Over the past decade, Boston Bruins have found success in the undrafted free agent department, especially with signing NCAA players. Whether we’re talking about Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Frank Vatrano (whose trade to Florida in 2018 netted the pick the B’s used to select Jakub Lauko), or even Austin Czarnik (now with Calgary), the B’s have identified passed-over college players who have gone on to reach the NHL.
A more recent example is former University of Minnesota-Duluth captain Karson Kuhlman, who led the Bulldogs to their first of two consecutive NCAA championships in 2018 and then signed with the B’s shortly thereafter. The 2018 NCAA tournament MVP didn’t dazzle anyone with his numbers, but was, as it turned out, the perfect fit for Boston.
It didn’t take Kuhlman long to see his first NHL action and by the spring of 2019, he was playing a supporting role in helping the B’s get to within one game of a Stanley Cup championship. In 19 regular and playoff games combined, the rookie netted four goals and eight points, not bad for a defensive forward in college whose best season consisted of just six goals and 22 points in 42 games during the 2016-17 campaign.
The Esko, MN native has always impressed with his speed, intelligent two-way game and hyper-competitivene style, going back to his USHL days with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
After making such a surprising impact (at the very least in terms of timeline), Kuhlman made the 2019-20 Bruins roster out of camp, but fractured his tibia Oct. 19 in a game against Toronto. He missed the next two months and returned to the ice in late December, bouncing between the NHL and AHL with Providence until the NHL season was put on pause.
He still meets our criteria of a prospect, even though he’s seen 36 NHL regular season games in his first two pro seasons, so here’s a quick snapshot of Kuhlman and what B’s fans can expect going forward:
Strengths: Superb skater- explosive, agile and quick. He’s got excellent acceleration and is strong on his skates- able to roll off of checks and maintain his balance. Very good small-area burst. Hockey sense is very good- while not overly creative, he sees the ice and makes good decisions with and without the puck. Tremendous intangibles such as character and leadership packaged up in a relentless work ethic. He’s a superior forechecker who disrupts and creates turnovers with his speed and sheer tenacity- constantly hunts pucks. A winner- he won a USHL championship with Dubuque in 2013, took 2018 NCAA tournament MVP honors in leading UMD to a national title, then was part of Boston’s extended run to the SCF a year later. That kind of thing is not an accident. Can play center and wing- able to take key defensive faceoffs when needed and has a quick stick in the dot to win draws.
Weaknesses: Size is average, and he’s not a skill player by any means. A standout player for Cloquet High, he was not a point producer in the USHL or in college, so he’s not going to have the offensive ceiling to be a front line forward in the NHL.
Overall analysis/projection: The leg injury set Kuhlman back, and as his 1 goal and 6 points in 25 games this season can attest, he’s in a low-end depth role right now with Boston. At age 24, he’s old enough and mature- he can play up or down the lineup if needed, but with the B’s healthy when the NHL’s expected resumption happens in July-August, he’ll have a challenge ahead to work himself into the lineup on a regular basis.
Going forward, we can envision Kuhlman carving out more of a role for himself as a checker/grinder/Swiss Army knife player the Boston coaches trust in certain situations. He’s not going to go out and score 30 goals and 60 points, but in the B’s system, could develop into a regular role player because of his versatility, drive and jam.
The B’s haven’t just enjoyed success finding college free agents- they hit on former Swift Current/WHL captain Colby Cave, who suddenly and tragically passed away this spring while a member of the Edmonton organization, but the NCAA pipeline has been a productive one for Boston. Kuhlman should continue to contribute going forward, and the B’s continued the pattern by signing college defenders Jack Ahcan (St. Cloud State) and Nick Wolff (Kuhlman’s UMD teammate) this past March.
His only goal this season vs Vancouver an attempted pass that went in off Troy Stecher
KBJR local feature by Alec Bochner during Kuhlman’s senior season at UMD
In-depth UMD profile on him from October 2017- check out his answer to the question at 7:20 about the one city he would pick up and move to- Kuhl-stradamus?
The AHL released its 2019-20 All-Rookie team this afternoon and to the surprise of no one, Providence Bruins center Jack Studnicka was the first Bruins prospect named to a top-rookie squad since Austin Czarnik and Frank Vatrano both made the 2016 version.
Studnicka’s numbers were solid- 23 goals, 49 points in 60 games to lead the Baby B’s, but his league-leading 7 shorthanded goals is eye-opening because it speaks to his potential to create offense in any situation.
The 53rd overall pick in 2017 has performed like a first-round selection since the B’s tabbed the former Oshawa Generals captain who finished his OHL career with the Niagara Ice Dogs.
“Studdy, for all intents and purposes, had a terrific year. Twenty-year-old kid jumps right in, plays every real scenario. Down the stretch, I was really leaning on him and Cameron Hughes as the guys to seal some games out for us. His competitiveness, his speed, his hockey sense really shone through and was able to be very productive on both sides of the puck. I think he had a terrific year.”
While we’re not sure about the ‘Studdy’ thing (Studs has a much better ring to it), there is no denying that he’s been nails in his first full pro season and that the Bruins were aces in their scouting of him. Full credit for them recognizing that he was trending up after a strong playoff and U18 performance and was undervalued after struggling to meet expectations early in the season. Sometimes, scouts will move on from a player if he disappoints early on, and if they don’t catch him at the right time when he peaks, could end up missing the boat.
“There’s not older and younger guys, it’s just more team atmosphere and everyone loved coming to the rink and loved playing together. I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that I really think we had something special down there, the way it was a team-first mentality. Everybody was happy with each other’s success. At the end of the day, we just wanted to win the hockey game.”- Studnicka
“I’m not as strong as a lot of the players in pro hockey,” said Studnicka, who named Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane as players he has tried to learn from. “We kind of keyed on ways to get around that in the offensive zone, whether that’s protecting the puck or holding onto the puck or taking space that you have to separate from your guy in the offensive zone.
“[The organization] just wanted to make sure that I was always approaching the game to play a 200-foot game and not cheating on offense, just making sure that I’m playing the right way and taking care of the defensive zone and the offense will come.”
It is our firm position that Studnicka is ready for the NHL full-time in 20-21 and in a few years, is going to end up being one of Boston’s more respected and productive players. That’s the prediction and we’re sticking to it.
We’ll have more on Studnicka and his selection in the next 3 Amigos + 1 podcast coming soon.
Okay, so we’re a little behind here, but wanted to do a blog post on the Boston Bruins most recent transactions, which includes the 2018 NHL Entry Draft in Dallas and free agency, which opened with a boom on Sunday for the Toronto Maple Leafs, landing a true crown jewel in John Tavares, who leaves the NY Islanders in his prime (not yet 28) for his childhood team. The Bruins were in it as a possible Tavares destination, but in hindsight, it was probably the Isles or the Leafs and everyone else didn’t really have a shot. That’s life, but more on that later.
And, if the Isles need some comforting, they had what looks to be a successful draft, leveraging multiple first-round picks and value throughout the subsequent rounds into an impressive haul for them.
Editor’s note- Reed Duthie debuts at the Scouting Post with his thoughts on what could be on the horizon for the Boston Bruins personnel-wise. Reed is not only one of the 3 Amigos, but he is the accomplished play-by-play announcer for the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. With the hockey season over, we hope to see more of Reed’s contributions here in the offseason as a longtime follower of the Bruins and astute analyst.
You have to crawl before you can walk, and you have to walk before you can run. If this season was any indication, the Boston Bruins as a group are certainly finding their way, maybe not running just yet but certainly getting up to a brisk jog.
Although the end of season / early playoff injuries put the Bruins a hole they couldn’t recover from we learned a lot about this team in terms of heart and soul. The additions of traditional blue collar players like Noel Acciari & Sean Kuraly gave the Bruins an energy boost, while Charlie McAvoy made Bruins fans begin to dream in optimistic terms once again.
But after a hard fought loss where do the Bruins go from here?
A largely uneventful NHL trade deadline day (the more meaningful adds happened before the Wednesday afternoon cutoff) ended with the Boston Bruins acquiring former 2004 13th overall draft selection and RW Drew Stafford from the Winnipeg Jets for a reported conditional (B’s making the playoffs? unconfirmed) 6th-round pick.
(Here are some YouTube highlights from a Buffalo fan “Topshot Elite 19):
After a year ago, when GM Don Sweeney added a pair of veterans in John-Michael Liles and Lee Stempniak for a total of four draft picks, only to see the team crater down the stretch and miss the playoffs for a second consecutive spring, this move is a bit more well-received because it represents a low cost/risk to add a solid veteran forward with size and scoring ability, albeit one who’s been hampered by injuries and a poor season.
Some of the rumored trades involving Gabriel Landeskog and Dmitri Kulikov never materialized for Boston, but in all honesty- anything more than Stafford would have likely required a cost that Sweeney and Co. were not willing to take on. The current Bruins team is 7-1 under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy, and adding him gives the new bench boss more flexibility at the forward position with a player who starred at the University of North Dakota and was a member of the USA’s first-ever gold medal-winning squad at the World Jr. Championship in 2004.
Here’s a quick look at what Stafford brings to the table for the B’s in the final make-or-break stretch of the season, one that has ended in the final weekend in each of the last two campaigns.
Upside: Four goals in 40 games with the Jets is a stark contrast to the 21 in 78 he scored a year ago (Stafford’s best season was in 2011 when he tallied 31 goals in just 62 games- a 40-goal pace). He’s likely to replace Jimmy Hayes on Boston’s third line and assuming Ryan Spooner stays at the center position, the two are a good fit, with Frank Vatrano over on the left side. Stafford is more of a north-south, crash-the-net kind of player, while Vatrano drifts through layers in defenses to find space to unleash his lethal shot. Spooner is your classic slasher who jitterbugs in and out of traffic to set up plays…if he and Vatrano can get pucks to the net, then Stafford has a better than average chance of banging some of them in. Stafford is a good fit for the way that the Bruins like to play. With more than 700 games of NHL experience and 31 years old, he’s been around enough but is not so long in the tooth that he can’t give the B’s offense a modest jolt.
Downside: The unrestricted free agent to be is having his poorest season to date, so to expect anything but a minimal upgrade to what Hayes gave the B’s this year is probably setting the bar too high. The knock on Stafford has always been a lack of consistency- he can go through long periods where he simply doesn’t accomplish much. That’s near criminal, when you look at the highlights of some of his better scoring plays, where he drives with power into traffic and through would-be checkers to crash the net and score with a quick and sneaky release.
Verdict: For a conditional sixth-round pick, this is a low-risk move that expresses faith in the current roster and lets them try and make the postseason with what they have. Fans sometimes forget that no team wants to have a bad year and tank, and 2017 is certainly not the season to do that- no disrespect intended to top prospects like Nolan Patrick, Nico Hischier, etc.- it’s just that we’ve been spoiled in recent years with top-2 selections like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine– this year, the bottom feeders aren’t likely to get players with that kind of elite franchise cornerstone cachet. The benefit of making the playoffs, even if the Bruins aren’t considered by just about everyone to be legitimate championship contenders, is that the younger players get a taste of the intensity of playoff hockey and that helps to develop them. The B’s are not a team that needs to blow everything up, so Stafford is a solid if unspectacular add.
For years, Boston fans saw him score some big goals against the Black and Gold. Now, they’ll get a chance to see if he can help propel the spoked B into the NHL postseason. In a division where every other team added pieces to improve, it might be moot, but Stafford gives his new team a fighting chance at least. And that’s really all most people want.
One of the more unheralded Bruins prospects this season is Slovak (by way of Sweden) winger Peter Cehlarik. The AHL rookie (note- we don’t say rookie pro because he’s been playing pro hockey at Sweden’s highest level against men since he was 17) is having himself a year- he potted four goals and six points over three games last week to move to the top of Providence’s scoring list.
The 90th overall pick in 2013 has a good NHL body with the hands and hockey sense to score goals. His skating has been a work in progress since the B’s drafted him, but he’s fine in the open ice. Where Cehlarik gets exposed a bit is in his short-area game and burst, where he doesn’t possess above average acceleration and agility- it takes him a bit to get going, and he’s susceptible to getting behind the play when there are quick changes of direction in the common possession style that more and more pro teams are employing in the AHL and NHL.
TSP spoke to Bruins player development director Jamie Langenbrunner recently and he had some intriguing perspectives to share about Cehlarik’s success to date, and perhaps why he has not as yet gotten a chance to make an appearance with the big club in Boston despite his 18 goals and 30 points in 36 AHL contests.
“I think the first thing that stands out is his ability to make a play,” Langenbrunner said. “It started with what he did at rookie camp in Buffalo and that was the first time I’d seen him. He’s NHL-sized; he’s a good-sized kid- he’s pretty strong, pretty well-built. I think you’ll continue to see him make plays because he’s got really good vision and hands.”
Cehlarik’s natural skill set has earned him high marks to date as a player who developed in the larger ice surface in Sweden with Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League. However, even with the production both overseas and here under Kevin Dean at Providence, there are some adjustments the 21-year-old is still working through in his first North American season.
“For Peter, the one adjustment where you play on the bigger sheet (of ice in Europe), although there’s more room, I find that the game is slower there,” said Langenbrunner. “With that added space, you keep everything to the outside, so adjusting to the North American rink where everything happens a little quicker and you want to those first few steps- you want to get that speed- it is what it is and you either have that or not. But just those first few steps to get those areas a little quicker and a little bit harder on pucks- the short-area burst is such a big part of hockey, and to be able to translate that at the National Hockey League level and getting into those areas is important because if you don’t have the time, then you’re not able to jump into those areas.”
This is not to say that Cehlarik isn’t capable of coming in and helping out the B’s in an area that has been their biggest concern this year- generating consistent scoring- it’s just that as hard as it can be for outside observers to recognize at times, there are things that happen behind the scenes that sometimes drive outcomes as they pertain to personnel decisions. In other words- it isn’t just about the goals, and when there are identified areas of improvement, those can delay the arrival of a player to the NHL who appears to have what is needed on paper.
“I think for him, the biggest adjustment he’s struggled with or has so far is the pace of play,” Langenbrunner said. “He’s going to have to get his level up just a little bit to play at the NHL level. He’s been very good in Providence so far, putting up points, but at times, when you’re talking about playing in back-to-back games and whatnot, it will get to him a little bit. For him, it’s an adjustment coming from over to North America and he’s put up nearly a point per game in the AHL, which is pretty darn good, so he’s been a nice surprise. I know for the coaches and for us beyond the production, it’s going to be that consistency and bringing that pace to another level to be able to create a little more.”
As was the case last year with Frank Vatrano, at some point- a player’s ability to put the puck in the net at a high level will often force a team’s hand. With Boston struggling to mount any kind of consistency on offense and having their backs against the proverbial wall, it is probably time to see what the young Eastern European forward can do. He just might provide a spark that is so needed in Boston right now, and unlike other young pros who come straight out of major junior- he has a leg up in terms of the competition he faced prior to arriving to the AHL. Langenbrunner, himself a graduate of the Peterborough Petes of the OHL in major junior, understands that players like Cehlarik and even Vatrano, who came out of the U.S. NTDP and the collegiate ranks, have a built-in advantage in terms of their experience right out of the gate.
“Sometimes the difference between a college kid and a major junior kid is that a lot of those college kids are playing against 24 or 25-year-old men,” he said. “Whereas the junior kids are 19 or 20-year-olds, which is a big difference in size, strength and consistency that you will see go in and out of 17 or 18-year-old kids’ games, whereas the older you get the more mature you are in your game.”
At this stage of a third consecutive up-and-down season in danger of missing the NHL playoffs, Cehlarik will only likely help. Perhaps instead of trading for a proven scorer, part of the answer could come from within the Bruins organization.
***
Amateur Prospects as of 01/24/17
Name/Team
League
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
Zach Senyshyn, SSM
OHL
37
28
12
40
23
Jesse Gabrielle, Prince George
WHL
39
22
18
40
58
Anders Bjork, Notre Dame
HE-NCAA
25
15
21
36
8
Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, BU
HE- NCAA
23
10
14
24
16
Jakub Zboril, Saint John
QMJHL
28
6
16
22
26
Ryan Donato, Harvard
ECAC- NCAA
19
10
9
19
12
Ryan Fitzgerald, BC
HE-NCAA
20
5
13
18
28
Trent Frederic, Wisconsin
Big10- NCAA
14
7
10
17
16
Cameron Hughes, Wisconsin
Big10- NCAA
20
4
13
17
8
Jack Becker, Sioux Falls
USHL
31
9
6
15
30
Charlie McAvoy, BU
HE-NCAA
22
3
11
14
20
Jeremy Lauzon, Rouyn-Noranda
QMJHL
18
2
11
13
10
Cameron Clarke, Ferris St.
WCHA- NCAA
24
1
5
6
24
Wiley Sherman, Harvard
ECAC-NCAA
19
0
5
5
12
Ryan Lindgren, Minnesota
Big10- NCAA
19
1
3
4
51
Pro and European Prospects
Name/Team
League
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
Peter Cehlarik, Providence
AHL
36
18
12
30
12
Joona Koppanen, Ilves Jr.*
U20- Finland
19
9
17
26
2
Danton Heinen, Providence
AHL
30
8
15
23
4
Jake DeBrusk, Providence
AHL
42
11
12
23
13
Colby Cave, Providence
AHL
42
10
13
23
26
Matt Grzelcyk, Providence
AHL
36
2
16
18
12
Sean Kuraly, Providence
AHL
32
8
8
16
17
Emil Johansson, Djurgarden IF
Sweden- Elite
32
5
7
12
16
Colton Hargrove, Providence
AHL
34
4
8
12
37
Anton Blidh, Providence
AHL
22
6
4
10
22
Chris Casto, Providence
AHL
34
1
7
8
28
Rob O’Gara, Providence*
AHL
26
2
3
5
4
Noel Acciari, Providence
AHL
10
0
4
4
7
Austin Czarnik, Providence#
AHL
2
1
2
3
0
Justin Hickman, Providence
AHL
17
2
1
3
15
Oskar Steen, Farjestad
Sweden- Elite
33
1
1
2
6
Linus Arnesson, Providence*
AHL
18
0
1
1
4
Brian Ferlin, Providence*
AHL
2
0
0
0
0
Zane McIntyre, Providence#
Atlanta
AHL
ECHL
12
2
10
0
0
1(1)
1.41
1.99
.951
.931
Dan Vladar, Providence
Atlanta
AHL
ECHL
6
5
3
2
0 (3)
2 (1)
2.84
3.58
.914
.889
Malcolm Subban, Providence
AHL
19
5
9 (1)
2.96
.909
# Czarnik, McIntyre recalled to Boston
*O’Gara, Arnesson, Ferlin all Injured
Tyler Randell, Tommy Cross, Alex Grant > age 25- not listed
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 23: Torey Krug #47 of the Boston Bruins looks on against the New York Rangers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 23, 2013 in New York City. The Rangers won 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
We admit it.
This hockey blog is unabashed in its support of Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. That’s not going to change. Ever.
Maybe it’s because while working for Red Line Report in 2011-12, we recommended the Michigan State captain as the best undrafted NCAA free agent value in the country. Not one of the best values, mind you…THE best. Almost five years later, we’ll take that bow.
Maybe it’s because we got to know Krug off the ice, before he ever really made it as an NHL regular for the Boston Bruins and realized in those moments that he not only had exceptional talent, but exceptional character as well. If a player wants it badly enough, they’ll likely get there. To this day, watching Friday Night Lights reruns on Netflix with Krug, Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner in their Providence, R.I. rookie pro bachelor pad on a December night in 2012 and hearing Krug repeat the “Clear eyes, full hearts…can’t lose” mantra with the conviction of someone absolutely confident of his NHL future stands out as one of the more surreal moments in a life spent covering past, present and future pro hockey players for the past 17 years.
Maybe it’s because ever since he broke into the big league big time during the 2013 playoffs, there has always seemed to be this segment of Bruins fandom who just can’t get past his lack of size and what we can only guess is a sexy draft pedigree that would make them feel good and clean about rooting for him, the way he deserves to be respected.
Whatever the reason, Krug has overcome an understandably slow start to become one of the NHL’s top two-way performers as the 2016-17 campaign wends its way past the halfway mark. We have always been all-aboard the Krug hype train so to speak, and if you can’t at least grudgingly recognize that he’s delivering value for his 4-year, $5.25M extension signed last summer, then you’re not welcome on the train anyway.
New Englanders tend to be realistic (pessimistic?) by nature, so while the focus has been on the defense and the potential for gaping lanes that skill teams will find available to them, as the 2016-17 NHL season begins for the Boston Bruins tonight in Columbus, Ohio, there’s some excitement swirling around the big league debuts of four players in the lineup.
Injuries to Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller have opened the door for a pair of forwards in Austin Czarnik and Danton Heinen, and a defense duo of Brandon Carlo and Rob O’Gara to get their first taste of NHL action against the Blue Jackets. Bergeron is expected back in the lineup for the weekend action versus Toronto and rookie sensation Auston Matthews, who last night became the only player ever to score four goals in his first NHL game. McQuaid and Miller will be out a little (in the former’s case, a lot for the latter) longer, so we temper the eagerness with which we greet the young rookies with the belief that perhaps half of them have a realistic chance of staying on Boston’s roster for the duration of the season.
In Czarnik, the B’s have a fast and skilled little (emphasis needed) center who was snubbed in the NHL draft, but looks like a pretty savvy pickup after four years at Miami University, the last two of which he wore the captain’s ‘C’. He took a high hit from behind that targeted the head in the final preseason game by Philadelphia defenseman Radko Gudas (he got a six-game layoff from the NHL’s department of player safety) but cleared the concussion protocol in time to play in his first big league game. Czarnik is a classic little engine that could as a player who always had to overcome size bias to work harder than just about everyone else to hone his skills and three zone game. After a 61-point first year in the AHL, he’s made the initial cut to stick in Boston, and that’s the stuff NHL dreams are truly made of. Czarnik is an exciting buzzsaw of a forward- he zips in and out of lanes and can put the shake n’ bake on less-agile defenders. When the puck is on his stick, he brings a similar kind of playing style to that of Brad Marchand. Note- we’re not saying he is the next Marchand, but you can see it in the way he uses his speed, vision and hands to create and give opponents fits. He’s not the abrasive agitator Marchand is, but Czarnik is a big man trapped in a little man’s body who plays the game with heart and energy. Fans love an underdog, and when coupled with Czarnik’s electrifying offensive element, it’s not hard to understand why so many are jumping on the AC Train.
More was expected of Heinen and he entered training camp as a prohibitive favorite to win a spot with the big club, but he is also a feel-good story. Passed over in his first year of NHL draft eligibility in 2013, the British Columbia native hit a significant growth spurt and then opened eyes as captain of the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles. The Bruins liked Heinen enough to snatch him in the 2014 draft’s fourth round despite his being an almost complete unknown in NHL draft pubs. The rumor at the time was that several other teams were hoping to steal Heinen later on, not the least of which was none other than the Montreal Canadiens. That story isn’t verified, but damn- it feels good to B’s fans to hear it. Heinen is a thinking fan’s hockey player- he’s not especially fast or dazzling in the way he handles the puck, but he goes to the right spots, moves it to the correct spaces and plays a quietly effective and productive three-zone game. He’s the quintessential Claude Julien-style forward because he’s both intelligent and efficient. If you’re expecting to be entertained by Heinen, you’ll probably wonder what the hype is about, but if you watch the wall work, the way he slices through layers of defenses and puts himself in position to make plays at both ends of the ice, you’ll gain an appreciation for him.
On the defensive side of things, Carlo is a favorite of those B’s fans who religiously follow the NHL draft and Boston’s prospect development system. Picked 37th overall in 2015, he looks like a brilliant pick in hindsight as his natural 6-foot-5-inch size, mobility and reach instantly jump out at you. Back in 1997, a young Hal Gill caught the eye of fans because he was 6-7, and was the biggest cat in the NHL before some guy named Zdeno Chara showed up on Long Island about a year later. The thing about Carlo is that while he’s not quite as tall as Gill, he’s a better skater and has long arms, therefore brings a similar reach. Fans are excited about Carlo because he’s big and fluid and does a real good job of keeping opposing forwards from walking straight to the net…a turnstile he is not. The jury is out on how much offensive hockey sense/creativity Carlo has, but he’s certainly not limited in terms of being able to handle the puck and join the rush. Having said all that, there will be natural growing pains as is with the case with any 19-year-old defenseman, but to the Coloradan’s credit, he impressed a year ago in his first NHL training camp and exhibition season and then carried that forward to make the Boston Bruins before age 20. He’s not a snarly, intimidating beast on the physical side, but he will rub guys out and is sure to be well-liked in the dressing room because he’s got an even-keeled personality.
Last but not least is O’Gara- a TSP personal favorite going back to 2010-11 when he left the Long Island Royals AAA midget program to win a prep championship with the Milton Academy Mustangs. The B’s drafted him with the final selection of the fifth round, and he was described by then-assistant GM Don Sweeney as a “big piece of clay” that required a great deal of molding and shaping. Five years later, the 23-year-old Yale grad might not be a finished product, but he’s close enough and tonight will earn a status no one can take away from him- NHL player. O’Gara is a good skater- it’s less about speed and stride with him than it is fluid and agile footwork, which allows him to pivot and change direction quickly and efficiently. He’s got size and reach…and he can make an effective outlet pass to aid in the transition game. Like Carlo, there are sure to be mistakes and mishaps, but O’Gara is smart and motivated- he’s a quick study and character guy who has been around long enough that he understands the system and is ready to prove himself. It might mean more of an apprenticeship in Providence when other players return, but for now, O’Gara has earned the opportunity and will begin on the second pairing with Torey Krug on the right side (ROG shoots left, so it speaks volumes about the level of trust he’s earned that the Boston coaching staff is fine with him playing his “off” side).
David Backes will skate on a line tonight with Marchand and David Pastrnak if nothing changes between now and puck drop, and with Bergeron out (albeit temporarily), maybe bringing in an experienced veteran center wasn’t such a bad idea after all. David Krejci has a great deal to prove, and with Heinen and Ryan Spooner flanking him, there’s no shortage of offensive creativity on that unit. Spooner’s speed is a welcome addition to the lessened pace of Krejci and Heinen, but the trio provide quite an intriguing matchup on paper. All three of them are or have been centers before, so that’s a line that gives Julien a lot of flexibility and versatility.
Czarnik will likely test his NHL mettle with Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes. Beleskey doesn’t have the high-end skill to put up big numbers (and he’d be on the top two lines in any event if that were the case) but he’s gritty and should develop some chemistry with Czarnik. Hayes is the wild card- the B’s desperately need a revival from him this season much like Reilly Smith had with Florida a year ago. It would be foolish to think that Hayes doesn’t want to make it work in Boston, but he’ll have to shrug off the external pressures and get down to the basics by just doing what he does best. He doesn’t have either of his linemates’ wheels, so it will be interesting to see if they have some set plays to leverage Hayes as a trailer into the zone with his soft hands and big shot.
Tim Schaller is back up with Boston with Bergeron out and may get a chance to skate with Noel Acciari and Dominic Moore, but the guess here is that Riley Nash will round out the fourth line. It’s not a nasty unit in terms of abundant physicality, but they’ll all grind it out and bring some veteran smarts to go with Acciari’s exuberance.
Defensively, the Bruins need their veterans- Chara, Krug and John-Michael Liles– to provide some glue for the younger guys- Carlo (Chara), O’Gara (Krug) and Colin Miller (Liles) as they shake out the butterflies and deal with the immense difference in speed, skill and pace from what they are used to. Chiller got enough action in last year, and Joe Morrow is also around to step in should anyone get hurt or falter, but this is an untested bunch and the biggest source of consternation with the 2016-17 Bruins.
Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin were the tandem in Boston’s net the last time the B’s went to the Stanley Cup final series in 2013, so there are no concerns with the talent or experience. They can’t carry a team on their backs, though- so everyone will have to row hard in the same direction. If the talent gap becomes too great, then Sweeney will have to act at some point.
That’s all going to have to wait for the time being, because this is what the B’s are going with to begin the new season.
As the Dropkick Murphys so aptly like to belt out- drop the puck…it’s time to go. (Thanks BruinsBabe176)
It’s the classic hockey saw: Small guys must prove they can play, while big players need only prove they can’t.
NHL teams were scared off by Austin Czarnik’s size, so they didn’t draft him.
The Michigan native was a scoring whiz at every level, displaying speed, creativity, puck skills and a willingness to battle and make a difference. But in the end, when it came to the NHL draft, no joy.
So, he went to Miami University, ended up being the captain and was even a Hobey Baker finalist. He dazzled with some serious scoring mojo while he was at Oxford and the Bruins managed to beat out other suitors to get him on April 1, 2015.
It was no fool’s joke- the kid can just flat-out play. He showed it a year ago as he provided consistent offense and nearly scored at a point-per-game clip for Providence as a rookie pro in the AHL. That after impressing with the Bruins during the exhibition season, where he showed some instant chemistry with Frank Vatrano.
Czarnik played so well that he was a late-season emergency callup to go into the Boston lineup if a banged-up David Krejci was waved off. That didn’t happen, but if not for that, Czarnik would have made his NHL debut already.
He’s generously listed at 5-foot-9, but has pure speed in open ice that makes him so fun to watch. Witness tonight, as he burned past Andrei Markov in the Habs’ zone to get to a loose puck and rifle it over Al Montoya’s shoulder.
TSP has seen all we need to- the guy is skilled enough to play in the NHL…right now. He’s a winner. He’s worked hard to improve in the offseason and he’s putting that effort into practice with consistent offense during exhibition play. Of course, offense alone isn’t a guarantee that Czarnik will make the big club out of camp, but it certainly helps. Working against him is his natural center position and the depth the Bruins currently have there. We suspect he’s versatile enough to play out of position and still make things happen, and he’d probably do manual labor if the team asked him to- he’s that kind of guy.
In other words- Czarnik is earning a job with the Boston Bruins the right way. He’s not a big-time draft pedigree guy, but he’s showing that Ryan Nadeau and the rest of the staff that scouted him and helped to close the deal in 2015 deserve a lot of credit for seeing this kind of potential in him.
Let’s not ruin the party by talking about projections and ceilings just yet- all in good time. For now, let’s enjoy the excellent play and results Czarnik is getting. He’s proving he might be small, but he has big talent and a bigger heart.
That’s a fact we suspect is not lost on Don Sweeney, Claude Julien and the Boston coaches.
Frank Vatrano, UMass Minutemen (Kirk Luedeke photo)
Got a tip after the first day of camp- fitness testing (closed to the media) was in the books- that the Boston Bruins were going to be without a player for quite some time due to injury. I had to scrap a bit to get a name, but by the next morning- I was hearing it was Frank Vatrano, and the worst of the fears started to come true after he was a no-show in both on-ice training camp sessions Fridayh at the Warrior Ice Arena.
Now, on Saturday, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have announced that Vatrano tore ligaments in his foot and will have surgery on Monday, Sep. 26 with a three-month recovery window. That’s a major setback for the Springfield Rifle, who was coming into the new season to make the case that he’s the B’s second LW behind Brad Marchand. That’s all on hold now.
The details are a little foggy- one player source tells me that Vatrano injured himself “weeks ago” but that the severity wasn’t determined (and player and team hoped that rest would heal it) until he engaged in the fitness testing and the cat got out of the bag that it was far worse than anyone thought.
It also answers the “how full of (bleep) are the Bruins” question that some fans were directing their way when Peter Mueller was announced as a PTO/invite to camp. Given that they had to know Vatrano might suffer such a setback, bringing in the veteran forward makes a lot more sense now. Of course- if he’s not up to the task, the vacancy up front will be filled by someone else, but at age 28 and as a former top-10 draft pick, why the heck not?
Danton Heinen is my choice to step up and grab a spot coming out of camp…he was already a dark horse favorite, but now- I think a spot is his to lose because he’s so talented and brings that high-end hockey IQ to the table. We’ll see, but I like Heinen as someone who understands the opportunity that just knocked for him- I expect the 2014 fourth-rounder to open the door and walk in.
More on Vatrano later- this is a tough setback for a kid who seemed on the verge of taking a next big step in the NHL after a dazzling pro hockey debut a year ago.He’ll be back, but it will be a path he’s likely got to earn every step of the way. We saw Seth Griffith deal with a similar situation when he was injured in the preseason last year and barely saw a sniff. For the record- I think Vatrano will get more of an opportunity to get back into the Boston lineup than Griffith received, but even when he’s cleared to return, the B’s will likely rehab him down in Providence and take their time. At least, that plan makes sense today on September 24, 2016. If the B’s scoring well runs dry in late December, we might see Frankie Vats faster than anticipated.
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