Don Sweeney showed up to Day One of Bruins training camp with a surprise. It was not the good kind.

Sweeney told the media that star winger David Pastrnak will not skate with the team in the opening days of training camp due to "a little tendinitis."

"David Pastrnak won't skate for the first couple of days," Sweeney said. "His last training block, he got a little tendinitis. And we as a group just said, load management at this point in time is what's the best course of action."

Sweeney added that Pastrnak will be skating separately with John McClean, Boston's skating and skills coach, and is expected to participate in full team practice "early next week."

The 29-year-old Pastrnak is entering his 12th season with the Bruins,He did not miss a single regular-season game over the past three years, topping 100 points all three times. He set a career high with 63 assists in 2023-24 and matched that total a year ago. He led the Bruins with 43 goals last season, 10 more than second-ranked Morgan Geekie, and his 63 assists were 30 more than Pavel Zacha, who ranked second on the team with 33.

Pastrnak kept busy after Boston missed the postseason in the spring, leading all skaters with 15 points (6-9-15) in eight games for Czechia during the IIHF World Championships in May.

Pastrnak remains Boston's best offensive player, yet Sweeney sees the early absence at training camp as a potential positive for new head coach Marco Sturm.

"Good opportunity for Marco to put a couple of other guys in the cat bird's seat that they would be excited to have," Sweeney said.

Sweeney said that Pastrnak was his only "surprise" and that all other players are "fully up and running."