Today, both Max Talbot and Jeremy Smith cleared waivers and were designated for assignment.

In Smith’s case, the B’s did as was suggested here previously and assigned him to the Iowa Wild, Minnesota’s Des Moines-based AHL affiliate.

There, Smith is competing with Wild prospect and former Harvard ( and Loomis-Chaffee Pelicans) goalie Steve Michalek, along with former 2006 first-round pick (Calgary) Leland Irving and University of Vermont netminder Brody Hoffman.

The assumption here is that the Wild plan to take advantage of Smith’s AHL experience, but goal crease is a little crowded.

In the meantime, the Bruins can recall Smith or option him back to Providence if they so desire- by assigning him to Iowa, they are not relinquishing his rights, but rather, moving him to a different club so as not to crowd the P-Bruins crease and keep the younger prospects in Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre closer to home.

As for Talbot, he was still with the big club, though he told reporters that he understands hockey is a business and would do what the team asks of him. For now, he’s acting like a consummate pro. The B’s have a month to reclaim him/bring him back up without exposing him on the waiver wire.

About two weeks ago, this blog predicted that Talbot was going to be a lock because of his veteran status, but he did not do enough to earn a spot at camp. This is a reminder of other NHL-experienced players who have come into camp but fallen short in exhibition play- former Capitals captain Chris Clark in 2011 comes to mind- and more recently, Ville Leino a year ago. Of course, neither player was under contract as Talbot is, and last year, Simon Gagne started the season after his successful PTO only to leave the team in a mutual parting of ways that included the passing of his father. Gagne retired officially from the NHL just days ago.

So, as things stand right now, here is your Boston Bruins club on the eve of the official start of the NHL’s 2015-16 regular season campaign, with the B’s set to take on the Winnipeg Jets at home on Thursday:

Forwards (13):

63 Brad Marchand- 37 Patrice Bergeron- 21 Loui Eriksson

39 Matt Beleskey- 46 David Krejci- 88 David Pastrnak

11 Jimmy Hayes- 51 Ryan Spooner- 14 Brett Connolly

23 Chris Kelly- 41 Joonas Kemppainen- 36 Zac Rinaldo

64 Tyler Randell

Defense (8):

47 Torey Krug- 54 Adam McQuaid

45 Joe Morrow- 86 Kevan Miller

52 Matt Irwin- 62 Zach Trotman

33 Zdeno Chara- 48 Colin Miller

Goaltenders (2):

40 Tuukka Rask

89 Jonas Gustavsson

(Is it me or do some of these numbers remind you of the Boston Celtics?)