LoVecchio is happy to get going
KITCHENER, Ontario - For all the candidates, dreamers each and every one, this is a place to start. It doesn’t get any fresher than rookie camp, and yesterday, with endless career paths beckoning their baby steps, 23 fresh-faced Bruins took to the ice at Dom Cardillo Arena for the start of a five-day camp.
“We had to teach them a lot of system stuff out there,’’ said Rob Murray, Boston’s coach in Providence (AHL), following what was nearly a two-hour workout. “We gave them a lot to absorb. We don’t want them out there [today] just playing shinny.’’
The Bruins rookies will face Toronto’s rookies today in the first match of a round-robin tournament that also includes Pittsburgh and Ottawa. Left wing Jeff LoVecchio will suit up for the Bruins, eager to play his first game since the spring of 2008, having missed the 2008-09 season because of the lingering and frustrating symptoms of a concussion he suffered in July 2008.
“July 24, 2008, to be exact,’’ said LoVecchio, cooling down outside the dressing room after the protracted session. “After all I’ve been through, that’s not a date I’m going to forget.’’
LoVecchio, from St. Louis, suffered the concussion while skating in a pickup game with friends in his hometown. The symptoms, many of them whiplash-related, took months to abate. He began to feel better at the start of spring, and practiced regularly with the Baby Bruins, but he agreed with the club’s medical staff to sit out games for the remainder of the season.
“I had really bad whiplash and a lot of things were going on with that,’’ recalled LoVecchio. “Boston was great about it, treated me just great, but after missing all that time, the smarter thing to do was not play - I didn’t want to go out there and tear up a knee or something.’’
All the waiting, said LoVecchio, at times had him fearing he never would get back. Now he’s here, with his head clear and goals in focus, eager beyond words to play his first game in some 16 months.
“Excited, extremely, extremely excited,’’ said the 24-year-old, who signed as a free agent after three years at Western Michigan University. “I didn’t sleep last night. In fact, I haven’t slept for the last week, just thinking of different scenarios that I’ll face on the ice. I mean, I just can’t stop smiling that I’ll get to play.’’
At 6 feet 2 inches and 198 pounds, LoVecchio projects as a third- or fourth-liner, in the AHL, where he’ll no doubt start this season, or the NHL, where he only wishes he’ll one day get his chance. He’ll likely skate today with Jordan Knackstedt and Chris DeSousa, his linemates for the workout.
“We didn’t have much chemistry at the start out there,’’ mused LoVecchio, who had to verify the names of his linemates on a roster sheet, underscoring just how fresh the faces were on Day 1 of camp. “But we all started to bang in a few goals at the end, so hey, I’m happy with it.’’
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com. 
