By By Chris Mason masslive.com,Chris Mason Masslive.com

Copyright keenesentinel

As Marco Sturm looks to piece together his ideal Bruins lineup, Pavel Zacha is one of the most flexible pieces at his disposal.

The forward boasts the ability to excel at both center and left wing, and to begin the season, Strum is going to have him playing in the middle.

“He wants me to start at center and go from there, so we’ll see how the training camp goes and how we fit in with the new guys,” Zacha told reporters, including Boston.com’s Conor Ryan.

Earlier this week, Sturm says he “absolutely loves” Zacha as a center, but acknowledged the lineup could dictate him playing on the wing. Assuming Elias Lindholm centers David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie on the top line, the Bruins have a bevy of uncertainty in their middle six.

Sturm is eager to see how that competition shakes out.

“The good thing is we still have six games, so everyone will get an opportunity,” Sturm said earlier this week. “(Pastrnak is) going to miss a few days, that’s already another opportunity for some other guys, right? We didn’t sign a PTO because of that reason. So there will be opportunities and that’s what I’m excited about.

“I worked with all of the young kids the last three years, so I want them to have success and I’m going to do everything I can to put them in a good spot and I want them to push some other guys and maybe some of the older veterans too. So that’s the process, and hopefully … Usually there’s always one surprise in training camp. The last seven years I’ve been coaching at the NHL level, there’s always one surprise and hopefully we have at least one or two coming up in the next couple of weeks.”