was pretty good. Like he’ll he’ll knock me sometimes like that was that was pretty good bench interview. Hey, you’re keeping things humble. We got to do that. I was like, “Sorry, dude.” I like I I was very embarrassed because I think he was a bit thrown off by being like pretty good. I led the league. Uh plus 48. But um anyway, that’s my little Hus Lynholm anecdote. Uh great guy. I’m very excited, Casey, that he’s feeling better and motivated. Anything to add before we toss a break? No, I’m all good. All right, guys. We’ll be back on the other side to wrap the show. We’ll talk to you in a sec. Welcome back. I feel like merch and branding is a big thing these days. Like people love, I don’t know, represent like cool funky t-shirts representing things. I have this Nest I think we’ve talked about this. I have this Nessen t-shirt that has the Nessen logo uh that I wear around the city sometimes and get a lot of questions of like, can I get one? Yes, you can. Now you can. Uh Wicked Wearables. I got to read the website because I always screw it up. So this is in partnership with Breaking Tea. Nessen has a bunch of different gear and swag that you can now get for yourself and wear around the city. Yes. Uh so check it out at nessenwickedwwarebables.com. Casey, as promised, we are going to answer some fan questions. Uh I’m I don’t know if I’m actually going to answer this question. I’m just going to give a comment to this insight some insight to this question. So at NK 2012 uh commented on Alex Steves and Mate Bluml. says Steves Blumal or he or she says Steves Blumal were sneaky good signings. Those guys were number one and two in the AHL goal scoring last season. In my opinion, they have a better chance to break out make the lineup than some of the Providence guys except Dan’s Loch Melis. But anyway, what all I want to talk about here is what I uh know about Blumel is that David Mate Blumel is that David Posnock reached out to him and and so he’s from Chia as well. Reached out to him and said that like hey we got a good thing going here. Uh, I know it didn’t look like it last year, but you’re going to be really happy here and and sign with us because he had options. And I like that. I mean, I think I I love to hear stories like that. Yeah. Because you want one of your leaders to like be be vocal about like, hey, this is still an attractive place to land and this is why. So, and then and it shows that Pasta cares, too. Like, hey, number one, if Pasta reached out to me and said, I want you to broadcast for my show, I’d be like, that’s the biggest compliment ever. like you believe in my talent. You’re not like, “All right, good luck.” You’re like, “Hey, I see what you can do.” One, I believe in you. Obviously, Pa is an icon in Chetchia. So, for Buml, I’d love to get his side of the story of what that meant to him. Uh, number one. Number two, he’s like, I see what you can bring, and I believe in the future of this team. And as we’ve had this captain’s discussion, uh, don’t know who’s going to get it. But that’s a very captainy move, too. That’s something I feel like Char and Patrice Bersian would would have done. Oh my god, Marbles in my mouth. Zano Char and Patrice Bersron would have done and I I just like that from David Posternok. Yeah. Big move for him in the leadership stride. And then also not saying it’s a coincidence, but the second time we had Pete Blackburn on and he was like and we asked him, you know, give us a guy that might be on the radar but not being talked about enough. Uh Bloom was one of the guys that he mentioned that he was actually excited about. And then I don’t know within like a week the daily faceoff projections actually changed. Potra wasn’t sitting at the right wing on that third line. It was Bloom. I actually really like the fit of that between size and consistency of what he’s put up in the AHL and of course everything that’s so notable about a left-handed guy playing at right wing and kind of the advantages that they have there. I feel like it would be a pretty fun mixup on the third line. I’m telling you, Casey, I don’t know what your fall looks like, but I’m hoping you can come to training camp with me for like uh just to I’ll come shadow. I’m good with bringing I don’t think you drink coffee, but like whatever is in your cup. I’m good at bringing what’s in your cup and making sure that they are hand warmers. I don’t know if you get one. I would never. You’re not an intern. Do not put yourself and even interns like I feel team player. I’m never letting anyone get me a coffee unless they’re getting one for themselves, but like which I always am. You hear me complain about caffeine all the time. Girl, slap me if I ever tell like literally slap me if I ever tell someone get me a coffee. Like literally I’ll let the world know. Sophia’s never asked for coffee. I’m just offering and then being able to make sure I’m useful at training. Call my parents and tell them to ground me if I ever do that. Uh if you’re getting yourself a coffee, you could bring me one. Where do you rank in Siblings, by the way? Fourth of five. The best. Actually, I ranked number one the best. Oh, there you go. Obviously. Uh, but no, fourth of five. And, uh, I I had to maybe because I had to do all the chores and errands for people, but I’m never and I know how it hurts, so I’m never going to make anyone do that. But you’re going to come ask I’m the youngest of four. Okay. So, you had to do that probably, right? Yep. Uh, we got 30 seconds left, but I’ll wrap my thought. Casey, you’re going to come because I’m just genuinely I’m not brownnosing here. I’m not trying to hype up the Bruins because that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m genuinely so excited for training camp uh and all the storylines and the potential. So, get excited with us. Casey, we’re done. Is it right? We’re done for the week. Back on Monday with another edition of the Hockey Hub. Guys, have a great weekend. Enjoy the sun. See you later.

Jeremy Swayman is gearing up for next year with plenty of motivation as he looks to improve upon his ownership of the net & make a case for himself to join Team USA for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Bruins goaltender joins Sophia Jurksztowicz & Kasey Hudson for an exclusive interview to discuss his goals for the upcoming season & how plans on improving his game. Plus, the ladies react to what Hampus Lindholm had to say about being ‘ready to pick up where he left off’ last season before his knee injury.

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#Bruins #JeremySwayman #BruinsNews #NHL

00:00 Intro
01:07 Jeremy Swayman interview
17:58 Favorite NHL goalie masks
30:00 Jeremy Swayman’s outlook on next season
38:00 Hampus Lindholm “ready to pick up where he left off”
46:52 Mailbag
50:53 Goodbye