When the puck drops Thursday night in Columbus and the Bruins begin their 2016-17 campaign, the club is certainly going to look a little different than it did last season where another late collapse held the team out of the playoffs for the second straight year.

With injuries up front to Frank Vatrano and Patrice Bergeron and on the backend with Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller, the Bruins could have a handful of rookies in the lineup for opening night; a sign that things are changing on Causeway Street.

“Yeah, I think they want to start integrating young guys, that was something talked about over the summer and overall I feel like that’s just for the development of us as well,” rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo said Tuesday during the team’s media day.

Carlo joins Rob O’Gara, Austin Czarnik and Danton Heinen as rookies who very well could make their National Hockey League debut on Thursday night. The injection of youth could be exactly what the Bruins need as a team who last year looked old and slow at times, especially down the stretch as they struggled to string together enough wins to stay inside the playoff bubble.

“That’s kind of been the plan is to try and do a better job with drafting and then do as good a job as we can developing and then seeing where that shakes out,” Bruins President Cam Neely said Tuesday afternoon.

After two seasons of misery, the Bruins biggest bright spot could actually be their blue line where Carlo and O’Gara will potentially lurk Thursday night. After seeing some time alongside Zdeno Chara for most of the last week, Carlo wouldn’t mind calling the captain his defensive partner out of the gate.

“That would be awesome,” said the 6-foot-5 Carlo in regards to playing alongside Chara. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever is thrown at me. Overall I feel I played strong [in the preseason] and moved the puck really well. I think they want to start integrating young guys. That’s something was on a lot of the media over the summer.”

For O’Gara, the difference between the college game and the professional game has been very noticeable, especially the strength of the players. After spending four years at Yale, O’Gara suited up for five games with the Providence Bruins last season.

“Guys are just stronger, stronger on the puck. When I got to my senior year at school, playing in the corners was not as hard as it was once I got to Providence in the spring and that was eye opening because these guys can protect the puck,” said O’Gara.

“Once they feel you on one side they roll off the other. It’s just another step up and I think the strength and how strong these guys are on the puck is the biggest difference to me from college to this level.”

More of a stay-at-home defenseman, O’Gara has looked sharp in the preseason and has lined up with veteran defenseman Torey Krug as the Bruins’ second d-pairing of late.

“I just want to play, I want to get better everyday and so these guys make it very easy. I mean there is no rep in any drill or anything where guys are taking it off and you really have to put your best out there to contend with these guys and I have felt that I have gotten better everyday,” said O’Gara. “I’ve gotten more comfortable everyday and I think that’s what I need to continue to do to continue playing here.”

After a very strong showing during the preseason, Czarnik was knocked out of last Saturday’s preseason finale against the Flyers after a hit to the head from Radko Gudas. After participating in yesterday’s session with a red no-contact jersey, Czarnik ditched the red this morning and was centering Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes on the Bruins’ third line.

After two seasons at the University of Denver, Heinen decided to make the jump to the NHL, signing with the Bruins last spring. After a promising camp and preseason with the Bruins, Heinen is on track to crack the lineup on opening night. With Patrice Bergeron now day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Heinen was slotted to the right of Ryan Spooner and David Krejci at practice Wednesday morning before the Bruins jetted to Columbus to open their season.

Head coach Claude Julien will have the difficult task of trying to put the puzzle pieces together and pulling the right strings with his new faces. As exciting as it is for the Bruins, Julien knows the rookies earned their chance, now with his help, they have to earn the right to stay here.

“Well, I think it’s exciting, first of all. Second of all, I’ve always had a lot of patience for those guys, you guys just don’t see it. So, I started coaching junior hockey where I had 20 of those young players, so I needed a lot of patience back then,” Julien told the media on Tuesday.

“But, no, those guys – listen, those guys, first of all, have got to be deserving to be here. We don’t give free passes to anybody. And, when they show they can play here, we give them the opportunity. We’re patient with them, just like anybody else that makes mistakes. We understand they may have less experience, and that’s where you’ve got to work with them. If they show that they’re getting it, there’s no issues at all.”

Regardless of exactly how their lineup looks Thursday night, the Bruins are gearing towards becoming a younger team and that certainly is not a bad thing.