WILMINGTON – Every player entering his first development camp goes through the same thing. Much like the first day of kindergarten or college, there’s far less familiarity and far more new faces. For Bruins’ second-round pick Alexander Khokhlachev, he’s used to experiencing new things, as he, much like David Krejci years before him, left Europe to play junior hockey in Canada before eventually being drafted by the B’s. 

Khokhlachev played two seasons in the Russian Junior league before departing Moscow as a 16-year-old to play for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. A new continent and a new language wasn’t a walk in the park for the skilled center, but he’s happy with his decision to come to North America, and the fact that it led to the B’s drafting him with the 40th pick of last month’s draft. 

“When I [went] to Windsor to play there, everybody helped me there,” Khokhlachev said after Sunday’s scrimmage at Ristuccia Arena. “The guys, the coaches, the management. I didn't know the English language really well when I came, so I just take classes. I think it was a great decision to [go] and play there.”

The now-17-year-old takes two classes a week in Windsor to sharpen his English, and he now speaks the language well enough to carry on a conversation. 

On the ice, the results have been impressive. His 34 goals with the Spitfires put him second among OHL rookies. Yet as highly skilled he is (he tries to model his game after Pavel Datsyuk, Sidney Crosby and Sergei Federov), skating sticks out as the Achilles heel of the young center. Khokhlachev doesn’t like the idea of a one-item to-do list when it comes to improving his game. He would like skating to be just one of many things he’s improved by the time he reaches the NHL.

“I'm 17 years old. I think I need to improve everything,” Khokhlachev said. “I notice how tough it [must be] to play in the NHL, so I need to improve everything.”

Khokhlachev looked a bit confused by the Bruins’ power play drills in which the players on the PK hold their sticks upside down, but he said that he would like to someday kill penalties at the next level.  

For now, the adjustments continue. He’s been able stay sharp on his English by chatting with fellow prospects, and he can speak Russian with skating instructor Besa Tsintsadze, who conducted power skating sessions in the camp. 

“He’s a young kid, and this is a different environment for him,” assistant general manager Don Sweeney said Sunday. “He’s got some things that we’re going to identify going forward throughout the summer. … He’ll get in better shape, and he knows it, but when the puck drops, he makes plays. He sees the ice so very well. 

“He’s probably a little unselfish [to the point where] we’re going to get him to shoot the puck a little bit more. He’s a really good kid and he wants to play over here, so we’re just going to continue to work with him.”

SEGUIN BACK TO WHERE IT BEGAN

The Bruins have stressed that the development camp is not a place for anyone to earn a roster spot, but if there is one carrot they can dangle in front of the youngsters, it is 2010 first-round pick Tyler Seguin. The then-18-year-old attended last year’s development camp and was a Stanley Cup champion some 11 months later. 

Seguin has been at Wilmington the past few days working out, but the former second overall pick has also spent time with the B’s prospects, many of whom he skated with in camp just a year ago. In addition to grabbing dinner with fellow Phil Kessel trade product Jared Knight, he went paintballing with this year’s group of prospects and took in a cooking class. 

Ninth overall pick Dougie Hamilton has known Seguin since the two were kids, as the B’s center played with Dougie’s brother, Freddie, growing up in Ontario. Now that the two are in the same organization, Hamilton hopes he can one day have a rookie season with the same result as Seguin’s.

“He’s obviously a really good player,” Hamilton said. “I’d like to follow in those footsteps and be able to able to lift the Stanley Cup. That’s really special to be able to do that in your first year.” 

Fans are impressed with his highlight-reel goals, but his mere presence has been enough to leave an impression on youngsters who hope to one day walk in his shoes.

"He was one of the best junior players, and he won the Stanley Cup," Khokhlachev said. "… I think he can help us, just with [being on an] NHL team… It's really good."

SOCIALLY AWARE

With social media all the rage among younger players throughout all the organizations, it’s no surprise that the number of Bruins prospects using Twitter far outweighs the actual B’s using the site. Goaltender Zane Gothberg, who doesn’t use it, said his teammates, in an effort to sell him on the idea, have described Twitter as “one of the best things that happened to them.”

This development camp is truly about covering all the bases, as the first night of the five-day camp included a social media class for the players. 

Jared Knight is perhaps the most active tweeter of any of the Bruins. The 32nd overall pick in 2010, who shares things such as Gothberg quotes with his many followers, called the class “interesting.” 

The biggest name on Twitter among the Bruins youngsters is Hamilton. Though the defenseman has over 2,600 followers, he has a grand total of zero tweets to his name. Hamilton says that he initially was active with sending his followers updates, but deleted all of his tweets prior to the draft. 

“I actually tweeted a bit before,” Hamilton explained. “A lot of people have talked to me about it, and I ended up just deleting them. … The Boston fans don’t really know that, but I’m sure my earlier followers knew I tweeted before.”

Hamilton said still uses Twitter, but as a follower. Don’t hold your breath expecting any new tweets from him, as he doesn’t know if or when he’ll ever get back to tweeting. 

As for Knight’s account, there shouldn’t be any concern over whether he flunked the social media class. Like the other B’s on Twitter, he keeps it clean. The borderline nonsensical one-liners from Gothberg (such as “Would you like a pillow for that dream?”) might not make sense to many, but the American goaltender, who doesn’t use the site, will still provide his teammates with words of wisdom. 

“I feel honored,” Gothberg said of Knight sharing his words with his followers. “I feel I can add to Knighter’s vocabulary a little bit. We’ve got a couple more quotes in the bag. We’ll see what happens and see if he enjoys them and likes them.”