“This is really about competition and about jobs now,” said assistant general manager Don Sweeney. “It’s about your career and the path you’re choosing as a professional hockey player. So it’s time to put your best foot forward.”

On Thursday, those informal practices came to an end. Pastrnak, the Bruins’ 2014 first-round pick, and his fellow varsity hopefuls hit the ice for the first day of rookie camp. There was nothing informal about the session. The snacks-and-recess play days are over.

WILMINGTON – For nearly two weeks, David Pastrnak had been skating at Ristuccia Arena alongside some of the NHL players he’d like to call his teammates.


Twenty-two youngsters will depart for Nashville on Friday to participate in a four-team tournament. The next day, under the withering watch of management and the coaching staff, they will play in their first game against the Panthers. The tournament concludes on Monday with a game against the Lightning, after which the rookies will return to Boston for further judgment.

Main camp opens with fitness testing on Thursday.

“Don’t hold anything back,” Sweeney recalled telling the campers on Wednesday. “Don’t be nervous about the situation you’re in. Come and put your best foot forward as a hockey player and as a person to try and carve out a little bit of a niche for yourself. Get in front of somebody. You’ve got to push somebody out of the way in this business to take somebody’s job.”

There are positions open for application. Jarome Iginla and Shawn Thornton are gone. While the Bruins expect to sign Reilly Smith, it’s possible the No. 2 right wing will not be present for the start of camp. If so, the Bruins will have three openings on the right side next week.

Seth Griffith wants one of them.

Just in rookie camp, the second-year pro has competition, including Pastrnak, Matt Lindblad, and Brian Ferlin. When Griffith advances to the main camp, he’ll be fighting with veterans such as Simon Gagne and Ville Leino and prospects such as Justin Florek and Matt Fraser.


Griffith has some qualities in his favor. He’s a right shot. He has AHL experience. He has produced for Providence and London, Ontario, his junior team.

In 69 games last year, the rookie scored 20 goals and 30 assists for 50 points, second-most on the team behind linemate Alexander Khokhlachev (21-36—57). The 5-foot-9-inch, 192-pound Griffith doesn’t have Florek’s size (6-4, 199 pounds). He doesn’t have Pastrnak’s acceleration or high-speed playmaking touch.

But Griffith’s numbers signal that he did a lot of things right for Providence coach Bruce Cassidy as a first-year pro.

“He produced,” Sweeney said. “It’s hard to hold a kid back. You’ve got to continue to put him back in those primary roles because he has earned it. Seth did that. He showed a real nice progression in the first part of the year where he needed to get up to speed. Once he did, Bruce really put him in positions where he could take advantage of his skill set. Seth responded in all those areas.”

Because of his size and average skating, Griffith has not been a standout. In four years with the powerful Knights, Griffith played with eight first-round picks: Nazem Kadri, Olli Maatta, Austin Watson, Jarred Tinordi, Bo Horvat, Max Domi, Vladistav Namestnikov, and Nikita Zadorov. One hundred and thirty-one players heard their names called at the 2012 draft before the Bruins selected Griffith in the fifth round.


Scouts weren’t keen on Griffith’s physical toolbox. But in his draft year, Griffith scored a team-best 85 points (45 goals, 40 assists). A year later, Griffith was just seven points off Domi’s team-leading pace (39-48—87).

“Lot of credit to Mark and Dale Hunter,” Griffith said. “They helped me throughout my whole career in London. They just stuck with me. They worked on the little things like I’m doing here. They always preach about success and that it’s all about team first. I think that’s why their players have individual success.”

Griffith has shown skill, creativity, and a willingness to enter the danger zones to score his points. That didn’t change as an AHL rookie. But he had to improve in the areas where coaches insist their players show dependability – being sharp in the defensive zone, being efficient at chipping out pucks, and being strong on the walls.

It took time early on. By the end, Cassidy wasn’t afraid to roll out Griffith in every situation. Griffith negated shortcomings in size and speed by making plays.

“He has probably been told he’s too small to play at times,” Sweeney said. “Now he’s not too small. He’s got to be efficient as he can at the size he’s at, then go ahead and use his skill set that he’s been provided with and worked on. I think players enjoy playing with Seth because he has the ability to make good plays.”


On Thursday, Griffith and fellow second-year pro Anthony Camara flanked Pastrnak. In the tournament, the Bruins will ask the line to push the pace, create offense, and be defensively reliable.

Griffith plans to carry out their wishes. How the 21-year-old executes those tasks will determine the length of his camp audition with the big boys.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.