Yoday's practices at Ristuccia Center in Wilmington constitute open auditions for a Bruins team that would be aptly titled "New Kids on the Block.'

Rookie training camp begins this morning, and the number of fresh faces - including No. 8 overall draft pick Sergei Samsonov, who came to terms in principle on a three-year contract yesterday - dwarfs the number of veterans who are due to report Tuesday.

It is the youngsters on whom the Bruins are pinning their hopes, and the club has proven it by putting its money where its draft picks are.

Samsonov's deal would bring him just under $2 million this season if he scores 20 goals. No. 1 overall pick Joe Thornton will make $2.5 million if he reaches that plateau.

Additional incentives could bump Samsonov to $2.3 million.

"Clearly, I think the Bruins stepped up and recognized that he can have an impact right away," said Jay Grossman, Samsonov's New York-based agent. 'We feel real comfortable with the commitment they've made and we feel Sergei is ready to come in and get the job done. Our concept was to have Sergei and Joe going in as a tandem. We felt they should come in on similar terms. We knew we wouldn't get the same deal because Joe was taken No. 1 and Sergei was taken at No. 8, but we feel it's very close."

President/general manager Harry Sinden and assistant GM Mike O'Connell were in Chicago for the NHL's general managers meetings, and efforts to reach them were unsuccessful.

Samsonov and Thornton will receive the most scrutiny early on, and it's widely believed that the 18-year-old Samsonov, who played in the International Hockey League last season, could have more early success than Thornton because of his experience with the Detroit Vipers (29-35-64 in 73 games) against much older players. On the other hand, Thornton was head and shoulders (in some cases literally) above his junior opponents, and it appears he will have a greater transition to the NHL than Samsonov.

At the entry draft in Pittsburgh, some teams appeared reluctant to select the native of Moscow because of his 5-foot-8-inch, 184-pound frame, small by NHL standards. But Samsonov, while short, has broad shoulders and a sturdy build, which impressed the Bruins' front office and scouting staff.

"Size was a bit of an issue with Samsonov until we interviewed him," said Sinden at the draft. "The guy is big; he's only short. He's a man. When we had him in and interviewed him, the guys were really impressed with him."

Samsonov trained in Detroit for much of the summer and also spent time in Philadelphia working out with the Russian Olympic team.

Grossman believes that no other player has done as much before coming into the NHL as Samsonov. Samsonov won IHL rookie of the year honors and led his club in plus-minus with a plus-33. He led the Vipers to the Turner Cup championship with eight goals and 12 points in 19 postseason games and scored four goals in the opener of the finals.

While the expectations are high for Samsonov and Thornton, many of the other youngsters shape up as question marks. The changing of the guard may provide a decent foundation for the future, but the house has yet to be built.

Consider: Since last year's training camp, the Bruins' average age has dropped to 23.3 years old from 24.1. Take 36-year-old Ray Bourque out of that equation and, well, you get the idea. The average height has increased a half-inch to just over 6-1 and the average weight has gone up 5 pounds to 199. This year's edition of the Bruins will be younger, bigger, and more talented. However, it will be much more raw, more unproven, and far less experienced. New coach Pat Burns will have his hands full, but throughout his coaching tenure from the junior ranks to NHL stops in Montreal and Toronto, he has shown an ability to mold young talent. Burns has been champing at the bit for weeks. The running joke in the Boston front office has been that the coach has worn holes in the carpet from pacing and has been climbing the walls in anticipation of getting to work after the longest Bruins offseason in 30 years. He'll finally get his chance. The first episode of "The Young and the Restless" begins this morning.

This story ran on page C01 of the Boston Globe on 9/04/97.

Last Updated 10 January 1998