EXPECTATIONS, BUT QUESTIONS APLENTY
Still lots for Neely’s Bruins to prove
At this time last year, few observers knew what to expect from the Bruins. The team’s management was fully invested in a youth movement. There was plenty of uncertainty surrounding that approach, but it would yield bona fide NHL players out of rookies like Charlie McAvoy, Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk and Sean Kuraly, who would all contribute to making the B’s one of the best teams in the league.
There are not as many open spots to fill this year and, based on the level of success they enjoyed last year, the B’s are expected to be a playoff team again. But if they are to be anything more than that, those holes do need to be filled sometime, some way, somehow. As of now, it’s not quite clear how that will happen.
Team president Cam Neely sat down with the Herald last week to discuss that and other topics as the B’s embark on a new season.
First, the holes. When the B’s went on their 10-day excursion to China — a voyage that seems to have taken a lot out of everyone — they brought along three rookie hopefuls (Trent Frederic, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Jack Studnicka) to see if any one could nail down the third line job. As of yesterday, Studnicka had been sent back to his junior team in Oshawa, Forsbacka Karlsson had been assigned to AHL Providence and Frederic, who leads the three-man pack, remained in Boston only as insurance in case either Patrice Bergeron or Kuraly, who appears destined to start the season as the third line center, aren’t healthy enough to go Wednesday in Washington.
“We expected something probably a little different,” said Neely. “In all fairness to Jack Studnicka, we kind of figured he’d need more seasoning. We love his hockey sense, skill set and the way he plays the game. But now you’re talking about playing against men. JFK is someone we were anxious to see where he was at, based on the season he had. He had some injuries (a concussion chief among them). We were looking to see if he was the guy who puts a stamp on it. And even Trent Frederic, he’s got some NHL size already. A big body, more of a straight line player. He had the kind of camp we probably expected. Maybe we hoped he would have surprised us in a different way. But he’s just figuring it out, too, this is his first camp. Overall, it wasn’t completely surprising, but I thought maybe at this point someone would have stuck out over the other two.”
Maybe Frederic or Forsbacka Karlsson needs another year in Providence. Maybe it could be just a couple months and they could still provide help this year. It is not unheard of. Grzelcyk didn’t arrive to stay until November last year and became a regular defenseman. The Penguins’ first Stanley Cup under Mike Sullivan featured several in-season call-ups. And the Lightning beat the B’s last year with the help of late call-up Anthony Cirelli.
Maybe PTOer Daniel Winnik could be signed to bolster the bottom six. Both Winnik and unsigned free agent winger Lee Stempniak remained in camp as of yesterday. There are options, though neat and clean they may not be.
“We’ve certainly talked about that, there’s no question. I’ve never been a big fan of picking your team in the offseason and say ‘This is what our roster is going to look like.’ Because there’s always surprises. And for me, I also like having that competition in camp, where players see a couple of potential openings and say ‘I have an opportunity to grab that spot.’ But it could mean just a little more seasoning,” said Neely, who also expects winger Anders Bjork, limited in camp after shoulder surgery, to make a strong push for playing time. “We’ve seen it with other teams, other players across the league where they may start the season down in the American Hockey League but they get called up and make an impact. That may happen here, too.”
Bjork could compete down the road for what had been an open right wing spot next to David Krejci. That appears to be going to Heinen, who has looked pretty good next to the Krejci in camp. A top six of Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak and then DeBrusk-Krejci-Heinen is not bad at all. Ryan Donato is another possibility for that spot. There are options.
But the B’s were in on a couple of players that would have been a lot more eye-catching over the summer — first Ilya Kovalchuk, who signed with the Kings, then John Tavares, who made one of the B’s chief rivals that much better in Toronto.
“It’s disappointing, but you have to move on quickly,” Neely said. “But the one thing I do like is the fact that we’re in those conversations for those players, that they’d want to come and play here. They see what we’re doing, what we’ve done. Players talk, they’ve been to the city to know what a great city and sports town it is. You want to try and land everyone you can that could improve your club, but to be in the conversation is the first thing, so as long as that continues. But we’re still understanding that we have to build this from the draft and that’s an area that’s gotten strong for us.”
Indeed, the B’s have drafted and developed well — for the most part. Their 2014 draft produced Pastrnak, Donato, Heinen and Bjork; 2015 gave them DeBrusk, Brandon Carlo and goalie Daniel Vladar; 2016 landed them McAvoy, Frederic and Ryan Lindgren, who helped them swing the Rick Nash trade; 2017 gave them Urho Vaakanainen, who had a strong camp and looks promising, and Studnicka, who might be the most talented of the three young centermen in the system.
But as the B’s still search for a third line center and hope they have their top-six right wing, it’s hard not to look back on that 2015 draft and think it was missed opportunity. They had three picks in the first round. They took defenseman Jakub Zboril with the 13th pick, DeBrusk at 14 and Zach Senyshyn at 15. Still on the board were center Mathew Barzal and wingers Kyle Connor and Brock Boeser. Barzal won the Calder Trophy with the Islanders last season while Connor scored 31 goals for Winnipeg and Boeser had 29 in 62 games for Vancouver. Both Zboril and Senyshyn have shown progress in this camp, but neither have played in the NHL or will make the varsity out of camp.
It’s the nature of drafting teenagers, said Neely of the inexact science of the draft.
“Looking back at that draft, your scouting staff has a big in-
put. They’re the ones out there pounding the pavement looking at the games and they’re also trying to project where they’re going to end up,” said Neely. “We’re not writing (that draft) off just yet. Some players take a little while to develop. You can look at every draft and teams will say ‘Why didn’t I pick that player?’ That’ll happen tomorrow, the next day and the next, it’ll always happen. But now it’s our job to develop these players the best we can to get them in our lineup.”
Given the results of the last year-plus, it’s not surprising Neely would express great confidence in general manager Don Sweeney, whom he installed in 2015 after firing Peter Chiarelli, and coach Bruce Cassidy, whom Sweeney hired after firing longtime coach Claude Julien.
“I believe there’s a good team in place with Don and Bruce,” said Neely. “I’ve watched their interaction and their communication, and it’s strong. It needs to be strong. I like the way Bruce wants to play. It’s an exciting brand of hockey. He wants the guys to push the pace. I love his practices and you see a different environment around the locker room because it’s fun. He still holds you accountable, which you have to be on the defensive side of the puck. Everybody wants to score goals but you can’t make mistakes by trying to run up the score. You still have to be sound defensively. So he does have a nice balance of that. But I’m very happy with the work both Don and Bruce have put in and the results that we’ve gotten so far.”
But can the goal of a Stanley Cup be attained? Everyone loves the kids, but this team is still motored by its veteran core that’s not getting any younger. Bergeron has been dealing with a wonky back this preseason, the third early season injury he’s dealt with in as many years. Krejci has had his health issues. And, yes, Zdeno Chara is a fitness marvel, but he’s still 41 years old.
The future may be on solid ground with the number of young players and prospects, but Neely knows there has to be a sense of urgency for the present. That explains the wooing of Kovalchuk and Tavares. And it wouldn’t be a shock if the B’s land veteran impact players via trade it could not attain on the open market.
“As a management group and a coaching staff, we have to try and give everyone the right pieces so that we’ll win a championship. And we’ll want to do that sooner rather than later,” said Neely. “We feel there’s an element of opportunity in front of us that we need to embrace and take advantage. I think everybody sees that. Obviously it’s a difficult thing to do, to be the last team standing. But we have the backing from ownership to do what we feel we need to do to win the Stanley Cup. We want to take a look at our roster and say ‘OK, let’s not look at it with rose-colored glasses. Let’s see where we feel we need to improve and let’s go out and do it.’”
The season opens Wednesday against the Stanley Cup champion Capitals. The Bruins will bring a pretty good roster. But keep in mind, it is a working document.