Bjork still searching for his niche with Bruins
Anders Bjork continues the search for his true National Hockey League identity tonight in New Jersey.
In his fourth pro season, Bjork is expected to start the year on a fourth line with center Sean Kuraly and right wing Chris Wagner, a new role for him but one that could help him find his niche or perhaps catapult him back into a top-six/top-nine role for which Bruins management envisioned he was suited for when he left Notre Dame.
Whether this is a good starting point for Bjork or it’s his career station remains to be seen.
“All three guys can skate well, get around, cover ice. And I think if you’re going to be an efficient checker and play against good players, you have to be able to get around the ice and/or have a good stick and hockey IQ and have a mindset. We’re trying to build the mindset of ‘ This is where you best fit for now.’ We’ll see how it goes,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “We know he had a great offensive season at Notre Dame but after that in Providence and here, he’s kind of bounced around a bit so he’s never truly had the opportunity to put up the numbers for a long period of time. Some of that was injury-related, some of that was production-related, some of it was competition-related. But at the end of the day, it’s a bit of ‘Here’s where you can carve out an identity and let’s see where it goes from here.’
“There’s a lot of players that started there and worked their way up and had offensive attributes. I can go back to Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand. I can go way back to Doug Gilmour for anyone who knows his career. He came into the league as a fourthline guy that was a scoring champ in the OHL and ends up being a high-end offensive player. So we’re not putting a ceiling on him, but this is where we feel he fits and we’ll see where he goes from there.”
Cassidy said Bjork’s defensive game improved last year and he should be an effective penalty-killer. He also liked the buy-in from Bjork in his new role.
Though he’s played as high in the lineup as firstline right wing with Bergeron in his first season, Bjork said not much
changes in his mentality in this role.
“My game is being responsible in the defensive end but also bringing some offense to it. Those are two areas that I’m trying to improve upon. I think I can do that on any line I’m on,” he said. “Playing with Wags and Kurls, they’re very smart two-way players but they also have offensive ability and want to possess the puck. I want to do that as well and help improve that on my line.”
Honoring Roy
The Bruins announced they will be wearing emblems to honor the late Travis Roy, the former Boston University player who suffered a horrific spinal cord injury on his first collegiate shift and spent his remaining years raising funds and awareness of spinal cord injuries with the Travis Roy Foundation.
“The Boston Bruins are proud to join Boston University this upcoming season in honoring the courageous and inspirational life of Travis Roy,” said Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs. “I am forever grateful for having had the opportunity to call Travis a friend and will never forget the lessons his life’s journey taught us all. Travis’ profound legacy will always be remembered within the Bruins locker room and in hockey rinks across the world.”
The Bruins’ players wore the TR24 decal, signifying Roy’s number with the Terriers, on their helmets for practice on Wednesday.
“When Travis felt the tap on his shoulder from Coach (Jack) Parker signaling his turn to take the ice for BU, it was the best moment of his life,” said Roy’s parents Brenda and Lee in a statement. “Years of hard work and dedica
tion were about to pay off — his lifelong dream was coming true. Twenty years later, the Bruins offered Travis a one-day contract and asked him to drop the ceremonial pregame puck. He was honored and humbled to do so. Fans from around New England were present on both occasions cheering him on. It was their love and support that gave Travis the courage and motivation to move forward under the most difficult of circumstances. Travis never wanted to let these fans down, and, with their support, he lived a
life of purpose and impact even he never dreamed possible. We thank BU, the Bruins and sports’ fans throughout New England for loving and supporting our son and the Travis Roy Foundation.”
Brad is back
Marchand returned to practice and Cassidy believes he’ll be in the lineup for the season-opener against the Devils.
“I suspect there’ll be a little bit of adapting from the surgery for him, but I fully expect him to play (tonight) and we’ll see where it
goes from there,” said Cassidy.
Other moves
The B’s placed reserve forward Par Lindholm on waivers.
Forward Karson Kuhlman, who missed most of camp because of testing issues, landed on the league’s initial COVID Related Absence’s list on Wednesday. He was not expected to play in the season-opener.
Cassidy said that defenseman Steven Kampfer had to return home because of a family emergency.