When it comes to the Boston Bruins, there aren’t many collective boogey men out there that have caused more angst and consternation than the Montreal Canadiens.
Over the years, when the Habs have been great, Boston had no chance. When the Habs weren’t so great, Boston still found ways to lose (Steve Penney, anyone?). Even in 1979, when the Bruins had a team that nearly matched up with the threepeat-and-going-for-four Canadiens, they not only lost a grip on a game they had all but won, but did so in such devastating fashion that the sports psyche scars of that overtime defeat (and of course- the Habs went on to win a fourth straight Stanley Cup in a walk over the Rangers) still remain for those old enough to remember it.
That’s why last night’s 4-1 win over the flailing sans Carey Price Habs feels so good for Bruins fans (and I would add, more than a few Canadiens fans who have seen enough of coach Michel Therrien).
Goals by Max Talbot, Patrice Bergeron (on a nifty play by David Pastrnak before beating Mike Condon on a wraparound), David Pastrnak (another wraparound) and Brad Marchand (empty net) gave Tuukka Rask plenty of offensive support. However, it was the Finn’s 38-save brilliance last night that secured the victory, just the fifth of his career against Montreal (15 losses).
By itself, the win doesn’t mean a whole lot. Sure- it kept the B’s in a playoff position (Tampa bumped them out of third place with their win) and pushed Montreal into 10th place in the Eastern Conference. With nearly half a season remaining, no one should be planning any victory parades or playing a funeral dirge for the Canadiens just yet.
However, the victory- any victory against Montreal- has a much deeper meaning for the Bruins and their fans.
The B’s haven’t been good enough to sweep their big, bad rivals from Montreal this season, but unlike last year, they’ve managed to secure a couple of important victories against them on the road. Even if the B’s haven’t found a way to beat their nemesis at home, just winning games at this stage is a moral victory and prevents continued malaise and an inferiority complex that has long been more of a fixture on the Boston side of the rivalry than the other way around.
Leigh Montville, who penned unforgettable columns in the Boston Globe when I was growing up, actually wrote the single greatest piece I have ever seen written on the Bruins-Habs rivalry not for the Globe, but for Sports Illustrated way back in 1988.
He wrote it as an ode to the decades of ignominious failures of the B’s at the hands of the Canadiens, and it came out before the Adams Division final series that year. For those who might not remember, the Bruins had been bounced from the playoffs by the Habs from 1984-87, but dug out of an 0-1 hole to win the next four games and close out the stunned Canadiens at home in the Montreal Forum thanks to a pair of goals by Cam Neely and Steve Kasper (in what was arguably his finest hour as a Bruins player) along with some major heroics in net from Rejean “Reggie” Lemelin, who made Patrick Roy look mortal at the other end of the ice.
The Canadiens have always worn the top hats and lived in the house on the hill. Superior. Grand. Elegant. How many NHL teams have been called elegant? How many players? The elegant Canadiens. Their fans arrive at the Forum, the basilica of perspiration on St. Catherine Street, dressed in coats and ties, for a night of opera on ice, penalty announcements in two languages, s’il vous plait. The Montreal teams have been built on grace and speed, continental cuteness. The Flying Frenchmen. Drawing-room hockey, served on a white linen tablecloth. Elegant.
The Bruins have always been the poor relations. A collection of Al Capp characters, woofing and scratching and emerging from that dogpatch home on top of a train station. Elegance? Punch you in the mouth, you say that again.
The Bruins have reveled in their bowling-shirt earthiness. Hockey was a hard hat job for them long before the introduction of the helmet. They play in the smallest rink in the NHL and have tailored their team and dispositions to fit this environment as surely as the Red Sox have looked for right-handed boppers to hit baseballs over the left field wall at Fenway Park. Want to play at Boston Garden? Bring your elbows.
Montville used one of the true icons of Boston Bruins fandom- the late, great play-by-play man Fred Cusick to help underscore the tale of woe and provide an amazing perspective of a rivalry that he saw unfold in all it’s gory detail until the B’s broke through in 1988. That Cusick was able to witness (and call) Boston playoff wins in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994 before he retired in 1997 helped remove some of the sting of some memorable defeats earlier in his career. That Cusick passed away before Boston beat Montreal en route to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship is as much a tragedy that the celebration of a life so well lived can allow.
Here, Montville further expounds on the B’s-Habs history through Cusick’s lens:
“The year we should have won was 1971,” Cusick says. “We were better. Much better. Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito and all of those people. We won the first game, 3-1, then were ahead 5-1 midway through the second. I remember doing interviews between periods about possible opponents in the next round. That’s how certain it was. Then Montreal started scoring goals and won the game 7-5. And Dryden was a rookie and he made some big saves and…still we should have won.
“And then 1979. Too many men on the ice. That was the other one. That was the one no one will ever forget.”
Six men on the ice. Sixty men on the ice. How many men on the ice? The story has become legend, the number swollen, in less than a decade, the highlight (lowlight) of the entire streak, stowed in the same, sad Boston footlocker as the ground ball that rolled through Bill Buckner’s legs and the home run that the Yankees’ Bucky Dent hit into the screen on a fall afternoon. Who was the extra man on the ice? Terry O’Reilly? Mike Milbury? Stan Jonathan? Don Marcotte? All of the above? Any of the above? Sometimes, in the retelling, it seems as if there were a brass band on the ice, every member wearing a Bruins uniform. Six men. 60 men. 1,000 men, doing close-order drill as coach Don Cherry barked commands from a step-ladder. Who loses a game, a series, because too many men are on the ice?
There were 74 seconds left. The Bruins were ahead 4-3, seventh game, in Montreal, a minute and 14 seconds from ending the streak. Six men on the ice? The penalty was called: the Bruins had a crowd on the ice far too long for any official to miss. Then there was Guy Lafleur firing the tying the goal on the power play. Here was Yvon Lambert in overtime, taking the pass from Mario Tremblay, drilling the puck past Bruin goalie Gilles Gilbert.
“I want to cry for every one of these guys,” goalie Gerry Cheevers, a backup that night, said in the Boston dressing room. “Each guy I see makes me want to start crying all over. I just feel so sorry for all of them. They just tried so hard. I’ve never seen a team try so hard.”
“What bothers me is that my 12-year-old son was watching the game,” captain Wayne Cashman said. “I have been telling him forever that hard work always pays off. Always. What do I tell him now?”
You get the message.
The Boston-Montreal rivalry means something. It always means something.
Whether they’re playing a “meaningless” exhibition game in September, a regular season contest in November, a much-hyped Winter Classic match on New Year’s Day or the two teams are embroiled in a white-knuckle, winner-take-all seventh game of a playoff series. Things broke Boston’s way in 2011, but in 2014, not so much.
This is what makes the history between the two clubs, enriched by the genuine dislike that each generation of the B’s-Habs rosters have one another, so special.
24 Stanley Cup wins to 6. That’s how the ultimate scorecard reads.7 of those 24 Cups the Canadiens won came at the expense of the Bruins in the final series. The B’s have never beaten the Habs in a Stanley Cup final, and unless the NHL’s structure changes, they never will. However, Boston fans can smugly talk about 1993- that’s the last time the Canadiens hefted hockey’s silver chalice, and the 22-year drought is the longest in club history. Until 2011, Boston could only look forlornly to 1972- a championship won without beating the Canadiens. The B’s lost to Philly in ’74 then in back-to-back years in ’77-’78. They then ran into the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, getting swept in 1988 and trounced in five games in 1990 after winning the President’s Trophy.
What do Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Johnny Bucyk, Milt Schmidt, Brad Park, Terry O’Reilly and Gerry Cheevers all have in common? As players on the Boston Bruins, they never beat Montreal in a single playoff series. Not once. If you know anything about the history of the Boston Bruins, then you know each one of those players is firmly enshrined in the franchise’s pantheon of heroes and yet- individually and collectively- none were ever able to shake hands with the Canadiens at center ice as the victor.
When you get down to it, no team has been responsible for more collective heartache by those who love the Boston Bruins than the bleu, blanc et rouge. Much like Yankees-Red Sox, the ledger is tilted heavily in favor of the other guys, so Boston fans have to savor the wins however they get them.
In retrospect- last night’s win was barely a blip on the radar for most hockey fans. Even for some of the younger Bruins fans who grew up in the better times, when Boston was winning more playoff series against Montreal than they lost, last night’s win wasn’t too much of a big deal. But for those of us who can remember, those of us who greeted the bridge between spring and summer as the ending of the Bruins’ season at the hands of the Canadiens, Boston’s 24th win of the 2015-16 campaign meant something. It always does.
Montville started that favorite column, once a symbolic cross of what it meant to be a fan of the Boston Bruins, with the following passage:
The uniforms have not changed. The people have not changed. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes. There are 1,000 guys named Pierre and 1,000 more named Guy and Jean and Boom Boom and Rocket and Pocket Rocket and all the rest. No change.
Things have changed since 1988. The B’s have won 7 of 12 playoff series against Montreal. There are no Pierres or Guys or Jeans on the 2015-16 version of the Canadiens, but Max and Pernell Karl-“P.K.” and Carey and Brendan and the rest of the rogues who carry on the legacy of the Flying Frenchmen still give the Bruins more than they can handle.
Enjoy the win for now and then turn the page.
At least until the next time these two teams meet.
It is sure to matter.
EDIT–
Here is one of my personal favorite Bruins-Montreal moments: Boston Garden November 1989. Was a senior in HS and saw this game with my dad- what a finish! So much going on here: Bruins down 2-0 in final 2:25 of the game, three goals by Boston in 57 seconds by Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Glen Wesley. The late Pat Burns behind the Habs bench (Mike Milbury for the B’s) The aforementioned Fred Cusick and Derek Sanderson with the call:
Ryan Spooner during his Providence Bruins days(Photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)
A child throws a rock into a still pond. The rock sinks to the murky bottom, but the impact creates a reaction well beyond what is seen on the surface.
This ripple effect can be applied to the young career of Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner, who has finally arrived on the NHL stage as a regular contributor to his team’s fortunes.
It was not a given, however, that he would reach this point. If history is any indication, there have been legions of talented, skilled players who for one reason or another, could never make that extra step to establish themselves at hockey’s highest level. And, at this point just a year ago, it was looking more and more like Spooner was going to be another name to add to Boston’s growing list of capable, but ultimately unsuccessful draft picks.
This is the story of how Spooner and a small bit of help from fate and circumstance altered that trajectory.
The hockey prodigy from Kanata
Spooner grew up near Ottawa in Kanata, most famous as the home of the Ottawa Senators’ home rink, the Canadian Tire Centre. From an early age, he took to hockey as most Canadian sons do, and excelled as a naturally gifted skater and offensive player. He still laughs about the time he and Sue Spooner skated together in a mother-son game early in his minor career and she scored a goal, adding one tally to an impressive haul from the Spooner duo that day.
As he grew older, the little prodigy who wore No. 76 was so fast, so dangerous, so sublimely skilled that there wasn’t a whole lot opposing teams and coaches could do other than to accept that he was going to find a way to break through- the key was in minimizing the damage Spooner would do to them. As the years passed, his peers grew a little taller and stronger, but Spooner did what his coaches asked of him- he went out and scored goals. Lots of them.
It was around this time that Spooner met the man who would have the most profound effect on his own pursuit to one day play in the NHL.
Enter Pat Malloy
Pat Malloy is an Ottawa native and was a promising player and natural skater growing up. While pursuing his dream of playing hockey in the NCAA and possibly beyond that chance was cut short by chronic injury, which affected his skating. In 2000, Malloy decided that his love of hockey and connection to the game could flourish as a mentor and in the growing area of player development. Over the years, Malloy has not only worked with NHL players like Spooner, but several others including current Kings star Tyler Toffoli and even B’s veteran Chris Kelly. Malloy’s success led to greater recognition and he was ultimately hired by former Senators assistant GM Tim Murray to join the Buffalo Sabres organization as a skating and skills coach when Murray took the helm in Western New York before the 2014-15 season.
However, long before Malloy parlayed his local success into an NHL job, he got to know Spooner first as an opponent, and then as a client and student of the game.
“I coached against him at first, but even in that situation I could see what a special player he was at that age,” Malloy said from his office as the director of hockey for the PEAK Academy in Ottawa. “Our relationship sort of built organically, if you will. I don’t know if it was a mutual respect with the way he played and the way I coached but as big as Ottawa is, it’s actually a pretty small community and there are no secrets in hockey. We just sort of gravitated to one another and here we are years and years later.
“What started out as a skill and skating coach kind of thing has sort of turned into a mentorship situation where there aren’t many days that go by where we aren’t communicating about how things are going, last night’s game and the upcoming game and sort of planning and putting in place things from a personal perspective that we know will help him have success.”
Spooner recalled seeing Malloy with his PEAK Academy charges in the same rink he trained in and was at first intrigued by what he saw.
“I just remember the Patty works at PEAK and he does 1-on-1 sessions and I remember going to the gym and I would see him out on the ice,” Spooner told the Scouting Post during a recent off day. “He’d be working with some kids that were younger and some kids that were older and it just looked like it was fun stuff- scoring drills, stickhandling drills, footwork and all that kind of stuff. I think I just said to my dad that was something I wanted to do and I went out and tried it, loved it and I’ve been doing it since then.”
From OHL star to NHL prospect
Spooner ended up being the fifth overall pick at age 16 in the 2008 OHL Priority Selection draft of the storied Peterborough Petes. Already working with Malloy by then, he went on to become the youngest player in Peterborough team history to score 30 goals in the 2008-09 season, and was primed for an even bigger breakout in his draft season.
Unfortunately for Spooner, right after the 2010 CHL Top Prospects Game (he scored a memorable goal off a 2-on-1 rush when he ripped home a Taylor Hall cross-ice pass), he fractured his clavicle, causing him to miss just about all of the rest of the 2009-10 OHL campaign. Although he caught the tail-end of the season and playoffs, he wasn’t the same kind of dynamic presence he had been, and that might have been a reason for his fall from projected late first-rounder in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, to the 45th overall pick the Bruins tabbed him with in the middle of the second.
Almost immediately, Spooner became a fan favorite when he teamed up with second overall selection Tyler Seguin and 32nd pick Jared Knight at the trio’s first development camp, which brought the Bruins faithful out to the Ristuccia Arena in droves mainly to see Seguin. However, by week’s end, Spooner had caught the fans’ eyes with his impressive combination of speed and offensive savvy.
He parlayed that into an extended look at his first NHL training camp before he was returned to junior not too long before the 2010-11 NHL season opened. Spooner returned to a different situation with the Petes than one he had been accustomed in being around the big club, and with Peterborough struggling out of the gate under new coach Mike Pelino, things didn’t click and Spooner asked out. In what was a messy divorce, Spooner was sent to the Kingston Frontenacs, but Pelino blasted him on the way out for not being a good team guy.
Spooner, for his part, has always chosen not to directly address the personal critiques from his former coach (Pelino was let go from his duties in Peterborough during the 2012-13 season) but would only say that he was grateful to the Petes organization for giving him an opportunity, and that moving on was the best thing for him at the time.
“When that happened, I was a kid- I was 18- I just knew that I wasn’t happy where I was,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, but I just knew that it wasn’t working for me and I asked for a trade. I learned a lot about the business of hockey going through that and I think it prepared me later for some of the stuff I’ve experienced in Boston.”
Still, fans were eager to see him make the Bruins, so when he was returned to junior pretty early in his second NHL training camp in 2011, several months after the B’s won the Stanley Cup, there was some disappointment in multiple circles.
“It was an always an understanding that the skill level was there, the creativity was there,” said Malloy. “Growing up he was able to do things in minor hockey and through junior that came very easy to him, came very instinctively than the finer points of the game. I think the areas that the Bruins and my exposure to them, and I would always report back to them in the summers on the things we were working on and was fully aware of what they were looking for and the mindset in terms of making sure he was growing and buying into the idea of doing the things he needed to do to be an everyday guy.”
Paying his dues in the AHL
Even with the world of skill, Spooner entered his first full AHL season in 2012-13 with a laundry list of things to work on in his game. Starting in Providence was eased by the fact that there was an NHL lockout going on, so he had no opportunity to impress the Boston brass in training camp, but instead reported to the minors to put into practice what he had worked on with Malloy that summer.
Defenseman Colby Cohen, who scored the 2009 NCAA championship-winning overtime goal for the Boston University Terriers and was a Boston farmhand with Spooner, fondly recalls how impressed he was with the rookie center’s ability when he first arrived in Providence (he made a couple of late-season appearances in 2011 and 2012 after his junior years ended).
“He has one of the highest hockey IQs of any player I’ve ever been on the ice with,” Cohen said via text. “He has 360-degree vision, which not many players have. His hockey IQ and vision has got to be on the 1 percent highest scale I’ve seen. I played some power play with him in the minors and you never had to call for the puck on the back door play. He saw you (and got it to you).”
Spooner’s maturation process began with Providence head coach Bruce Cassidy, who told me back during an interview in Spooner’s first season that the rookie was at his absolute best when he was attacking defenses with his speed.
“He’s not a player who gets a great deal done when he’s out on the perimeter dancing around,” Cassidy said after a Providence victory in which Spooner netted a pair of goals. “You could see it tonight with him, as he was attacking into the middle of the ice and being aggressive at going to the net. That’s how Ryan has to play if he’s going to be successful not only at this level but in the NHL.”
Spooner got a taste of the big league with a brief recall to Boston in early 2013, and then got another, more extended opportunity the following season, when Chris Kelly went down in December with an injury that forced him out of the Bruins lineup for several weeks. Spooner showed flashes of his potential, including a three-assist performance against Nashville, but he was unable to find the back of the net in 23 games (11 assists) with the big club.
Although he was ultimately sent back to Providence, the longer Spooner was around head coach Claude Julien and the other coaches and players, the more he saw what was expected of him in Boston’s system and organizational climate.
“What you see a lot now is that players that have the ability to do things at a higher rate, and sometimes it takes more time and convincing that those dirtier areas, those smaller areas…that attention to detail defensively- understanding that you earn the right to advance and you need to do the job defensively in order to let your talent level come through,” Malloy said. “That’s not the sexy part of the game, and it’s harder for a player that has high-end ability to get their head around sometimes because at various levels they didn’t have to or it was something they weren’t asked to do, so what I saw with him was the maturity of understanding sometimes I’ve got to do things that I might not think are the best for me but are best for the group.”
Spooner played enough on a President’s Trophy-winning roster to show he had enough talent to belong in the NHL, and that December- January run in Boston set Spooner up for even bigger expectations entering the 2014-15 season.
Nearing the end of the line with B’s?
The good news for Spooner when the new season started against Philadelphia was that for the first time in his career he was on the opening night roster. The bad news was, that after an up-and-down training camp, Spooner was playing such a reduced role (and on the wing where he did not look comfortable) that it was difficult for him to leverage his game’s strengths. After five games in a bit role and barely an impact, he was sent back down to Providence where the team moved him back to center to try and get him going again.
At the same time, rookie David Pastrnak was in the process of producing at a point-per-game rate and would soon grab much of the attention in Providence before he ultimately won a permanent job with Boston by mid-January.
Meanwhile, Spooner got injured in late December and went back on the shelf for a period of weeks while he worked on trying to get back on the ice. The injury may have happened at a critical time, and is the first element of circumstance that may have intervened to save Boston management from making a big mistake.
There were rumors that the B’s and then-GM Peter Chiarelli were entertaining moving Spooner to a team out in the Western Conference in an exchange of underachieving second-round picks. That team had sent several of its scouts into Providence on several occasions, and just as things where heating up, Spooner was knocked out of action, putting any alleged trade talks on hold.
He returned to the Providence lineup in late January and his production immediately improved, as Spooner began playing his best hockey of the season. Not long after that, fate intervened again, this time in the form of an injury to a key member of the Boston roster.
When opportunity knocks…
When David Krejci injured his MCL in late February 2015, the B’s were in a dire situation.
Just one year after cruising to the league’s best regular season record, the team was fighting for its playoff lives, and the loss of Krejci stood to have an enormous impact on the postseason chances.
Spooner was called up for a Sunday game against Chicago and promptly made an impact with an assist in a much-needed Boston win on February 22nd. Five nights later, on February 27, Spooner tallied his 1st NHL goal, an overtime strike that propelled Boston to a much-needed 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. (Highlight vids courtesy of “Dafoomie”)
Although the Bruins ultimately failed in their bid to make the 2015 postseason, Spooner was one of the bright spots in a dismal spring, posting eight goals and 18 points in 24 NHL games after the late February recall. The B’s saw a more confident and rounded Spooner in his second NHL stint last season, and he clicked centering a line with Milan Lucic and Pastrnak.
Through it all, Malloy and several other people have been instrumental in helping to keep Spooner grounded and focused on the ultimate goal of establishing himself as a Bruin, even with the setbacks and hits to his confidence at various times.
“The thing I like about him is that it’s not like I go out and work on my skills and then I don’t talk to him again until I’m home again,” Spooner said. “I talk to him pretty much after all my games and he tells me things I need to improve on and things I did well. The thing I like about Pat, too, is that he’s very approachable and easy to talk to. He’s a mentor as someone I talk to after the games and I talk to my dad, I talk to my best friend and I also talk to my agent.
“Last year was especially tough for me at different times- I had heard some trade stuff and I wasn’t playing my best and I remember Patty saying to me ‘You need to go out and have fun, you need to remember why you’re playing hockey. Just go out there and use your skills and speed.’ He’s always been the one who’s reminded me that I’m at my best and using my speed and skills.”
As the disappointment of not making the playoffs wore off last April, Spooner went back home Ottawa to prepare for a new season and for the first time, a true opportunity to contribute to Boston’s fortunes as a roster regular right out of the gate.
After a short break, he went right to work with Malloy, who had always had a willing and driven student, but one who now had considerable focus on one area in particular that he wanted to address before the new season began.
“Last summer (Ryan) came back and said ‘I need to have more of a shooter’s mentality,’ and that’s absolutely accurate and that of course comes from the top,” Malloy said. “The Bruins had said that with his skill level, they’d like to see him shoot pucks more and become more of a threat from that perspective. So, a portion of that time spent last year and the year before was spent saying let’s develop a mid-range shot, let’s develop a one-timer, which you’re starting to see him use more now, with all that time he sees on the power play, and the confidence to do that under pressure and the confidence to do those things with a mindset that he’s going to dictate the outcome.”
Spooner said that in order to improve the mechanics of his shot, Malloy used his iPad to take a tremendous amount of video and then the two broke down his shot in the close level of detail needed to identify ways to improve his release, shot power and accuracy.
With the best stretch of NHL hockey in the rearview, Spooner and Malloy both new that now was the time to put all of the hard work from years past into practice and keep the positive momentum going forward.
10-to-2: the making of an NHL center
Armed with a new two-year, 1-way contract extension, Spooner returned to Boston as the best bet to start the year as the team’s No. 3 center behind Patrice Bergeron and Krejci.
After a preseason that began with great promise, the team began to show signs of what was likely to be a year of peaks and valleys in 2015-16, but nobody was quite prepared for how brutal the Bruins would begin the year in a three-game homestand, going 0-3.
Spooner, like many of his teammates, took a little longer to get going. He excelled on the power play from the get-go, but his even strength play drew criticism early. Some of it had to do with a revolving door of linemates, but things seemed to hit a low point when he was benched during a December loss to Calgary. The B’s battled back from a deficit to send the game to overtime, but came up short.
After that Spooner seemed to bear down and play with more urgency in his game, but the real test came on December 27, when Krejci was lost again from the Boston lineup for an extended period of time against Ottawa.
That meant a promotion to the second line again for the first time since a year ago in February when Krejci was lost for most of the rest of the regular season and Spooner proved for really the first time in his young NHL career that he belonged in Boston.
From there, Spooner’s production took off, as he was able to more than hold up the offensive end of things while also demonstrating effectiveness in his 200-foot game, something that had long been something critics pointed to as a source of friction with Julien.
“I thought he played really well tonight,” Julien told the Boston Globe and assembled media after Boston’s 2-1 overtime loss to Ottawa more than a week ago. “I thought he skated well. I don’t know how many times I saw him make a real great backcheck. Both sides of the puck, he was good. He made good plays, good decisions. A lot of good things happening with Ryan tonight. I thought it was one of his better games.”
In a recent win over the New Jersey Devils, Spooner was skating with confidence and effectiveness, employing one of his favorite skating moves, the 10-to-2, on a goal he scored against Cory Schneider.
“He was always a kid that had an ability to be mobile,” said Malloy referencing the genesis of the work the two have done to make the 10-to-2 an effective element of Spooner’s skating threat. “I think what we did together was we figured out ways and continue to figure out ways to buy time and space. It’s one of those ways that number one- it makes you a dynamic moving target; it makes it harder for defenders to track you because you can change angles.”
For Spooner’s part, he recognizes its effectiveness but also believes in not using too much that he becomes predictable with it.
“In terms of it being effective for me, when you get the puck in the corner and you’re attacking out, it seems to work well,” he said. “ On the power play when I come through the middle of the ice, I can use it, so that you’re kind of looking back at the defenseman to get the pass or if you’re coming down the left side of the ice and you have some time you can see the entire rink.
“On the goal I scored (against the Devils), I got it and I always do it when I go across at the top (of the offensive zone) because I find that it gives you a better angle, the puck’s in front of me more so it’s tougher for a guy to block the shot and then it’s just been something I’ve done since I’ve been 17 or 18 and it was something I did working with Patty on drills- going around cones, and stuff like that.”
In effect, the 10-to-2, in a way, symbolizes Spooner as a scorer. It is something that not just anyone can go out and employ because it requires speed and a mastery of edges and balance to make work, but according to Malloy, it’s something the two have worked at perfecting because of what it does to enhance Spooner’s offensive lethality.
“A lot of what we have done in summers past in terms of developing his shot came from having the ability- when you can use your feet to create square hips to the net and balanced power so that you can release pucks at maybe a better pace than he had been previously doing,” said Malloy. “When moves like that get you around the corner, get you square- it allows you to be in spots where spots are better to be created from rather than shooting off balance and shooting on angles.”
The next step
Krejci is now considered day-to-day and Spooner will likely return to his third line pivot spot in the Boston lineup. However, the last near month multitude of games as a top-2 center has given him the confidence to keep finding ways to contribute to the B’s fortunes.
“Going forward, once Krech gets back I’m going to get sent back down to the third line and I just need to focus on the same things I’ve been doing,” he said. “I need to use my speed and my skill and try to make the players around me better and whoever they’re going to put me with, I just need to get them the puck, play responsibly and it definitely helps out for the confidence that I was able to go up there and score a bit. I thought my defensive game was going along better, but I still need to work on it and work on my faceoffs. I’ve played some games where I’ve been 60 percent in the dot and then (against Toronto) I was like 2 and 12, so it’s been up and down, so I need to find more consistency for sure. But for the most part I’ve been happy with my game, but there are things to work on.”
Spooner’s old teammate Cohen, now an NCAA television color analyst for ASN, feels like the best is yet to come for him.
“He’s done what he’s needed to in terms of improving his defensive game and being lower risk, lower reward in his approach,” Cohen said alluding to Spooner’s success at sticking in the NHL. “He skates so well, so being good defensively is relatively easy for him in that he has an amazing stick and doesn’t need to be physical to be effective on defense.
“Give him a longer leash- if a coach gives him that, he is a top-six and really even more like a top-three forward I believe.”
Spooner has told Malloy what he wants their focus areas to be when the season ends, hopefully after an opportunity to gain experience in the NHL postseason.
“He’s aware of the areas he needs to improve and he’s bought into that,” Malloy said. “We’re already talking about next summer in terms of improving things like his faceoff play; improving areas where he’s harder on pucks and that tells me that we’ve taken that next step in terms of his evolution and his maturity and that he’s starting to feel confidence from a points production standpoint where he feels like he can make plays, but he’s also talking about the things that are a little less sexy to deal with.”
And as far as Malloy is concerned, how much work can he still do with Spooner as the soon-to-be 24-year-old continues to mature as a pro?
“There’s no such thing as fast enough, there’s no such thing as good enough in the game of hockey. You can always develop and work and so I think the things we do with Ryan is because he’s a high-end skater and he’s got high-end puck skills, we’ll look at taking those skill sets and applying them to areas of the game where he has the ability to dictate the outcomes of plays, where he’s forcing people into situations where they need to react to him or defend against him from things he’s done by applying that high-end ability to skate and navigate the ice with the puck.”
And that ripple effect we talked about earlier?
Think about how different this conversation would be if Spooner were doing all of this in another team’s uniform. Good thing for the Bruins that’s not the case.
The losses were piling up on the road trip, but the Boston Bruins stopped the bleeding with big wins in Buffalo and at home Saturday night against Toronto to salvage a tough stretch and keep teams behind them in the standings at bay.
Saturday’s 3-2 victory was especially heartening, as the B’s saw a Brad Marchand go-ahead goal with under 13 minutes remaining in the final frame get wiped out on a coach’s challenge that ruled the play offside. After contending with some pretty one-sided officiating all night that play seemed to convince the skeptics that it wasn’t Boston’s night, but the Hockey Gods smiled down on the TD Garden, and a Martin Marincin gaffe allowed for Marchand to pot the winner with under a minute remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 deadlock.
The referees- Dave Jackson and Justin St. Pierre– made me feel at times like Professor Terguson from the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School. The role put comedian Sam Kinison firmly on the map with his “Oh, Ohhhhhh!” battle screech from the mid-80’s until his death in a car accident in 1992. The officials last night brought out the absolute worst that is the two referee system in hockey- two guys who just seemed to make inconsistent, subjective calls at whim while players like Nazem Kadri disgraced the game by flopping to the ice anytime a Bruin touched him without being held accountable. I guess I should not be surprised given Jackson’s reputation, but if this is the kind of effort the fans can expect- then why bother, NHL? Just put the teams out there and let them decide everything themselves- you wouldn’t get much more bang for your buck than what those two did last night. And with that, I cede the floor to Professor Terguson/Sammy K.
The win put Boston back into third place in the Atlantic Division, just one point ahead of Tampa Bay (51-50…hey- that’s an old Van Halen album!), who will play the division leader and Sunshine State rival Florida Panthers this evening. The B’s also stayed ahead of the hated Montreal Canadiens, who hurled 49 shots at Brian Elliott but lost in overtime in a game in which the Blues brought back goaltending legends- Mike Liut, Curtis Joseph, Grant Fuhr and Martin Brodeur for a pre-game recognition ceremony. Interestingly enough, Elliott’s 46 saves were the most at home by a Blues goaltender since…you guessed it…Joseph. And to top it off, Elliott was wearing a special tribute mask to Joseph with the same paint job that the former NHL great wore in St. Louis from 1990-93, before he adopted the ubiquitous CuJo rabid dog visage that decorated his headgear for the remainder of his career. But I digress…
This Bruins team is a game bunch of players who put in a good effort on most nights even if their hard work isn’t always rewarded with a win. For the past several weeks, they’ve been without center David Krejci, but Ryan Spooner rose to the occasion by playing like the 2nd-line pivot that many of us felt he had the potential to be. With Krejci close to returning, that’s good news for the B’s but the issue with this club is not the scoring as much as it is a lack of a viable championship-caliber defense. Unless Don Sweeney and his scouts can figure out a way to bring someone in, then fans can expect that this is about as good as it will get.
Tuukka Rask has shown that he has more than enough talent and experience to carry the team at times, and Jonas Gustavsson has been the serviceable backup that the team hoped Niklas Svedberg would be a year ago. However, without a balanced defense, the Bruins are a middle-of-the-pack team, and even the most optimistic of observers aren’t blocking off their calendars in May and June for an extended playoff run.
The B’s are doing about as well as they can, even playing above their heads for stretches of the season. However, the elephant in the room is the current makeup of Boston’s defense. The team knew this would be a sticking point when Sweeney traded Dougie Hamilton last June, and the 22-year-old has certainly not taken that next step that seemed a given just seven months ago, but make no mistake: the loss of Hamilton opened up a void that the GM was simply unable to fill and we’re seeing that with a 23-16-5 record and 4-5-1 in the last 10. The B’s are losing games that during the Claude Julien era they wouldn’t have in previous years, by losing leads because they depend too much on their goaltending and forwards to cover up for a group of players that works hard, but lacks the talent and ability to match up effectively against some of the NHL’s better offenses.
Zdeno Chara is the easy target for fans, frustrated by the fact that father time is catching up to him at age 39 (in a couple of months) and hoping against hope that Sweeney could make a trade for new blood using him as capital.
Here are just a few reasons why that isn’t going to happen: 1. He has a no-trade contract and a wife expecting twins in 60 days. Even if he wanted to play for a contender, it is highly doubtful Chara would even consider putting Tatiana Chara through the turmoil such a move would put his family through. That reason alone precludes serious consideration of any others, but here they are: 2. His best years are clearly behind him, and if you are a Boston fan, do you really think that another team would give the B’s the kind of value that improves the team today? If your answer to that question is yes, then I would submit your position is pretty unserious and you might want to learn a bit more about how the NHL works. I don’t say that to be arrogant, it’s just a fact. 3. There is simply no other defenseman remotely close to assuming the role Chara has on this club. It’s easy to declare he should be traded while Boston can get something for him, but with the NTC and a diminishing body of work, the return isn’t going to justify the net effect of such a move, which would be to elevate Torey Krug or Dennis Seidenberg to the top spot, a role neither player is suited for or capable of at this stage in their respective careers. Even when not producing the results that fans seem to have taken for granted in the decade Chara patrolled the Boston blue line, he’s still an integral part of the roster and Julien’s system, whether we like it or not.
Besides, assuming Chara asked out and wanted to be dealt (which he doesn’t at present) there is no shortage of teams that would want to add him, but those clubs aren’t going to give up a premium young roster player in return- that defeats the purpose of adding Chara to a contending team’s lineup in the first place. The best the Bruins could hope for is a young prospect along the lines of a Colin Miller, but more realistically, the trade partner team would give up a 1st-round pick for him, and that’s about it. If you want an improved Boston team in the present and immediate future (next year) that scenario doesn’t help. You can probably make a good trade on NHL ’16 involving Chara, but this is real life so just stop with the video game mentality, please.
But getting away from trading Chara for a second- the future Hall of Famer is worth far more to the Bruins than he is most anyone else. It would be one thing if the B’s had a legitimate young colt waiting in the wings and approaching the time to take over as the No. 1 defender on the Boston roster. Right now, Sweeney and Co. don’t have that player. They don’t even have a clear-cut No. 2, leaving Krug to take on more of that role, but with very little help around him, as the rest of the defense corps in Boston right now is at best a group of 5/6, bottom-pairing guys. That situation places enormous pressure on Chara and results in his minutes being much higher than they should be at this stage of his career.
So, to close out the thoughts on Chara- he’s clearly not the player he once was, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy answer to just trade him and be done with it. He can still be effective in the right situations because of his size, reach and experience, but his lack of foot speed and declining skill set means that the team that employs him as a top defender cannot rely on him to perform like the dominant No. 1 he was in his prime. That’s sad, but the team and fans, at least in the short term, must come to terms with that fact and look for options that include Chara for now, because with that NTC and a lack of a viable marketplace at present, he isn’t going anywhere.
Krug has earned his way this year as a very good No. 3/4 at the NHL level. He does all the things you want from a puck-moving defenseman, making a brilliant neutral zone pass to spring Patrice Bergeron for the first of his two goals. Krug also put on an impressive display of skill during the second period when he stickhandled through the Toronto defense and deked Jonathan Bernier out of the Leafs net before losing the handle at the last second. However, he saved his best for last when Rask got caught out of his net and lost the puck to Tyler Bozak, who flipped it back to P.A. Parenteau. Krug’s instant recognition of the unfolding play allowed him to go right to the crease and cover for Rask. He dropped into the butterfly and absorbed Parenteau’s shot (that would have broken a 2-2 tie late in regulation and likely crushed Boston’s spirit).
When we talk about how Krug can’t physically outmatch the bigger, stronger forwards but that he needs to play smart defense, there is your exhibit A. He could have chased the puck and tried to make a play on it himself, but he had the hockey IQ and situational awareness to cover the cage with Rask out and made a game-saving stop while doing a pretty passable impression of the former Vezina Trophy winner in the process. Krug is Boston’s best defenseman after Chara- if he was about 4 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, he’d be that ideal heir apparent that Boston so desperately needs. As it stands, Krug’s tremendous character, competitive drive and ability mean that he is worth getting locked up after this season and if it were up to me, I commit the expected $5 million he’ll command on the market to do so- he’s worth it, and the team can’t afford to bank on unknowns like Matt Grzelcyk, Rob O’Gara or even Brandon Carlo right now by allowing Krug to follow Hamilton out the door.
Against Toronto, we saw flashes of what Joe Morrow could be, but we also witnessed the likely effect of not playing every night, as he mishandled pucks and turned them over in several instances when a better decision to move the puck out of danger would have been smarter. The more I watch Morrow, the more evident it is to me why Pittsburgh and Dallas both decided to trade him. He’s a complementary player- not someone who is likely to develop into a top-3 NHL option. Morrow’s impressive skills are clearly evident when you watch the way he can carry the puck and will jump into the rush, but he looks like more of a specialist than a heavy lifter, and that’s a shame.
C. Miller has the best potential of all the youngsters at the pro level currently, but he’s not a player who can play unsheltered minutes and expect to instill confidence especially late in close games. There’s a valid argument to be made that Chiller should be in the lineup over Kevan Miller and Zach Trotman, especially with Adam McQuaid out, but he gives away toughness and size, even if the difference is so trivial that it seems inconceivable that the Boston coaches would not use him more. Trotman is big and mobile…he can make the crisp first pass and it showed last night with a helper on Bergeron’s second goal. He doesn’t have a big NHL upside, but he’s a serviceable player. With more physicality in his game, he might get more recognition than he does.
Dennis Seidenberg is a warrior, and I’ll always respect him for what he did for the Bruins when they traded for him in 2010 and a year later, he was one of the stalwarts that helped bring Lord Stanley back to Boston. However, he’s playing far too many minutes for what he can bring to his team on a consistent basis. He was solid against Buffalo and Toronto, but those are two clubs behind Boston in the standings- when up against the higher-end teams like Washington and St. Louis, DS44 struggles with containment and coughing up the puck under pressure from the ferocious fore check those clubs can employ. If he was contributing on the bottom pair, that would be one thing, but like Chara, too much is asked of him.
Ditto Kevan Miller- as good and hard-nosed a guy that you will find, but who is simply being asked to do too much and play too many minutes. It’s too lazy to just point to him and say he’s unworthy as an NHL defenseman- that’s simply not true. However- the issue is with the role the B’s have him in. Like Hal Gill in the early 2000s when Ray Bourque was gone and Chara was several years away from signing as a free agent, Miller is in over his head. It’s a shame, because as a bottom pairing D- he’d be a fan favorite. He was when he first showed up in the 2013-14 season with a younger, better cast around him and went out and rocked opponents nightly. He didn’t just forget how to play- but you can’t expect a role player to evolve into a top-2 or 3 option if he isn’t suited for it. And so, that’s what we get with No. 86- a nightly adventure wherein we wonder what exactly we will get when he’s out there. That’s no way to set conditions for success, but given the team’s current state of affairs, it’s what we’re left with.
So- to wrap up. This defense is a gritty, gutsy group that does the best it can with the talent it possesses. Adam McQuaid is the embodiment of this defense both as a tough, rugged, character guy who gives you every ounce of what he has, but also as a limited talent who pays the price for his physical style and is asked to do more than he is capable of. It isn’t a lack of want to for the Bruins defense, but in pro sports, heart and will can only take you so far- if the other guys are more talented and have more of them, then your ability to separate from the pack is greatly hampered.
This B’s defense deserves credit for trying, but the NHL is a cold, results-oriented business. If teams won because of effort or grittiness, then the Buffalo Sabres would have won a Stanley Cup by now.
The Bruins have some potential help coming in the form of youngsters like Grzelcyk, Carlo, O’Gara…Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon look like they could infuse the roster one day with the blend of skill and ruggedness needed, but none of those players are ready. So Sweeney’s challenge is to try and find a player who can not only help now, but be the bridge to a better future than just staying in the middle of the pack and therefore not getting as good a chance at drafting and rebuilding that the league’s doormats get.
In a familiar refrain, the Boston Bruins dropped a close game late in regulation to the New York Rangers when a Jesper Fast deflection beat Tuukka Rask with less than two minutes left to break a 1-1 deadlock.
Despite the lack of offense, it was an uptempo game with both teams trading some good chances, perhaps none better than Max Talbot’s doorstep shot that Henrik Lundqvist somehow got his skate on while pushing left-to-right and essentially falling prone to the ice while his legs kicked up into the air in a fashion similar to a scorpion’s tail.
All in all, the B’s had just one goal by Jimmy Hayes (his 10th and set up by Ryan Spooner) on a heavy shot from high out in the slot to show for it. As was the case last year when Boston’s offense was among the league’s worst, that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the goaltender to play a near-perfect game between the pipes.
The loss represented a missed opportunity- the Bruins carried the play in the second period but had only the one goal to show for it. As the cynics suspected, it was the Rangers who managed to capitalize when Claude Julien shortened the bench later in the third period, moving Landon Ferraro into David Pastrnak’s spot only to see defenseman Keith Yandle’s point shot sneak through when Fast got a piece of it and the puck changed direction.
We’re past the moral victories stage at this point of the season- every point counts and this is a game the Bruins should have had. To look for silver linings out of this one doesn’t get them any closer to the playoffs.
And, now- some thoughts and observations.
Designated scapegoat Kevan Miller had a rough night, on ice for both goals against and standing around when the winning goal was scored instead of clearing the much smaller Fast out of the crease. Miller has born the brunt of much fan angst and it is understandable- the undrafted free agent and former University of Vermont and Berkshire School captain has made some glaring mistakes throughout the season that get magnified because the puck has ended up in the net. However, much of the reason Miller is struggling is because he’s been put in a position to fail. The rugged, hard-nosed defensive defenseman is a serviceable 5/6 D when used correctly. Unfortunately, a lack of personnel and injuries have meant that the B’s have been using Miller as a 2/3 D for most of the year and he is simply not suited for that role- he’s in way, way over his head. This is not to absolve him of his errors- he’s had problems with his decisions and in basic execution, with gaffes that have cost the B’s in several instances, most notably in Boston’s 6-3 home collapse to Buffalo a few weeks ago. However, for anyone to think that Miller is not an NHL defenseman is a bit harsh: if he was on the bottom pairing and played somewhere around 17 minutes per night as opposed to the 20+ he’s been pressed into, there’s a good chance he’d be pretty respected because he plays the game hard, tough and works hard. Alas, for Miller, he’s limited and not capable of carrying the load, making him a magnet for fan frustrations. It happens to someone every year.
I wonder if Tuukka Rask has been checking the internet (10 years ago I would have said the Yellow Pages) for the numbers of good lawyers in Boston. He could sue the team for non-support after last night. He wasn’t able to do much on either the Fast winner or Derick Brassard’s rebound goal to tie it early in the third frame. But, Rask did what every good goalie must- gave his club a chance to win it.
Would like to see Julien give Pastrnak more of an opportunity to be a difference-maker late in games. Ferraro was not a terrible option to move up into his spot last night with a 1-1 game on the line, but the waiver pickup has cooled considerably since his first month as a Bruin.You live and you die by the talent you have, and when your team has only scored one goal in some 55 minutes of action, I’m not sure taking out the one guy who is arguably your most gifted scorer makes sense when you are trying to secure at least one point. Julien has coached 900 career NHL games, so there’s a reason he’s behind the bench and I’m not, but it’s about time to take the shackles off of No. 88. It’s really saying something about how woeful Boston’s offense was last night when Zac Rinaldo is in the conversation as your most effective forward. I don’t mean that as a slight because he’s been a pretty decent fourth-line option this season, but with just one goal and one assist- he is who we thought he is.
Frank Vatrano and Tyler Randell took a seat as healthy scratches last night after both being in the lineup against Ottawa Saturday night. Vatrano has a bright future ahead of him, but if this is to be his lot in life going forward for the rest of the season, then I suspect Butch Cassidy would love to have him back on the team in Providence. The undrafted free agent from Western Mass. has been a revelation, and his speed, dynamic shot and hustle are exactly what this Bruins team needs, but he had just 10 AHL games under his belt before going up to the big show, so there is more room for development on the farm rather than eating popcorn at press level. Just saying.
Keith Yandle is a Milton, Mass. guy and former Cushing Academy star who had been linked to the Bruins in rumors for a couple of years before Arizona traded him to the Rangers last year at the deadline. There’s been some real grumbling in circles about how Alain Vigneault has used him this season, and let’s be honest- defense was never really Yandle’s strong suit. That said- with time ticking down and his team needing a play, they got one when his point shot was tipped in for the winner. He’s not the player a lot of people thought he would be early in his career when he showed signs of developing into something special, but a team like the Bruins sure could use him in a No. 2 role right now. Yandle only has two goals (on 88 shots) but his 23 points lead the Rangers from the blue line. He’s still a good offensive presence, even if the defensive side of his game isn’t there. He’s an unrestricted free agent this coming summer and will cash in- the question is where, and for how much/long?
Hayes netted his 10th goal last night, which puts him on the same pace as last year, when he established a career high 19 goals. It’s the inconsistency that has bothered Hayes this season, however- he had a brutal November, enduring a nine-game pointless streak at one point, and he went without points in nine of 12 December games. However, with his big body and soft hands, he’s capable of bringing more to the table. Last night’s goal was a rocket of a shot- scored from out near the tops of the circles when Hayes does most of his damage in close near the paint. He’s a good kid and wants to do well. I criticized him the other night because he stood around while Patrick Wiercoch worked over Vatrano after the diminutive forward crashed the Senators net. I felt that some kind of response- not necessarily fighting Wiercoch but at the very least, trying to restrain him so that Vatrano could extricate himself- was warranted, but many feel that he was right not to intervene and risk a penalty late in regulation of a tie game. Even if I don’t like it- that’s a fair assessment and with the way the NHL’s referees call games nowadays, any kind of intervention would be risky. That said- if Hayes is not going to bring much of a physical presence, then he’s got to keep scoring because he won’t be doing much else for this team.
It’s been a quiet couple of games for Patrice Bergeron (he was beaten by Mats Zuccarello on Brassard’s tying goal) and Brad Marchand since the latter returned from his three-game suspension. The B’s need those two to get it going.
Ryan Spooner continues to play well in David Krejci’s absence. Later this week, I’ll do a post dedicated to him and address some of the things he’s done behind the scenes to make himself a better all-around player, along with the help he’s gotten to get him there.
And that’s it. The B’s are 1-1-1 on their current road trip. They’ve been a good away team this year but they’ve got to find ways to get more points in the final two games at Philly and Buffalo before returning home Saturday to take on the Leafs with an ever-tightening Eastern Conference.
Most of the Western world woke up today to the news that rock icon David Bowie passed away January 10 after losing a personal battle with cancer at age 69.
I’m a hockey guy, not a musician or expert on the industry by any means, but I had to devote a space on the Scouting Post blog to say goodbye to the man born David Jones because as long as I can remember my soon-to-be 44 years on this planet, Bowie’s art and influence has been a part of it. His death is a sobering reminder that as you truck along the sudden and unexpected loss of someone can evoke so many memories, emotions and feelings.
That’s what the news of Bowie’s passing did for me this morning when I pulled up Twitter and saw it for the first time.
So, here I am- not a commenter on music per se, nor do I have the kind of background as a musician to really get to the heart of who Bowie was or what his music did for the multiple generations who were exposed to it. Instead, I’ll break it down simply and say farewell to a man whom many are calling a genius on a day where we henceforth know there will be no more new songs or acting roles or appearances. But like those who truly endure and weather the test of time through not one or two decades but about five of them, Bowie’s influence will live long after 2016.
My admiration for Bowie is a pretty simple tale- it started with my dad, Jim. He was a Bowie fan in the early 70’s, and some of my very first memories of riding down the road listening to the radio or hearing him put on vinyl records involved Bowie songs. My dad pronounced his name wrong- he called him David Boo-ey…like one of his childhood heroes Jim Bowie…but he knew full well it was Bow-ee and I think I was about 7 when I heard a radio DJ pronounce it properly and had the temerity to call my pops on it. That began a lifetime inside joke between my dad and I- he would say, “Hey- I heard a new Boo-wee song the other day…it’s no Ziggy Stardust,” and I would retort- “Get out of the past, pops- Bow-ee’s sound is timeless and he’s as good in (insert current year) as he ever was.”
1983 was a watershed year for me and my allegiance to Bowie. That was when he released the Nile Rodgers-produced Let’s Dance album and everything changed. I remember wearing out my turntable needle on that one. The title track was most ubiquitous and got the greatest airplay on the radio and on MTV, but “Modern Love” was my favorite. That Stevie Ray Vaughan did the lead guitar work on the album (though he did not tour with Bowie and hit his own fame as a solo artist with Double Trouble around the same time) was the cherry on top. It’s like a blues guitar-infused dance experiment…and as a 5th grader who was moving more towards punk music thanks to artists like the Ramones, Sex Pistols and Killing Joke, it pulled me in and kept me there for the rest of my life.
I was a senior in high school when he delved into hard rock with Tin Machine, and it was then that I truly came to appreciate that he was a dynamo who could cross into any genre he wanted to. The man had it all, and you didn’t have to like ever evolution of sound Bowie went through or his constantly changing looks, but you had to least respect it. I’m convinced that if he wanted to put out an outlaw country album, Bowie could have turned it into a gold record. He made 27 studio albums over the course of his career, one that began with the 1964 single “Liza Jane” by Davie Jones & the King Bees.
As I grew older, I listened more and more to Bowie’s older stuff, developing a passion for tracks like “Suffragette City”, “Young Americans”,”Heroes”, “Ashes to Ashes”, “Golden Years”, “the Jean Genie” and “Changes.” I even named my first M1A1 tank when I was in A Company/3rd Battalion, 37th Armor in early 1995 “Ashes to Ashes”- all names had to start with ‘A’.
That’s not to say his newer work wasn’t good- we used his “I’m Afraid Of Americans” song with Trent Reznor in an Iraq compilation video (“Hooah video” in Armyspeak) my unit made during our deployment during the troop surge and many who heard it often commented that they had no idea Bowie had released that song as far back as 1997- well before 9/11 and the subsequent global changes that event brought.
As I type at this very moment, Bowie’s saying: “I know when to go out and when to stay in…get things done.” That’s how the opening to “Modern Love” goes and to me there’s not a more fitting coda to one amazing musical career that spanned decades and touched millions.
Farewell, Major Tom- you’re going home.
Kirk’s (favorite) Bowie Discography
1.Modern Love- 1983 (Let’s Dance)
2.Ziggy Stardust- 1972 (The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars)
3. Ashes to Ashes- 1980 (Scary Monsters and Super Creeps)
Jesse Gabrielle continues to be a revelation with Prince George out west.
Boston’s fourth-round pick in 2015 is currently tied for the WHL lead in goals with 27 (in 42 games) with Jon Martin and Dryden Hunt, with seven of those goals coming in his last six games, and one goal in four of his last five. In addition to the scoring, Gabrielle makes his presence known by playing an aggressive, high-energy style. He’s not ready to be thought of as an NHL option in the next year or so, but it looks like the Bruins may have struck gold again out West one year after drafting BC native Danton Heinen in the same round in 2014.
Speaking of Heinen, after posting about his down production earlier this week, he posted 1 goal and an assist in a Denver win over the University of Nebraska-Omaha. It was good to see him get off the schneid, because he’s such a smart and gifted player. Going on the record right now in saying that three years from now, Heinen will be contributing in Boston and he’s got 50-point NHL potential in my view.
Boston’s NCAA prospects went off this weekend: Ryan Fitzgerald had a four-point night Friday (1g, 3a) then added a helper the next night, but Saturday night was all right for scoring as Matt Grzelcyk potted a natural hat trick in BU’s trouncing of Mass. NU defenseman Matt Benning also got into the act, scoring a pair of goals to establish a new career-high for goals (and for the record- he went the entire 2014-15 season without finding the back of the net once). Also scoring goals Saturday night were: Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Ryan Donato and Anders Bjork. In fact, when you factor in David Pastrnak’s second period goal against Ottawa, all of Boston’s 2014 draft picks save defenseman Emil Johansson (seventh round) tallied on the same night.
Providence rolled this week, scoring 6 out of 6 points and getting superb play up front and in net from Malcolm Subban.
He didn’t get credit on the stats line, but Koko was the only player to register a shootout goal Sunday against the Falcons, earning Providence its 9th consecutive home win.
Good NHL tools here for the undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. If the B’s blue line depth takes a hit, he’s earned a recall at some point. Unfortunately for Casto, he’s the same type of defender that Boston has no shortage of, which works against him for obvious reason. He should win an award for best Twitter handle, though- “@FidelCrusto”scores major creativity points.
Subban had a tremendous outing Sunday against Springfield, stopping 41 pucks and surrendering just one goal in a 2-1 shootout win (he stopped all three Springfield shooters for good measure).
Two goals this week and he’s already reached his entire 2014-15 goals output with 26 (in 27 fewer games). Spending a top-15 selection on this natural scorer and character kid now looks like a pretty forward-thinking (no pun intended) move for the Bruins.
One word to describe Grzelcyk’s weekend for BU after missing three weeks with a LBI: Wow! The 2012 third-rounder posted the first hat trick for a BU defenseman since 2003.
Scored two goals in the bronze medal game against Sweden, and followed up with a goal in his second game back with Harvard.Steady as she goes is the mantra for the 2014 2nd-round pick.
Cameron Hughes, C University of Wisconsin (Big Ten)
The game was theirs had things been a little different for the Boston Bruins Saturday night in Canada’s capital city.
After young guns Mika Zibanejad and David Pastrnak traded goals in the first two periods of play, not another puck got past either one of Craig Anderson or Tuukka Rask until the 3-on-3 overtime period. Loui Eriksson had two glittering chances to give his B’s the extra point but could not cash in. Denied on a breakaway early in sudden death, he rang a shot off the post during a 2-on-1 break, and Ottawa took it the other way, finishing off the play to secure the home victory.
The winning goal came off the stick of Mark Stone, who had previously scored a pair of goals when Ottawa beat the B’s in the same building a few weeks earlier. Give the Senators forward credit- after Erik Karlsson’s shot hit off of Rask’s crest and bounced away from him, Stone gathered it up and attempted a wrap around goal. Rask somehow reached back in time from the left post to get his goal stick up against the far post to deny Stone’s initial bid. Unfortunately, with Eriksson behind Stone and out of the play, along with Colin Miller slow to react and put the body on the Senator player, Stone was able to corral the puck after it bounced off Rask’s stick paddle and flipped it up and over the goalie to end it.
Zibanejad’s first period tally, his eighth, was scored on a jailbreak rush after C. Miller’s shot attempt was blocked and Ottawa worked it back the other way. Karlsson slipped a pass to Zibanejad in the B’s zone after he broke in all alone and the Swede made a nifty deke before lifting the puck into the open side.
Pastrnak’s goal came on a deflection in the second frame, when he worked the puck around to Patrice Bergeron, who gathered it on the left half-wall and then passed back to Zdeno Chara at the point. Pastrnak rotated over to the slot in front of the net so that when Chara’s shot came in, Pastrnak was able to get a piece of it with his stick, making sure he made contact below the crossbar to make it a 1-1 game with his third marker of the year (in 12 NHL games).
That left it to the two teams to trade chances, with both Rask and Anderson holding down the fort until Stone finished off the B’s. Ryan Spooner and Senators forward Shane Prince (acquired with the 2nd-round pick in 2011 that Boston sent to Ottawa for Chris Kelly, btw) had particularly effective chances but neither player could find the back of the net.
Earlier this week, the Scouting Post published Hamilton Bulldogs’ play-by-play announcer Reed Duthie’s recap on the top OHL candidates for the June NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo. You can click here to read Duthie’s thoughts on Jakob Chychrun, Matthew Tkachuk, Mikhail Sergachev and Alex DeBrincat.
Now, we’ll continue through the list of impressive names and talents in the second part of the Duthie Dish- as he provides some firsthand insights into the key players from the late ’97/98 birth year group in the OHL.
Alex Nylander, RW Mississauga Steelheads- The second of former NHL star Michael Nylander’s sons, the Steelheads winger is an exceptionally skilled player who made some positive inroads as a member of Team Sweden at the 2016 World Jr. tourney. He’s a human highlight reel who can push the pace and shows off tremendous offensive creativity. Here’s a look at what Nylander can do from earlier this season posted by DRL Productions:
GP- 33 Goals- 21 Assists- 28 Points- 49 PIM- 6
Reed Duthie: Along with his brother, undersized but tremendously talented player with a great skating stride, but he’s more of a playmaker than a shooter. He has tremendous passing hands and he can find guys through lanes and angles that you just don’t believe the puck is going to make it through there. When you watch Mississauga play, there are a couple of occasions where it seems each game that there should be a certain goal off a Nylander pass and there will be a double-clutch on the shot because the receiver of the pass can’t believe he could get it through in the situation he did. On the power play, he’s positively dynamic. Two things that burn me a little bit about Nylander are effort and defensive positioning. He’s just as likely to cover the point as he is to fly the zone and he will disappear for stretches in a game. I know his brother and his dad would do that at times, but Alex is almost to an extreme- where you wonder where Alex Nylander is and when is he going to show up? And when he does show up, the game changes entirely, but for long stretches of the game, you can be frustrated with him and unless he can sort that out I could see his draft spot falling a bit.
Olli Juolevi, D London Knights- Legitimate two-way defenseman has high-end skating and overall ability with a high potential NHL ceiling in time. He can skate and move the puck effectively and has a real cannon of a shot that he’s uncorking more and more. Juolevi needs refinement in his defensive game and in working on the little things as he adjusts to the North American game, but he could end up being the most productive defenseman to come out of the class of ’16. A look at Juolevi’s 1st OHL goal from this season posted by Hokinaittii:
GP- 28 Goals- 4 Assists- 19 Points- 23 PIM- 6
RD: He was really impressive against Hamilton and anytime I’ve watched the Knights he’s been a real standout player. When he was against Hamilton is when I got the best look at him obviously- being in the arena for those games- but watching him skate is something fun to see. He’s the kind of player that you can put on the ice in any situation. One of the knocks I’d heard on him coming into the season was that his defensive ability could be questionable- maybe not to an Erik Karlsson extent- but he’s definitely an offensive defenseman. Against the Bulldogs we saw him on the penalty kill and I honestly- maybe against your Sarnias or Kingstons you wouldn’t see him on the kill- but he didn’t look out of place whatsoever. He made some nice clears, was in position, wasn’t screening his goaltender, wasn’t trying to look for the offense every time, got it down the rink. Offensively- he’s just a standout. He might be the smoothest defenseman in the draft with the puck, and has a great shot and will find lanes at even strength to get it through to the forwards out in front of the net for good chances. I thought his compete level was right on point- he didn’t take any shifts off. I was very impressed with Juolevi.
It’s the little things- the stick position and the tendency to make himself vulnerable at times and using the wheels to get back into plays at times…those things will have to be addressed. But, I think as people start to see Alex Nylander or even Max Jones, unless there’s an improvement from them, you could see him jump over them at the draft as the season progresses if they aren’t able to address the shortcomings in their respective games.
Max Jones, LW London Knights- Talented winger with good size and pro tools as the son of former NHL forward Brad Jones. He gets lost a little bit in London’s galaxy of stars at times, and he’s struggled to generate consistent offense the way Tkachuk has in his first OHL season. Where Jones showed off potential to be a dynamic scoring forward coming out of the U.S. National Team Development Program, he might project more as a complementary kind of forward and a third-line option than a legit scorer at the next level.
GP- 33 Goals- 17 Assists- 17 Points- 34 PIM- 59
RD: When he played the Bulldogs (at the beginning of the season) he wasn’t getting a whole lot of ice. What I’ve seen of him- he’s a nice shooter and you can teach his size at 6-2, 200-plus. When he’s on his game, he can play in any situation- you can put him on the power play or penalty kill, he’s got decent defensive awareness, he’s a solid skater- I don’t have a whole lot of issues with him, except that against the Bulldogs, he just disappeared and wasn’t a factor. He reminds me a little of Matt Fraser with better wheels.
Michael McLeod, C Mississauga Steelheads- Playmaking center with size and ability- superb skater for his size who can push the pace and is showing an improvement in his all-around game. His play away from the puck is showing signs of improvement, and while not considered a high-end pivot with elite skills, he looks like a safe pick with the potential to develop into something more.
GP- 38 Goals- 16 Assists- 28 Points- 44 PIM- 45
RD: We’ve seen a lot of Mike McLeod in Hamilton and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Mississauga has absolutely haunted the Bulldogs- Hamilton has not beaten the Steelheads yet and McLeod usually plays on that top line with (Nathan) Bastian and (Alex) Nylander and this is not some sort of Nylander making him better thing- McLeod would be just as effective if you put you and me on the wings with him. Super creative player- very quick feet. He’s got quick acceleration, but I don’t think he has top-end speed like you see with Nylander. He’s got quick feet to start the stride but he almost maxes out at a certain level, but especially at the OHL level, it’s not holding him back at all and I don’t think it will at the higher levels either. His vision is right on, and he has a great back check as well. He’s breaking up plays, he’s in the zone, he’s in that center of coverage and he’s forcing everything away from the middle of the ice- you can’t play through him and Mississauga’s got some good defensemen as well that will work along in concert with that. But, you just can’t find your way through the middle of the ice when McLeod is there- his stick is too good, and I think that is only going to benefit him at the next level because he’s not just a one-way player.
Logan Brown, C Windsor Spitfires- Huge center is the son of former NHL defenseman and current Ottawa 67’s GM/coach Jeff Brown. He’s still pretty gangly with his big body and long limbs/skating and foot speed, but there are a lot of impressive raw talents here for NHL teams to ponder. The bigger knocks on him right now are consistency and intensity, so those concerns might drop him a little further than his natural talent would normally dictate, but if the light ever comes on, he could pay off in a big way. Major boom-or-bust potential with this one.
GP- 31 Goals- 6 Assists- 29 Points- 35 PIM- 18
RD: I’m not as bullish on Brown. I think you’re looking at a guy that has a lot of skills but there are some things that have stuck out to me about him that I don’t necessarily think are going to translate at the next level. Obviously, the size is outstanding, at 6-6/215-220- you’re looking at a player that has a little bit of Jimmy Hayes to him or even Joe Thornton if you want. Doesn’t really use the size- tremendous size- and is not really effective with it. It could be that he hasn’t learned how to properly use it yet and I hope for him that’s the case. His numbers are impressive in that he’s a set-up man and anytime you can have his size down the middle, that’s a positive, but his skating stride is probably not where it needs to be, his compete level isn’t where it needs to be, the use of his size isn’t where it needs to be, but that said- I think he has outstanding offensive skills and vision when he gets set up. I think he could be a real asset if he improves his all-around.
Adam Mascherin, C Kitchener Rangers- Short (5-9), but stout (200+ pounds) and packs a wallop with his NHL-caliber shot and refined offensive game for one so young. He uses his natural tools and high-end instincts to find seams against defenses and has raised his production to an impressive level. He’s not a complete player, but his offensive dimension is so tantalizing that he could be similar to another former undersized but dangerous Kitchener player who went a lot earlier in the draft than projected in Jeff Skinner– a top-10 selection in 2010.
GP- 34 Goals- 19 Assists- 28 Points- 47 PIM- 8
RD: Mascherin’s going to be an NHL player. That’s a guy who every time you watch the Kitchener Rangers, he makes an impact. There’s no way to watch that team and not notice him. You’re looking at a team that’s loaded up for more- they want a Memorial Cup in that building and they really want to take a big run and show London that the Knights aren’t the only ones that can compete year in and year out. So, I think you get a better look at him as the playoffs come along and where does he slot in when the games mean the most. He’s got a world of skill, but I don’t think we’ve seen him in a pressure situation yet and that’s where I’m interested in seeing him the most.
Victor Mete, D London Knights- Small defender who is a top-end skater with jets strapped to his skates. Wheels the puck out of his own end so fast that he’d have his hair on fire if he served on a ship with black sails back in the day. Has the vision, passing ability to make an impact offensively at the next level, but like most undersized players on defense, struggles with handling the bigger, stronger forwards he goes up against.
GP- 37 Goals- 4 Assists- 20 Points- 24 PIM- 12
RD: I seem to notice Mete the most on the power play. He has tremendous speed and skill with a good shot, but outside of the man advantage, I don’t notice him as much.If he’s not leading the rush, then he becomes a little bit of a liability on the ice, but then again, he could turn that around pretty quickly. I’m sure it’s something the Hunters are addressing with him and that team produces NHL players like it’s going out of style. I like Mete- he’s the kind of guy that depending on where he goes is going to be key. If he was taken in the third round, let’s say- I would be all over him, but I don’t think he’ll fall down that far. For me with Mete it’s all about the value- when he leads the rush it’s something to watch because he can absolutely fly! When you can skate away from Niki Petti at full speed, that’s impressive., but it will all depend on where Mete is drafted because of some of the other issues.
We segued a bit to talk about one Hamilton Bulldogs player in particular that might not be considered a top-end OHL prospect for the NHL draft but will probably be selected as high as the the third round or more likely in the middle rounds.
Cole Candella, D Hamilton Bulldogs-
RD: I love the kid. What a player. The recent injury he suffered might hurt him a little because he is going to have a little time out- they’re hoping to get him back some time not too long into the new year- but on night one of the season, Justin Lemcke, captain of the Bulldogs, went down with an injury and it was Candella who stepped into the void and has done so very well. He’s a solid defenseman in every zone. His positioning is good- he can carry the puck, he can run a power play. He may not be a prototypical PP quarterback but he’s capable of it. On the penalty kill, his speed and his quickness to the puck is exciting to watch. The Bulldogs usually end up in their zone long when they’ve got the pair of (Connor) Walters and Candella on the ice. They’re just very good at getting to loose pucks and getting them out of the zone. His compete level is very good- you never see him take a shift off. He gets into the corners and drive opponents nuts. We’ve seen him go in against Lawson Crouse and drive Crouse off the puck. It’s the kind of thing you get excited about when you watch him because you can see what there is to grow out of Candella and at 17 years old, he’s been one of the better defenders I’ve had a chance to watch night in, night out that very few people are talking about.
The Boston Bruins ended their two-game losing streak with a convincing 4-1 win on the road against the New Jersey Devils Friday, getting goals from Frank Vatrano, Ryan Spooner, Jimmy Hayes, Colin Miller. For Boston, it was the 3,000th win in franchise history- second all-time in the NHL behind the Montreal Canadiens (3,283).
The Devils got another valiant effort in net from Massachusetts sons (sins?) Cory Schneider (Marblehead) with xx saves and a second period goal from North Andover’s Bobby Farnham, but once again- the lack of offense sank the Devils,as his sixth tally was all she wrote. Jonas Gustavsson got the start for the visitors and made 19 saves for the victory as the B’s started out their five-game road trip on a positive note.
Vatrano scored early, converting a rebound from C. Miller that Schneider kicked out in front of the net. The Boston rookie swooped in and gathered the puck, lifting it over Schneider’s right pad for his sixth goal of the year.
Spooner added to the lead in the second period, making a pair of his patented 10-2 skating moves after Zach Trotman sealed off the play along the right boards to prevent a Devils defender from getting to the puck and clearing. With Spooner moving across the blue line and his hips open, he was able to wrist a shot on net. Matt Beleskey screened Schneider, allowing the puck to slip past him inside the post for what would be the eventual game-winner.
Hayes got a late-period power play goal when he tipped Zdeno Chara’s point shot into the net for his ninth goal of the year.
C. Miller closed out the scoring in the third period when he blistered a smoking slap shot through Schneider’s five-hole. Dennis Seidenberg made a perfect pass into the wheelhouse that allowed Chiller to get all of it, and it looked every bit like the power drive that won Miller the hardest shot competition at the 2015 AHL All-Star Game.
For the B’s it was a strong performance overall- they were burned just once off the rush when Chara got caught up the ice and C. Miller allowed too much of a gap for Farnham. It was a shot Gustavsson should have had, but in Miller’s case, he was too passive on the play- allowing the former Brown standout nothing but time and space to make the play. Miller more than made up for it with his 1-1-2 night- scoring his third goal of the season in the final frame.
Gustavsson was effective for the most part, but was nearly caught out of the crease several times, causing NESN analysts Billy Jaffe and Gord Kluzak to dedicate a 1st intermission segment to “hugging the post” to him.
The game also marked David Pastrnak’s return to the NHL for the first time since he was lost to a fractured foot just before Halloween. Just back from the World Jr. Championship, Pastrnak played with energy and made some skill plays around the net, but was clearly still feeling his way back into game shape. He reportedly had a finger injury at the WJC, but his stick handling did not appear to be hampered much in this one.
The Boston defense and penalty killing played well for the most part. Trotman was back into the Boston lineup after Adam McQuaid was taken out on a hit from behind by Washington Capital Zach Sill on Tuesday. Sill was suspended two games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for the play, and with McQuaid on the IR, Trotman will have a chance to skate with Chara going forward. Trotman is most effective when he keeps things simple and the play in front of him. He even drew a late penalty when he jumped in from the blue line and beat Dmitri Kalinin to a loose puck, getting pulled down from behind for his efforts.
Ryan Spooner continues to play well while filling in for the injured David Krejci. He stretched his points streak to four games with a goal and five assists over that span. He’s also playing more effectively in all zones and earning the coaching staff’s trust with bigger minutes and expanded situations. He’s on pace for around 20 goals and 60 points this year if he can keep finding ways to contribute offensively when Krejci returns to reclaim his top-two line role. 59 points would have led the B’s in scoring last season, so give the soon-to-be 24-YO credit for his commitment to making things work this season when his 5-on-5 play was wanting and points were harder to come by earlier in the season.
With points at a premium for Boston, they needed to have a game like this one and got it. The Devils were without top scorer Mike Cammalleri and had a depleted roster overall, but there’s no crying in hockey- Boston took New Jersey to the woodshed, allowing some of the lower-line players to get some extended looks as the B’s cruised late.
They’ll take on their division rival Ottawa Senators tomorrow night in Kanata.
Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) play-by-play announcer Reed Duthie spent a good deal of time talking to the Scouting Post last week on some of the best options coming out of the Ontario Hockey League for the next NHL entry draft.
Over the weekend I posted Duthie’s background and his thoughts on B’s prospect Zach Senyshyn, who posted a two-goal game last night against Sudbury to tie his 26-goal total from his rookie OHL season a year ago. This time, he did it in 37 games as opposed to 66, so Senyshyn is certainly living up to his 15th overall draft grade from last June. You can go here to read that post.
This coming June, the NHL draft is being held in Buffalo, which is appropriate because there is a lot of high-end talent and depth coming out of the OHL for the late 1997 and 1998-born players. We’ll just jump into it. The players covered are in order of where Red Line Report has them in the OHL’s pecking order at mid-season, which can change a good bit based on key factors such as the World Jr. tournament, second-half of the OHL season and playoffs,and the World Under-18 tourney in April. Out of respect to my employer at Red Line, I am not sharing the actual ranking numbers with you, but this does give you an idea of how our Chief Scout and Ontario scouts saw it over the first half of the 2015-16 campaign.
Reed breaks down the key OHL players in the first of a two-part series that will post this week. We start at the top and will continue in the next post with a couple of significant WJC standouts in Alex Nylander and Olli Juolevi.
Jakob Chychrun, D Sarnia Sting: The son of former NHL defensive defenseman Jeff Chychrun is a different player than his dad was, bringing a mix of high-end mobility, skill and awareness to make him a two-way threat from the blue line and the 2016 draft class’s best bet to one day develop into a No. 1 at the NHL level. Here’s an impressive rookie season goal courtesy of TVCogeco:
GP- 33 Goals- 5 Assists- 19 Points- 24 PIM- 20
Reed Duthie: If he’s not the first player taken out of the OHL, then I think somebody’s gone crazy. He’s an all-around stud defenseman. His positioning is right on, he can skate with the best of them, he can throw the body, he can put up points. I think personally he’s immediately ready to step into the NHL. We haven’t had (the Sting) in Hamilton yet, but I’ve watched him a few times in preparation for other games and Jakob’s just on another level. I think there’s a definite chance he steps right into the National Hockey League. Physically, he’s ready to do it and personally, I was shocked when he got cut from the Canadian team at the World Juniors- I thought he would be a shoo-in for that squad. There are some parts of his game he needs to work on, but I don’t see him being that far off from Aaron Ekblad.
Scouting Post: What are the warts on his game that you alluded to?
RD: I’ve heard people talk about his consistency and it’s a lot like what I said about (Zach) Senyshyn in terms of people just saying he doesn’t have that consistency you want in a top player every single night. But at 17 years old I would challenge you to find a defenseman who does. I remember seeing Aaron Ekblad and thinking at times he looked out of it and at times he looked like a world beater, and I’m seeing the same thing out of Jakob. There’s no reason that people should be overanalyzing his competitiveness and I think they’ll be punished for it eventually if they do harp on that. Jakob is the kind of guy- you’ll get a much better sense of him when the OHL gets to their playoffs and when you see him on an every night basis at a high level against high-end opponents, you’ll get a sense of how good he really is.
Matthew Tkachuk, LW London Knights: Keith’s eldest son has ties to Massachusetts but was born in Arizona and raised in the St. Louis area, now plays junior hockey for Dale Hunter and one of the most storied and successful (over the past 15 years) OHL franchise in London. Like his dad, he’s a power forward who can hurt you in a variety of ways. He’s a better skater and playmaker, but probably not as physically dominant as the 1990 first-rounder for Winnipeg was at the same age. This video posted by “big white 06” will give you an idea of what he can do:
GP- 29 Goals- 14 Assists- 45 Points- 59 PIM- 40
RD: Matt is a tremendous hockey player with high-end hockey IQ, excellent skater, pushes the play- he’s got all the skills you want from somebody in the middle of the ice to make an impact. The downside with Matt is that sometimes you can question the hockey IQ a little, and not so much his smarts in the play but along the lines of a Brad Marchand– he gets called for being a little hot-headed and taking an undisciplined penalty here and there when he likely shouldn’t but the skills far outweigh any downside for him. He’s got the size to do it, he’s got the compete level, which is sometimes a little too high, he’s got all the skills offensively. He could probably use some improvement in his backchecking- he’s on a good enough London team that they score enough that they’re not really going to worry about that at this point. But, there are a couple of things he could work on- he’s a definite NHL player.
Mikhail Sergachev, D Windsor Spitfires: Good-sized frame at 6-foot-2 and already north of 200 pounds at age 17. Has a well-rounded package of offensive skills and defensive prowess. Russian player who brings more of a North American-style game to the rink with him each night. Here are highlights from his first 2-goal OHL game back in November from Hockey U20:
GP- 38 Goals- 10 Assists- 16 Points- 26 PIM- 30
RD: He’s got a lot of the “Russian” skills to him- you’re not going to find a smoother talent in the OHL. Everything he does looks like he’s not making much of an effort, and yet he’s probably exerting maximum effort and I say that because some have felt that he can be lazy, but I don’t see that at all out of him. I think he’s a tremendous hockey player- he’s already got nine goals, I believe, on the season- he’s got just a bomb of a shot. He’s another defenseman like Chychrun- who’s physically ready for the rigors of the NHL, but his game is going to take some refining. I guess I would call it Dennis Wideman syndrome- at times, he’s as likely to pass it to his teammates as he is to pass it to the opponents. It’s all done with the thought of pushing the play (and the pace) forward and making things happen but sometimes he’s a little too over the top with it, but I think if he can get into a team and a system in an NHL situation where they can settle him down a little bit and just let him know that he doesn’t have to push it so hard, he’ll be fine.
Alex DeBrincat, RW Erie Otters: Small but dynamic scorer and natural sniper leads the OHL goals and is deadly accurate between the hash marks, where he does most of his damage. More from bigwhite06 to show you DeBrincat’s scoring ability from earlier this season:
GP- 30 Goals- 33 Assists- 23 Points- 56 PIM- 12
RD: I could talk about DeBrincat for hours. Being a little man myself, I love the kid. I talked about it with Tkachuk- and you saw it at the World Juniors- he can be a little bit of a hot head at times, but he has a better way of taking it out on people vis a vis the scoreboard.He does not take penalties very often and usually, when he takes a tough hit, he doesn’t take a number, but the number goes up on the scoreboard. Tremendous shot- his size at the next level could hurt him, but his skating will make up for it. I believe he’s a better skater than a lot of people thought he was last year- I thought being overshadowed by Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome had a lot to do with that- he was underestimated. He has a tremendous shot and he can set up plays, he can work in the corners, he can work a point on the power play…just about anything you want him to do he can. Again- as is the case with a lot of these young very talented offensive players, the defensive side of the game is going to take some refining. He’s probably going to have to spend some time in the American Hockey League to used to the physical rigors of the pro game but with his skills and talent- you can’t teach what DeBrincat has.
SP: The big thing with DeBrincat is the concern about the size- you addressed it, but he’s listed at 5-7, 160 pounds- is he so dynamic and talented a la maybe a Johnny Gaudreau style of player that you throw caution to the wind and you look at a Gaudreau or maybe a Brendan Gallagher and say, hey- look, we don’t need to be as concerned about the size because the skill and creativity is there in spades?
RD: A year ago, I might have wondered if there was more of a concern there with the McDavid effect creating some of the hype around DeBrincat, but this year he’s doing it himself and doing it more even before they sent Dylan Strome back to Erie and being able to produce without that supporting cast around him. It’s kind of funny that you mention Gaudreau and Gallagher because I’ve mentioned both as comparables and I almost see him as a blend between the two. He really gets under people’s skin and I’m not sure it’s that he does a lot of chirping at ice level or what it is, but he really gets people mad at him and he’s got a little more skill than Gallagher- more to the Gaudreau side. If you’re defending him and you get out of position or take a bad penalty because of something he’s done, he’s going to make you pay for it. I think that’s what’s been so valuable for him and why he’s going to succeed at the NHL level as long as he stays away from what he did against the Canadians in the World Juniors.
We’ll be back with more on the OHL and 2016 draft picks with part 2 in the next day or so, so be sure to bookmark the blog and keep checking in.
scoutingpost 