Still riding high with Bruins, Kampfer no longer has look of moon man

Kampfer doesn't look like this anymore/By S. Bradley

WILMINGTON, Mass. — Instead of skating in the AHL All-Star Classic in Hershey, defenseman Steven Kampfer was still a member of the Boston Bruins this afternoon.

The rookie, who had been selected to represent the Providence farm club in the midseason classic, practiced with the parent team before leaving for tomorrow night’s game in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.

While Kampfer was among familiar surroundings at Ristuccia Arean, he looked different now that he was able to go from the full “astronaut” shield back to the half shield on his helmet some two weeks after suffering a broken nose.

“It’s actually a lot different because your peripherals are all off,” said Kampfer about the difference between the full shield (which he also wore in college) and the half one. “You have that bar coming down the side where you can’t see out the side, where you could in the half shield. So it took me a couple days to get used to the full visor again, but it was good to put [the half shield] back on today. And I think I was much better today looking to find a pass, where before it was hard to see one.”

Kampfer got the clearance to remove the full shield after the Bruins beat Florida last week before the NHL All-Star break. Four days off in Michigan did him well, as he relaxed and his breathing became easier.

“I think the four days off definitely were a help – just letting it settle and not breathe as hard as what I was on the ice,” he said.

Now that he’s back to being himself, Kampfer can fully focus on adding to his total of eight points (in 24 games) from the pre-All-Star portion of Boston’s schedule.