CAMP AT A GLANCE
	Dafoe wasn't the same after his contract holdout.
	Coach: Pat Burns '99-00 record: 24-39-19 Camp location: Ristuccia Expo Center (Wilmington, Mass.) Report date: Sept. 7 Preseason schedule: Sept. 15: Washington (Portland, Maine) Sept. 16: at Buffalo Sept. 17: at Montreal Sept. 19: New Jersey (Albany, N.Y.) Sept. 21: at Detroit Sept. 22: at Florida Sept. 28: Florida Sept. 29: Pittsburgh (Providence, R.I.) Sept. 30: Buffalo

The disaster that came to be known as the 1999-00 season started in training camp, when starting netminder Byron Dafoe was a no-show without a contract. While that saga dragged out for the first two months of the season, coach Pat Burns' group began looking more and more like a M*A*S*H* unit.

This year could be different. Dafoe is in camp, and Jason Allison is healthy, but Anson Carter, Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov are holding out at the moment.

The B's went out during the offseason and added stability to their defense corps with the additions of Paul Coffey and Peter Popovic. Defenseman Mattias Timander was lost during the summer when he was claimed by Columbus in the Expansion Draft. Right wing Andrei Kovalenko also comes aboard to help provide some goal-scoring punch and offset the loss of veteran Steve Heinze.

Here's a look at the rest of Boston's training camp.

Biggest question mark: Dafoe
Can Dafoe regain his form from two seasons ago? Remember in 1998-99 when Dafoe led the NHL with 10 shutouts, in addition to finishing second in save percentage (.926) and tied for fourth -- with Ed Belfour -- in GAA (1.99)? Once he came back last season, Dafoe ended up going 13-16-10 with an .889 save percentage. His 2.96 GAA was good for 36th in the league. The work he'll get in camp likely means he'll improve on those numbers.

Biggest position battle: No. 1 center
Joe Thornton -- assuming he signs at some point -- and Jason Allison will battle it out for the No. 1 center spot. Allison went from No. 1 center last season to No. 1 spectator as he battled through two major injuries which eventually forced him out of the lineup for good. But the emergence of Thornton as the club's leading scorer last season may drop Allison down a notch on the depth chart.

In addition, there are four players battling it out for the No. 3 and No. 4 pivot spots: Shawn Bates, Andre Savage, Sean Pronger and rookie Sami Pahlsson.

Future watch
Here, ESPN.com looks at a few young players who could make an impact, either now or in the future.

Jonathan Girard (Defense):
Girard, the Bruins first pick (48th overall) in 1998, has seen limited action with the big club since then. He appeared in three games in '98-99, then played 23 games last season, notching a goal and two assists. The 5-foot-11, 192-pound defenseman did show some offensive skills in the Quebec Major Junior League where, in 1997-98, he had 20 goals and 67 points in 64 games for Laval.

Nicholas Boynton (Defense):
Boynton, 21, has actually been drafted twice. He was originally selected by Washington (ninth overall) in '97, but was able to re-enter the draft after not signing. The Bruins snatched him up with the No. 21 pick in '99. Boynton, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, is a fierce competitor with a little flair on offense. He scored 11 goals in 51 games for Ottawa of the Ontario League in '98-99 and was named Memorial Cup MVP for the '99 playoffs in the Canadian junior tournament.

Training camp roster
Goaltenders: Donald Choukalos, Byron Dafoe, John Grahame, Seamus Kotyk, Andrew Raycroft, Kay Whitmore.

Defensemen: Elias Abrahamsson, Johnathan Aitken, Shane Belter, Nick Boynton, Vratislav Cech, Paul Coffey, Hal Gill, Jonathan Girard, Martin Grenier, Pavel Kolarik, Jarno Kultanen, Zdenek Kutlak, Tuukko Makela, Keith McCambridge, Kyle McLaren, Peter Popovic, Brandon Smith, Don Sweeney, Denis Timofeev, Eric Van Acker, Darren Van Impe.

Left wings: P.J. Axelsson, Ken Belanger, Mikko Eloranta, Jay Henderson, Ivan Huml, Sergei Samsonov, Jeff Zehr, Matt Zultek.

Centers: Jason Allison, Shawn Bates, Chris Berti, Mattias Karlin, Eric Manlow, Sami Pahlsson, Sean Pronger, Andre Savage, Joe Thornton.

Right wings: Anson Carter, Peter Ferraro, Lee Goren, Mike Knuble, Andrei Kovalenko, Cameron Mann, Eric Nickulas, Brian Rolston, Joel Trottier, Kyle Wanvig.

Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher at ESPN.