Veterans in Bruins camp mentors, too
The drawn-out chants of “Looooch” were extra loud as they reverberated off the walls of a mostly empty KeyBank Center in Buffalo Tuesday night.
Bruins fans showed up and made their presence felt, many of them dusting off their old Milan Lucic No. 17 sweaters for the occasion.
It mattered not that the Sabres scored a 4-1 preseason victory. All that mattered to the black-and-gold clad fandom was that Lucic’s familiar hulking presence was storming up and down the ice.
Lucic’s place on the roster is secure, but there were two other NHL veterans continuing their push to take up residence in Boston this season.
Wingers Alex Chiasson and Danton Heinen, both on professional tryout deals, did solid work against a mix of Buffalo starters and hopefuls.
Chiasson played on the top line with Lucic and Marc McLaughlin, while Heinen skated with Georgii Merkulov and Oskar Steen.
Smart, savvy, and sizable, the 6-foot-4-inch, 208-pound Chiasson was quick to pucks in the dirty areas. His performance matched his strong showings through the first week of training camp practices.
“I’ve seen a player that is a pro. I mean, he knows how to manage games,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “He knows how to get to the areas where his strengths are played, which is below the tops of the circles. He’s a guy that when he’s in and around the net, whether he is behind the net or in front of it, he makes things happen.”
Chiasson, who has gone the PTO route before, has been pleased with his performance as he learns the Bruins system and a bunch of new faces. Earning a contract is a top priority, but he isn’t letting that cloud his concentration on being consistent.
“To be honest, I try to focus on three, four things,” said Chiasson, who turns 33 Sunday. “Try to get back to the basics a little bit and not try to complicate things, and build confidence through my game.
“I’ve been through it a couple times in my career and understand what preseasons are for, but I think at the same time it’s an important time to push yourself because the start of the year, the regular season’s really important for every team.”
With 651 games, 120 goals, and 213 points under his NHL belt, Chiasson has become a mentor for some of the younger players in camp, even though he’s battling those same guys for a job.
“I’ve always taken pride in what I do every day and try to push myself in practice, push my teammates,” said Chiasson, who played three seasons at Boston University. “I think when I started early on in my career, there’s older guys that did that, and I think it’s important for me to do that.”
Heinen, too, provided some veteran leadership Tuesday, often checking in with his linemates to make sure they were in the right spots.
“I think they’re both smart players,” said Montgomery. “I think it’s just getting on the same page. Haven’t really played with each other much, so just trying to, I guess, make sure we all know what we’re doing and they’re smart players, so just try to talk to them and help out any way I can, and they help me, too.”
Montgomery, who coached Heinen at the University of Denver (“where he was our best player”), appreciates how he has blended in.
“Danton’s an intelligent hockey player that understands how to connect three forwards, especially in the offensive zone,” said Montgomery. “And his puck support has always been a big asset of his [in] all three zones.”
Heinen, 28, said he doesn’t really think of teammates as job competition. When the puck drops, it’s more about team.
“You just think about your teammates and you’re trying to win a hockey [game], so yeah, you’re trying to help each other as much as you can,” he said. “I think you try to come together as teams as quickly as you can and try to win hockey games.
Montgomery said it’s important for Chiasson and Heinen to play free and easy and not spend time thinking about their contract statuses.
“I guess the challenge is to play your game and stay in the moment without trying to put too much pressure on yourself to produce and drive results,” said the coach .
Back in Brighton for Wednesday’s practices, the Group A session had a bit of a regular-season feel to it with Pavel Zacha centering for Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle between James van Riemsdyk and Jake DeBrusk, Morgan Geekie flanked by Trent Frederic and Patrick Brown, and Matt Poitras centering for Brett Harrison and Fabian Lysell . . . The defense pairings for Group A were Charlie McAvoy and Mike Callahan, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk, Derek Forbort and Dan Renouf, and Parker Wotherspoon with Reilly Walsh . . . Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman were the goalies . . . For Group B (which featured many of those who played Tuesday night), the lines were: McLaughlin centering Lucic and Chiasson; Jesper Boqvist with Heinen and Steen; Johnny Beecher with Trevor Kuntar and Jakub Lauko; and Merkulov with Jayson Megna and Joey Abate. Among the defensive pairings: Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo, Mason Lohrei and Ian Mitchell, Jackson Edward with Ryan Mast, and Ethan Ritchie with Frederic Brunet. In the nets were Brandon Bussi, Kyle Keyser, and Michael DiPietro.