The Boston Bruins will kick off their 2024-25 season on September 22nd with an exciting slate of seven preseason matchups against four different teams. The first of which will occur vs. one of the best teams in the NHL last season, the New York Rangers, at 5 PM on September 22nd.
While the Rangers may not bring their top players to this matchup, and there is a good chance the Bruins won’t either, the game could be a way for fans to see some of the more fringe players in action. That said, the Bruins and Rangers will meet again on September 26th in New York with a 7 PM start time, and there is a good chance that this game could feature a better preview of what to expect in a regular season that should see both teams as among the most competitive in the Eastern Conference.
On September 24th and October 5th at 7 PM and 5 PM, respectively, the Bruins will face the Washington Capitals, with the game on the 24th occurring at home and the preseason finale on the road. We know the Capitals were that “just happy to be there” playoff team last year, but that shouldn’t be the case in 2024-25. For one of these two games, expect the Bruins to play those “new-look” Capitals best squads.
The Bruins tour against the Metropolitan Division will continue in back-to-back preseason matchups against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 28th on the road and October 1st at home, with both games taking place at 7 PM. Philadelphia nearly became that final playoff team last year, and this season, we don’t know what to expect from them, but the Bruins will likely get a good idea in one of these two matchups.
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Boston will also play the Los Angeles Kings at 7 PM on October 3rd at a neutral site, and LA is a team looking to find more consistency in 2024-25. The Kings did finish third in the Pacific last season, but it didn’t come without a coaching change and some major highs and lows last season.
Overall, we’re mainly seeing the Bruins get a small tour of the Metropolitan Division, featuring a powerhouse team in the Rangers, an organization that made a lot of moves in the offseason in the Washington Capitals, and a potential up-and-coming organization like the Flyers.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Boston police have identified the Jamaica Plain man who was fatally shot on Shawmut Avenue early Friday morning.
Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of 618 Shawmut Ave. around 1:30 a.m. found Warren Julien, 40, suffering from a gunshot wound, according to Boston police.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Boston Police Department’s Homicide Unit is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit ay 617-343-4470.
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Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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“When the people around you are pushing sports, it definitely makes you feel seen,” Cabey said.
In May, Mayor Michelle Wu announced the launch of Boston’s first Youth Sports Hub, an online directory where families can find nearby sports leagues and programs for children in elementary school through high school.
The Youth Sports Hub allows users to search for nearby sports facilities and organizations by using their neighborhood as a starting point. Users can search the directory by specific sports offered like basketball, rugby, baseball, martial arts, lacrosse, and gymnastics. The directory also lists seasonal availability, gender accommodations, level of engagement, language, age group, and costs for each program.
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Summer camp counselor Emilio Cabey III worked out at the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club in Dorchester in Boston on Monday.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
The directory is part of Wu’s Connect, Learn, Explore initiative, launched in 2024, which provides youth with access to sports, the arts, gardening, and other forms of community involvement.
The sports database comes at a time when youth involvement is down. According to Boston’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 34 percent of high school youth were involved in at least one sports team in 2021 — a 10 percent decrease from 2019.
“This give kids the access to top-tier equipment to playing sports at a high level and keeping them safe,” Cabey said.
The hub — which includes Boys & Girls Clubs and Boston Centers for Youth and Families — also provides information on statewide recreational sports news, city-run sports programs, and space for organizations to find more resources to expand their reach in communities.
Along with the directory’s launch, the city hired its first youth sports initiative manager, Tyrik Wilson, earlier this year and invested $100,000 into local sports leagues via small grants to pay for equipment upgrades and travel.
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“We’re trying to figure out through these conversations with different programs — in what kinds of ways are you retaining your athletes in your program,” Wilson said. “It becomes more than dropping your kid off and leaving.”
Wilson said he wants youth sports programming to be able to offer opportunities for actual competition, academic support outside of school hours, and community-building for youth.
Obie Christmas, teen director at the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club, has been coaching some of his students, who are now headed to college, since elementary school.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Obie Christmas, teen director at the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club, said the directory will keep families from traveling far into the city to find quality sports programming and training.
“All these kids have to outsource and go 30 minutes out to go to training with an indoor turf or a nice turf facility where it’s safe,” he said. “They have to go to their local — or not-so-local — gym to get a weightlifting session in.”
Christmas has been working at Blue Hill for seven years and leads sports training. He has been working with some of his students, who are now headed to college, since they were in elementary school.
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“The goal right now is to reach out into the community and just get people to buy into the system and get people to understand that they don’t have to go all the way to Newton or wherever for good programming,” Christmas said.
Blue Hill offers a plethora of sports like basketball, football, swimming, tennis, and soccer with recently renovated and quality courts, and equipment and training space for students. Christmas said the city’s efforts help families and organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs get kids started in sports and keep them involved throughout their development.
“This means we can now compete when we put kids in our programming. We are helping young athletes get started and keep growing,” he said.
Cabey said Boston’s youth should have easy access to sports programming whether they want to play in college or play recreationally.
“It teaches you discipline you may not get at home or anywhere else,” he said. “It also opens up opportunities to get in a new environment and meet new people and network.”
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Obie Christmas, left, program manager at the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club in Boston, trained Roody Jean-Louis on Monday, as he works to make the Bridgewater State University track team.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Auzzy Byrdsell can be reached at austin.byrdsell@globe.com.
