Harrison scores points with coaches already
It doesn’t take long to see why the Bruins are looking forward to Brett Harrison’s jump to the AHL ranks.
Armed with a heavy, accurate shot, the 2021 third-round pick has found twine time and time again during Boston’s development camp. Over the last two seasons, Harrison scored 61 times in 122 games between Oshawa and Windsor.
“Offensively, lots to like . . . His shot is a weapon,” Bruins assistant GM Jamie Langenbrunner said. “He can score from a lot of places.”
The strides made by Harrison and Matthew Poitras offer hope that the Bruins can shore up their pending vacancies down the middle.
But when Harrison, 20, begins his first full season in Providence this fall, Langenbrunner expects him to start on the wing.
Beyond the need to lighten Harrison’s initial workload, the Bruins are looking for him to build momentum by way of stuffing the stat sheet.
“We find it’s good to at least introduce a lot of these guys on the wing,” Langenbrunner said. “A little less responsibility, going to gain some energy from some production.
“If you put him on the wing, you can usually have maybe a little better players with him instead of playing down the lineup in the middle, which is normal . . . I think, especially in the American League, you’re cycling lineups nearly every night because of guys moving around.”
Like father . . . like son?
Mason Langenbrunner, a fifth-round pick in 2020, has the luxury of honing his craft in the Bruins’ back yard.
Set to enter his second season at Harvard, the 6-foot-3-inch defenseman has resources readily available, as far as members of the Bruins’ player development staff, such as Adam McQuaid and Danielle Marmer.
His father, Jamie? The elder Langenbrunner has served in a player-development role within Boston’s organization since 2015, and has 1,109 games of NHL experience on his résumé. But when it comes to his 20-year-old son, the twotime Stanley Cup winner opts to defer to the rest of the Bruins’ staff.
“I’m just his dad when it comes to everything hockey right now,” Langenbrunner said of his coaching relationship with Mason. “He’ll ask me a question, I’ll maybe answer it. We got good people in Adam McQuaid, Danielle Marmer that do all of the hockey talk with him. I get to just be dad.
“Sometimes you go watch a game, it’s a little bit hard. But it’s the best way, otherwise we’d probably not get along very well.”
Bulking up still weighty issue
Each young hockey player has unique challenges to overcome on their road to the NHL.
Power forwards or imposing blue liners likely need to sharpen their skating ability. Blue-chippers who routinely do damage in the offensive zone must bolster their play down the other end of the ice.
But regardless of the prospect in question, Langenbrunner and the rest of Boston’s development staff usually echo the same mandate when it comes to each participant’s offseason objective: Pack on some pounds.
Such an order might seem like an easy goal. But for Chris Pelosi, it’s a task easier said than achieved.
“It’s hard for some people,” said Pelosi, a third-round pick this year who is listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds. “For me, I know I can’t eat a lot. And I’m just trying to get into it now. My trainers back at home have been helping me.”
Pelosi’s bulk-up meal of choice? Rice Krispies mixed with yogurt and protein powder.
Gruden off to Toronto
After shoring up vacancies on the playing roster this past weekend, the Bruins will now have to account for another loss — this time behind Boston’s bench.
Assistant coach John Gruden is leaving the organization to serve as the head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate.
The 53-year-old former defenseman served on Jim Montgomery’s staff for just one season after spending the previous four years as an assistant with the Islanders.