Following the NHL Draft last week, the Boston Bruins kicked off their four-day development camp at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday.

The Bruins welcomed a diverse roster of 29 players from the collegiate and junior ranks to this year’s camp, including all five of their 2018 draft picks: Curtis Hall, Jakub Lauko, Pavel Shen, Axel Andersson and Dustyn McFaul.

During the two separate practice sessions, the newly selected prospects got a taste of what competing at the professional level is like and participated in numerous drills focusing on skating, speed and agility.

McFaul, the Bruins sixth-round selection, described it as a tiring but helpful and awesome experience. The 6-foot-2 defenseman from Waterdown, Ontario was somewhat surprised to find out about his selection during his graduation party. A few days later, McFaul relished his first chance to don the Black and Gold.

“I loved it, just seeing everyone out there supporting us at development camp means a lot and having all of these coaches and staff here taking care of us is awesome,” McFaul said. “I just wanted to meet some new people, learn some new things and get some feedback for next year on what I have to get better at to move up the food chain here.”

Lauko, Boston’s third-round selection, had a similar feeling of exhaustion as he made his transition from playing in the Czech Republic to the NHL style. He stated that his main goal for the rest of the summer was to get stronger in the weight room in order for it to translate to the ice.

“You know I sometimes felt slowed down and exhausted. It was hard and tough,” Lauko said. “We have some practices like this in the Czech, and sometimes the practices were even harder, but this summer break I was only training for two weeks so I am not in good condition on or off the ice.”

Andersson, the Bruins’ first selection on Day 2 of the Draft, was in attendance and enjoyed his first experience with the team. When asked about what he was looking to get from the development camp he responded by stating he wanted to get to know the organization better both on and off the ice.

“I feel fortunate to be here, I’m just so happy,” Andersson said. “I was back home in Sweden to watch the draft and it was kind of delayed on TV. My agent called me and told me that I had been drafted by Boston. I said ‘Really? No way!’ and then saw my name on the TV and I just felt so happy.”

The Bruins continue their four-day Development Camp on Wednesday.