Tag Archives: Bruins prospects

"Off the top of the head" prospect series, Boston Bruins prospects, Jakub Zboril, Providence Bruins , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Off the top of the head: Jakub Zboril

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Jakub Zboril, D

6’/201

Boston’s 1st choice, 13th overall in 2015 NHL Entry Draft

Current Team: Providence Bruins (AHL)

Previous Team: Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)

Strengths: Outstanding, NHL-caliber skater with speed, balance, agility; can get off the mark quickly, has a powerful glide and exhibits nifty foot work to change direction efficiently. Good puckhandler who can make the first pass and uses his feet and stick to break pucks out of his own end consistently. Hard shot- a missile that he can drive from the point through traffic on net. Enjoys the physical aspect of his position: engages with opposing puck carriers and will put his body through their hands to disrupt the rush. A willing hitter who opened eyes in his draft season for his embrace of physicality, and as he gains experience, is getting smarter and more effective in his ability to end plays along the walls.

Weaknesses: Vision/hockey instincts are pretty average; doesn’t always make the right reads/decisions and not an overly creative puck distributor. Play away from puck is a continued work in progress; still developing 360-degree awareness and d-zone coverages to prevent opponents from finding soft seams and exploiting time/space.

Overall analysis: Boston’s top pick five years ago has been slow to develop and might not ever get there (at least with the organization that drafted him), which makes him one of the more polarizing prospects in the system. Like others who have come before him and those who will surely follow, he is a victim more of expectations than out of a failure to perform. While his development has not been as rapid as other 2015 peers who were chosen after he was, Zboril has taken positive steps, even if he’s been unable to do more than play sparingly in just two NHL games with the B’s.

As part of a very strong draft class, Zboril was solidly in the second tier of defensemen available after Noah Hanifin, Ivan Provorov and Zach Werenski, all of whom were drafted in the first eight selections and have gone on to become established NHL players. Zboril’s junior teammate, Thomas Chabot, was drafted five spots later at 18th overall, and has emerged as a top tier player, which has added to the disappointment of a slow development process in Providence.

Luckily for the Bruins, Brandon Carlo is the defender from the 2015 draft who has been able to become a staple supporting cast member, and while Zboril doesn’t have Carlo’s size, he’s more of a 2-way threat and hybrid style player that it is hard to account for why things have not come together for him. The irony in the criticism Zboril gets on Internet message boards and Twitter is that at the time he was drafted, he was the one player of Boston’s three first-round selections at 13-15 who was the accepted commodity at his draft slot, while Jake DeBrusk and Zach Senyshyn were the players who raised the most controversy given where they were projected.

Five years later, it is obvious that Boston should have gotten more production out of those three selections, with only DeBrusk currently a full-time roster player, while others selected after 15 have gone on to become stars. Having said that, Zboril just turned 23 in February- he has time to establish himself as an NHL player with the B’s, even if time is running out. He just played out the third year of his entry-level contract, and should receive a qualifying offer. He’s been consistent in Providence- posting 19 points in each of his three AHL seasons. The offensive production that looked to translate from junior play probably isn’t going to be there, but he’s shown improvement as a defender since turning pro, and he can leverage that into a decent NHL role in the right situation.

Projection: The days of projecting the left-shot Zboril as a top-3 NHL D are long over, but barring some kind of miracle, he has the tools to be a solid 5/6/7 and role player at the top level. Granted, that’s not going to make many celebrate him given who Boston could’ve had at 13, but he still has it in him to establish himself in the NHL as a solid complementary/depth player who could enhance any defense with his mobility and skills.

His playing style and game reminds us of another heralded junior defenseman who put up points and was expected to be a 2-way NHL star. After being a top-10 pick in his first draft, Nick Boynton had to reinvent himself as more of a defense-first, supporting D, going on to play more than 600 NHL games and raising the Stanley Cup at the end of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks. We’re not saying Zboril is the next Boynton, but there are some similarities here, and at age 23, he’s far from washed up- Boynton was 22 when he finally cracked Boston’s lineup to stay. For a more modern example, Matt Grzelcyk was 23 when he became an NHL regular, but he did it after playing just one full season of pro in the AHL before making the jump to Boston to stay.

Right now- Zboril is at a personal and professional crossroads: can he finally make the cut in his fourth season, or will he go back down to the AHL, and essentially see the window close on a possible Bruins career? When you look at his physical gifts and playing style, there isn’t any clear explanation for why Zboril has failed to develop into an every day NHL player by now, but nevertheless, this is where we are.

At the very least, he’s shown improvement in each of his three seasons, so he’s got a chance to make it in year four- he can absolutely skate, pass and shoot- if he can put it all together, the ability is there to be a player in the NHL.

 

SportsNet pre-draft clip of Zboril- “expected to go in the middle of the first round”- yes, that was the projection, and that’s where he went.

 

TSP friend Anthony Kwetkowski/Bruins Network is a believer in Zboril, and talked about him at length in arecent podcast at around the 1:07:45 mark. Here’s a video interview he did with him last season:

 

 

"Off the top of the head" prospect series, Boston Bruins prospects, Reed Duthie, Victor Berglund , , , , 2 Comments

Reed Duthie- Off the top of the head: Victor Berglund

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Reed Duthie gives us a superb breakdown on Bruins prospect/Swedish defenseman Victor Berglund. Reed has extensive knowledge of the Swedish pro and junior circuit, so there aren’t many better at bringing you the insights he does here. Enjoy this latest contribution from one of the Amigos- KL

In the 2017 NHL Entry Draft the Boston Bruins used their 7th round pick (195th overall) to select defensemen Victor Berglund from the MoDo system in Sweden. A “project” type selection Berglund showed immediate promise while rising through his hometown MoDo system where he was excellent with in the SuperElit (top junior league in Sweden) ranking 2nd on his team in defensive scoring, as a 17-year old in an under-20 league, in his NHL draft season before posting 18 points across 23 games at the SuperElit level the following year earning a callup that season to the Allsvenskan where he’s since played in 151 games while scoring 15 goals & 28 assists for 43 points. The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden native will leave his hometown club for the first time in his career for the 2020-21 season moving to Lulea in the SHL where he will look to take the next steps forward.

Assets:

Skating – A tremendous skater, Berglund has an all-around approach to that part of his game with a strong ability to start from a dead stop, quick and powerful acceleration and a strong stride leading to a top speed that will put Berglund near recent Bruins signee Jack Ahcan. As Berglund’s game grows at the senior level, he is consistently able to take more chances in the rush or striding down from the point because he is able to use his skating ability to recover quickly.

Hockey IQ – The element that makes Berglund a prospect with NHL potential is his ability to mix his strength as a skater with his ability to see and read the game. A very heady player, Berglund has an innate to be in the right place at the right time in all three zones and rarely makes mistakes with or without the puck. When in the defensive zone, watch for Berglund’s body positioning and quick stick as he is able to keep attackers from his own goal.

First Pass – When exiting the zone, Berglund uses his advanced vision to make a hard, accurate pass to begin transition or just take pressure off his own team.

Shot – Perhaps the biggest area of improvement for Berglund since he arrived at the senior level has been the ability to use his shot. Now able to better navigate shooting lanes and utilizing a heavy shot saw Berglund more than double his goal total from 4 in the 2018-19 season to 10 in the 2019-20 season.

Weaknesses:

Strength – The next element that Berglund will have to improve to continue his rise up prospect ranks will be his overall strength. Listed at 6’0’’ 165lbs, Berglund has room to add size to his frame which will help the strength factor. Not an overly physical player, Berglund is able to use his body position to trap attackers, force attackers away from goal and force turnovers but in board battles Berglund can be bested and moved away from the puck.

Strength of Competition – Berglund’s move to Lulea in the SHL will make a big difference beginning in 2020-21 but all of his 151 games at the senior professional level have come with MoDo in the Allsvenskan (a level comparable to, or just below, the AHL) which has been a tremendous step for young players in Sweden to take before jumping to the SHL or North America. A jump from the Allsvenskan to the NHL or even AHL would take more time to create comfort than one from the SHL, which is something the Bruins have had patience for in the past (Carl Soderberg).

Future:

If Victor Berglund is able to translate his skills from the Allsvenskan to the SHL and be the same type of impactful talent on the backend for Lulea as he was for MoDo while improving his strength it will go a long way to proving that he can play at the NHL level. Berglund did appear with the Providence Bruins for 4 games at the end of the 2018-19 AHL season, so with the North American game a known quantity for him it stands to reason he would look for another shot to excel in the Bruins organization. Berglund projects as #4-5 offensive minded defensemen with strong abilities in his own zone who would do best with a more defensive minded partner to be able to pair up with. Berglund has already proven worthy of a roll of the dice in the 7th round although a breakthrough to the NHL could still be 2-3 years off, he has the talent to be another home run selection for P.J. Axelsson and the Bruins staff.

Berglund (#33) makes a nice seam pass through traffic- primary assist to Kim Rosdahl for the redirect to pull his club to within 1 goal at a little over 2 min into the video. Gets burned right after on the goal to make it 4-2 against, but uses his speed on the rush to gain the zone and gets a secondary helper on the goal that makes it 4-4 at the 3-min mark of the video.

"Then & Now" prospect series, Boston Bruins prospects, Dominic Tiano, Dustyn McFaul, Podcasts , , , , , , 1 Comment

Dom Tiano analysis & interview with Clarkson Associate Coach Josh Hauge: Dustyn McFaul

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This is a guest post by TSP Amigo Dominic Tiano on former OJHL and current Clarkson University defenseman Dustyn McFaul, drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2018. Dom watched McFaul in junior hockey during his draft season and subsequent 2018-19 campaign with the Pickering Panthers before he headed to Potsdam.

Dom also tracked down Clarkson Associate Head Coach Josh Hauge, who runs the defense for the Golden Knights for Head Coach Casey Jones, and we’re pleased to provide you the audio from that interview.

This is a quality deep-dive on a Bruins prospect who is not a household name when it comes to discussing the team’s futures, so thanks for reading/listening, and stay safe and healthy.

Thanks again to Dom for putting this together

Dustin McFaul then:

Looking back prior to the 2018 National Hockey League Draft, there was one player that intrigued me more then any other in the sixth round prior to teams and potential picks departed for the American Airlines Center in Dallas: Dustyn McFaul.

Not many sixth-round picks make a career for themselves in the NHL. In McFaul’s case, it wasn’t the ability to play hockey that saw him being selected with the 181st pick. McFaul still had a year of hockey before he would begin his NCAA career with Clarkson University for the 2019-2020 season. It was going to require a team with a lot of depth and the patience to wait out that one year of junior, along with potentially four years in the NCAA and probably a year in the American Hockey League.

The Boston Bruins had just that, and selected McFaul. (as a Bruins fan, I was all smiles).

Flashback to the 2017-2018 season and my thoughts on McFaul prior to the draft:

What McFaul accomplished as a rookie in the OJHL came as quite a surprise. He quickly became a player who could eat up large minutes, averaging 28 minutes per game when I saw him. As a youngster, he was thrown into every situation, be it penalty killing, powerplay and 5v5 against the top players the opposition could throw out there.

 

Not only was McFaul a leader on the blue line, but he showed excellent leadership qualities on a young Panthers squad. He is very coachable and seems to absorb what the coaches are telling him. He’s also very humble and puts aside any personal achievements and goals for those of his teammates.

 

At 6’2”, McFaul has good size, but will need to put in some work to add much needed bulk to his frame, something that he is aware of. It can only help him in the defensive zone when it comes to battling in those hard areas. He has an above average wing span for a player of his size and he uses it effectively. His mobility is very good and in combination with his stick skills and size, keeps players from getting to the danger areas.

 

Offensively, McFaul is very good at joining the rush, making very good first passes and has shown he can quarterback a powerplay. He needs to improve his shot, but it can also come along when he adds some muscle.

 

Above all else, the thing that stood out to me most, and talking to those around his game, it is his work ethic. It may have been a blessing in disguise for McFaul not to make the Frontenacs and the OHL at the time, and he realized that he needed to put some work in and he did. And his attitude tells him just making it isn’t good enough, he’ll continue to put that work in to improve throughout his career.

 

McFaul isn’t one of those guys that you draft hoping he can make your squad in a couple of years. He’s a project that you will need to put in some time with and realistically, if he develops into his full potential, you’re looking at 5 or 6 years away. If you are a team with a deep prospect pool, he’s the type of player you look for in the late rounds.

 

McFaul had to make a decision on where to play for the 2018-2019 season. The Ontario Hockey League wasn’t an option so that he could keep his NCAA eligibility. He could return to the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League or join the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the United States Hockey League, where he was a third-round pick, 37th overall, at the 2018 USHL Draft.

McFaul chose to return to the Panthers. It was a tough season for them but we were able to see McFaul take on an even bigger role on and off the ice. He took on an expanded leadership role and there were improvements all around on the ice for him personally. But he is so humble that any questions about personal achievements quickly turn to talking about the team.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Clarkson Assistant Coach Josh Hauge who works with Clarkson’s blueliners about the season that was and what we can expect moving forward. Have a listen:

McFaul

Clarkson University Athletics photo

 

 

"Off the top of the head" prospect series, Boston Bruins prospects, Curtis Hall , , 1 Comment

Off the top of the head: Curtis Hall

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Curtis Hall, C

6-3/196

Boston’s 3rd choice (4th round), 119th overall in 2018 NHL Entry Draft

Current team: Yale Bulldogs (ECAC)

Previous team: Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)

Strengths: Right-shot center has excellent height and length. Very good skater who shows off impressive burst and agility for his size; has a powerful, fluid stride that allows him to separate in open ice, but he can also make quick turns and cuts to adjust his angles and instantly change routes. His shot is a strength: Sneaky release that he effectively uses in traffic and space to find the back of the net. Hides his release point well on a powerful snap that is heavy and accurate.  Above average puck skills and is developing into a scoring threat into the NCAA after leading the Bulldogs offensively at just a hair under a point-per-game (17 goals, 27 points in 28 games as a sophomore).  Intelligent pivot who is able to slip in behind defenders but also tracks back on plays headed to his own end. Developing into an all-around player with the blossoming offense.

Weaknesses: Even with the impressive height, lacks the functional strength to go with his frame- he’s lanky and prone to getting knocked off balance by shorter, stockier opponents. Has shown more of a willingness to embrace the physicality of college hockey that wasn’t always there in his junior days, but still has room to add element of grit/sandpaper to make himself a tougher opponent to play against. Need to see more tenacity and want to on the forecheck.

Overall analysis: Former Cleveland-area product and USHL tender agreement player (signed with Youngstown at age 16- guaranteed to play in minimum of 55% of games as a rookie) who spent two seasons with the Phantoms, wasn’t able to statistically provide the offensive pop that his junior team hoped for. Hall was a complementary junior player in his two years as one of the younger skaters, but the USHL is an older league, so he likely would have “popped” as an 18-19-year-old points driver had he stayed a third year with Youngstown after the B’s chose him. After playing sparingly as a freshman, Hall emerged as the most consistent and dangerous scoring threat on the Yale roster in 19-20, also making the USA World Jr. Championship team. He can use his speed to drive wide and beat defenders outside to take pucks to the front of the net. While playing a physical, gritty style of game doesn’t come natural to Hall, he’s not unwilling to play in between the dots where most of the battles are won and lost- he just needs time and patience to mature physically and gain playing experience. When he uses his speed and pace effectively, he’s tough to defend and contain, but it’s always been about a consistent application of those elements in his game than make him the most dangerous. A strong start in his draft season, followed by a tapering off in the second half and middle-of-the-road playoff production when the Phantoms reached the 2018 USHL Clark Cup championship series (losing to the Fargo Force), saw his stock fall, leading to his selection in the fourth round.

Projection: Hall is an interesting prospect who is another in a growing stable of bigger forwards who can skate and bring enough skill/talent to the table that could see positive growth into serviceable NHL contributions down the road. He’s got the potential to be a Swiss Army knife kind of center who can play an effective 200-foot game, but who also has enough snap and flash in his game to contribute offensively. When you’re talking about a fourth-round draft selection, that’s a solid return on investment- 3rd or 4th liner who can play up and down the roster. Remember- he was at one time thought of as one of the better players in his 2000-birthyear USA peer group, and he proved that trend by cracking the WJC roster last December. The best may be yet to come for Hall, especially if he continues to raise the production and can develop more grit/tenacity in his approach to every shift.

ECAC video of a 2-goal game for Hall vs Union

 

Fox Sports Ohio video on Hall prior to WJC in Dec. 2019