2017 camps and preseason

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HOCKEY!


Thursday, July 6 - Sunday, July 9 (Warrior Ice Arena, Brighton, MA)
Boston Bruins 2017 Development Camp

Thursday, September 7
Rookie Camp opens

Thursday, September 14
Main Camp opens

BOSTON BRUINS 2017 PRESEASON SCHEDULE:

Monday, September 18 (Quebec City, QC)
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens (Videotron Centre, Quebec, QC, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Tuesday, September 19 (Boston, MA)
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins (TD Garden, Boston, MA, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Thursday, September 21 (Boston, MA)
Philadelphia Flyers at Boston Bruins (TD Garden, Boston, MA, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Saturday, September 23 (Detroit, MI)
Boston Bruins at Detroit Red Wings (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Monday, September 25 (Boston, MA)
Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (TD Garden, Boston, MA, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Thursday, September 28 (Philadelphia, PA)
Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, 7:00 p.m. ET)

Saturday, September 30 (Chicago, IL)
Boston Bruins at Chicago Blackhawks (United Center, Chicago, IL, 8:30 p.m. ET)
 

cshea

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B's announced the development camp schedule and roster. Starts Thursday in Brighton.

https://www.nhl.com/bruins//bruins-announce-2017-development-camp-roster-and-schedule/c-290275122

Roster:

F: Jack Becker, Anders Bjork, Ryan Donato, Trent Frederic, Jesse Gabrielle, Cameron Hughes, Mason Jobst *, Joona Koppanen, Karson Kuhlman*, Josh Melnick*, TJ Moore*, RJ Murphy*, Cedric Pare, Eric Robinson*, Zach Senyshyn, Oskar Steen, Jack Studnicka

D: Victor Berglund, Ian Brady*, Daniel Bukac, Cameron Clarke, Jeremy Lauzon, Ryan Lindgren, Wiley Sherman, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakob Zboril

G: Robert McGovern*, Jeremy Swayman, Daniel Vladar

*= Invite

Cameron Hughes and Jeremy Lauzon are listed as recovering from surgery and may not skate. Charlie graduated. They seem to have worked something out with JFK becasue I think he only participated in his draft year.

I'd say Bjork is close to a lock for the NHL team this year. Lauzon, Zboril, Gabrielle, Senyshyn could be cup-of-coffe candidates or push if they have a good main camp in September.
 

cshea

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Sounds like Bjork was real good in camp today. He missed the first two days, but shined on the ice today.


 

cshea

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Good quote from Cassidy yesterday. He qualifies it as "spitballing" but seems we're going to have kids in the lineup everywhere. His "spitballing" lineup is:

Marchand - Bergeron - Kid (Bjork?)
Kid (DeBrusk/Heinen?) - Krejci - Pastrnak
Vatrano? - JFK - Backes

Cassidy sure is a good quote.

 

TheRealness

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I'm convinced Bjork starts in the top 9, but it's a harder argument with Senyshyn. I think he's behind Heinen and DeBrusk, and likely to play most of the year in Providence. I really hope JFK is ready to go, but that has more to do with my passionate dislike of Spooner as a player.

As for the development camp, it appears Donato has separated himself from the rest of the pack. I don't think he will leave until after his senior year, but he's a guy that I'm also very high on. Vaantainen also looked like he could move really well and was effective as a first pass defenseman. I guess Studnicka showed very good speed as well according to Haggs. Fwiw, Haggs appears to be the only beat writer writing up summaries of the camp.
 

LogansDad

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That Cassidy quote.... am I allowed to be excited about the coming season already? Because I am, and I'm not sue there's anything I can do to stop it.

Also, thanks guys, for keeping this thread updated. Hockey offseason is hard to follow from Northern California, and I love any update I can get!
 

cshea

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Hockey is a week away. Rookies report on the 7th and head to Buffalo for games against the Sabres, Devils and Penguins rookies the 8th-11th. B's announced the roster:

Forwards: Anders Bjork, Shawn Boudrias*, Jake DeBrusk, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jesse Gabrielle, Alex Gacek*, James Hamblin*, Danton Heinen, Justin Hickman, Joona Koppanen, Sean Kuraly, Cedric Pare, Zach Senyshyn, Oskar Steen

Defense: Victor Berglund, Connor Clifton*, Matt Grzelyck, Owen Headrick*, Emil Johanson, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy, Rob O'Gara, Ethan Sakowich*, Jakub Zboril

Goalies: Kyle Keyser*, Luke Richardson*

*= Invitee

Hopefully the games will be streamed online. Handful of kids playing that could make an impact with the big club this season.
 

cshea

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B's lineup...

Heinen - Studnicka - Senyshyn
Fitzgerald - Forsbacka Karlsson - Steen
Gabrielle - Koppanen - Hickman
Pare - Hamblin - Boudrias

Grzelcyk - Berglund
Zboril - Clifton
Lauzon - Johansson

Keyser

No Bjork, McAvoy, DeBrusk, O'Gara or Kuraly today.
 

cshea

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B's had a bad first, falling behind 2-0 and getting out shot 14-4.

B's just scored a PPG. Studnicka bomb from the top of the left circle.
 

cshea

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DeBrusk - Studnicka - Bjork
Fitzgerald - JFK - Senyshyn
Gabrielle - Kuraly - Steen
Gacek- Koppanen - Hickman

O'Gara - Clifton
Zboril - McAvoy
Sakowich - Johansson

Richardson
 

Eddie Jurak

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Bruins lost, 7-4. Joey Mac has a few interesting notes form the game on bostonsportsjournal.com.

A couple of key ones:

  • McAvoy was a vocal leader on the ice, pushed the play and moved the puck
  • Debrusk/JFK/Bjork played on a line and created chances. Nice chemistry between Bjork and JFK.
  • Nice moments for Johannson, Gabrielle, Senyshyn, Kuraly
 

TheRealness

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Bjork had a great one timer snipe on the fourth goal. Not much defense being played, but from what I was able to watch they were playing fast. The Bjork line was very effective. Anders is smart player.
 

cshea

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Not sure if there's a stream for the game today. Here's the lineup:

Heinen - Studnicka - Bjork
DeBrusk - JFK - Senyshyn
Gabrielle - Kuraly - Fitzgerald
Pare - Koppanen - Hickman

O'Gara - Berglund
Grzelyck- Headrick
Lauzon - Zboril

Keyser

#1 overall pick Nico Hischier is in the lineup for the Devils.
 

cshea

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4-1 B's with 6 min left in the first. Studnicka SHG, DeBrusk, Bjork and Gabrielle with the goals.

And 5-1 after 1. Heinen PPG. They also apparently changed Bjork's goal to Heinen.
 
Last edited:

cshea

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9-3 final. Heinen hat trick, DeBrusk 1-2, Studnicka 1-2, Bjork 1-1. Seems like a successful weekend for the kids.

Main camp opens Thursday.
 

LogansDad

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Another really good write up by Joe McDonald (I feel like I'm going to be saying that a lot this year) on the state of the Bruins "youth movement".

Also, he wrote in his notes on today's game that the DeBrusk-JFK-Senyshyn line was working really well together.... should the B's just call them up as the third line when they break camp?? (I kid, I kid.... but I'm really excited for the future of this team right now).
 

cshea

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I think they have 2-4 open roster spots at forward heading to camp, so a kid line may be possible. They need a LW for Krejci and RW for Bergy. Maybe another RW opening is the Pastrnak situation doesn't get settled, but let's just hope they don't have to cross that bridge. The only other spot I can find is if they sour on Beleskey or Spooner and either trade one/both or are willing to healthy scratch them.

Small camp primer here:

Marchand - Bergeron - XXX
XXX - Krejci - Pastrnak/XXX
Vatrano - Spooner - Backes
Beleskey - Nash - Acciari

Bjork and DeBrusk probably lead the way for the top 6 openings as their both wingers and NHL ready, though Kenny Agostino will probably get a long look in preseason as well. Unless they do something with Spooner, I don't see much room for JFK right out of the gate, unless they bump Spooner to the wing again. Senyshyn is probably a long shot, but you ever know. Cehlarik may be in the mix for the Krejci line vacancy too.

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - McQuaid
Miller - Carlo
Postma

Not much to see here on D. Maybe Postma beats out McQuaid, but these 7 seem pretty much locked in. The kids are starting to hit Providence and the depth chart for them will be interesting. Grzelyck, O'Gara, Lauzon, Zboril, Johansson should all be in Providence. Hopefully if disaster strikes like it did in the playoffs, they won't be nearly as screwed.

Rask
Khudobin/Subban/McIntyre

I think backup G will be an under the radar camp battle. I don't think Khudobin has it locked down. He can easily be sent to Providence if he doesn't perform well. Subban is waiver eligible this season, so from an asset management standpoint he may have a better shot of sticking around than McIntyre. I really hope one of them takes the job and runs with it so they don't have to run Rask into the ground before Februrary like the last few seasons.
 

McDrew

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I am terrified of a serious regression by Chara. I think that THIS season either McAvoy or Carlo are going to need to ascend into the 1A slot or this team is going to have a weak defense. I also think a few defensive lineups are possible, but I don't think any are more probable than the one you have.

I'm so interested about how this season will go though. There are a lot of unknowns, and depending on how they turn out, this season could be anywhere from a race to the bottom (with a first line that is one of the best in the NHL), or a possible look at a top 2 division seed.
 

LogansDad

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AMcGhie, I have the same exact fear about Chara. He has still been a good defenseman the last couple years, but has pretty clearly lost a step. More often than not he makes up for it by being in the right place, and having a huge stick and arms, but how many more half a steps can he lose before he becomes ineffective.

I too am really interested in how this season will go. I hope the front office is willing to endure some growing pains because I think that the best way forward is to get the kids some experience (as soon as they are actually deemed ready, obviously), and there are a lot of kids coming up. I don't get to follow the P-Bruins as much as I would like, but I liked the little I saw from O'Gara last season, and I truly believe McAvoy is the real deal.... I'm looking forward to seeing some more of the young D's come up over the next couple of years.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I'm not that worried about Chara - in fact I'd extend him, though he may prefer to chase a ring somewhere. I don't think he's the 2 way beast that he was in his prime, of course, but I also don't think he'll be an "off the cliff" guy who goes from a #1 to unplayable in an offseason.

They absolutely need McAvoy and others to emerge and cover for some of his decline, but provided that happens I think Chara will be just fine.
 

cshea

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Krug is a borderline #1 as is. They are set up to withstand Chara's decline with Krug and hopefully steps forward from McAvoy and Carlo. They started easing back Chara's usage last season, removing him from the PP and dialing back some TOI. I assume that trend will continue.
 

veritas

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I think Chara is unique enough a player that, barring a catastrophic injury, has a floor of decent NHL defenseman for at least a few more years and could get into Jagr territory. He covers so much ice without moving and will still be able to be an ok player as his mobility continues to decline
 

gryoung

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Krug is a borderline #1 as is. They are set up to withstand Chara's decline with Krug and hopefully steps forward from McAvoy and Carlo. They started easing back Chara's usage last season, removing him from the PP and dialing back some TOI. I assume that trend will continue.
Huh? No way Krug is even sniffing a #1 spot. He's mediocre on defense and spotty on offense. Lucky for him he has size going for him. Oh wait .......
 

Salem's Lot

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Huh? No way Krug is even sniffing a #1 spot. He's mediocre on defense and spotty on offense. Lucky for him he has size going for him. Oh wait .......
In today's league, moving and transitioning the puck out of your zone effectively and be part of the offense is way more important than being able to play shut down D in your zone. Krug will never be on the first PK unit but neither are Eric Karlsson, Kris Letang or Brent Burns and those guys win Norris Trophies these days. Yes Krug is a borderline #1.
 

veritas

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Huh? No way Krug is even sniffing a #1 spot. He's mediocre on defense and spotty on offense. Lucky for him he has size going for him. Oh wait .......
Krug is easily a top 30 defenseman. But he really shouldn't be on a top pairing getting 1st line matchups. Does that make him a #1? Depends on your definition, I think so.
 

gryoung

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We can disagree of course. I view Krug as a defensive liability when he's on the ice and a spotty offensive player. Sure he has strong skating skills and can shoot, so there's a role for him. There may be some local bias here in the thinking he's a #1 defenseman, but hey .........go B's!
 

Eddie Jurak

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We can disagree of course. I view Krug as a defensive liability when he's on the ice and a spotty offensive player. Sure he has strong skating skills and can shoot, so there's a role for him. There may be some local bias here in the thinking he's a #1 defenseman, but hey .........go B's!
Speaking of bias, "spotty offensive player"? How absurd.
 

veritas

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We can disagree of course. I view Krug as a defensive liability when he's on the ice and a spotty offensive player. Sure he has strong skating skills and can shoot, so there's a role for him. There may be some local bias here in the thinking he's a #1 defenseman, but hey .........go B's!
Ummm he was 7th among defensemen in points...and he's actually been a horrible shooter for the past 2 seasons. There are a lot of advanced models rating him as a top 10 defenseman. I think those are overrating him, but it's not just Bruins bias here.
 

TFP

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EJ is right - there is zero claim to say that Krug is a "spotty offensive player". That's objectively false. He was 7th among all defensemen in points last year. He also unquestionably has above average/elite offensive skills for a defenseman.

There is certainly more room for discussion about his defense because it's more subjective to measure. That said, I think his defense gets a bad rap. He went from being sheltered and a liability to competent to above average, in my opinion. It's clear the work he has put in on both his conditioning and his positioning, and its paid off. I expect that improvement to continue.

Whether he is a "#1" is a little more debatable, especially considering the different definitions of a #1. Is he a top 30 defenseman in the league? I think so, right in the 20-30 range. Is he a shutdown, 23-26 min TOI guy you build your whole defensive core around? Probably not. But until the last year or two, neither was Karlsson.

Krug and McAvoy are on the path to being an elite top pairing that other teams will need to plan around in the next 3-5 years. They're not your traditional Weber/Suter giant pairing that scares the hell out of opposing teams, but good luck getting the puck away from them.

Edit - or what veritas said while I was posting.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Ummm he was 7th among defensemen in points...and he's actually been a horrible shooter for the past 2 seasons. There are a lot of advanced models rating him as a top 10 defenseman. I think those are overrating him, but it's not just Bruins bias here.
Didn't he play through an injury to his shooting hand? I suspect that was part of it, as he came on offensively towards the end of the year.

As for defense, I don't think he is great, but I also don't think he is terrible. I'd rather him than a guy who more sound in his own end but cannot move the puck as well. (I mean, there's a role for that type of guy, too, but behind Krug.)
 

Eddie Jurak

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Whether he is a "#1" is a little more debatable, especially considering the different definitions of a #1. Is he a top 30 defenseman in the league? I think so, right in the 20-30 range. Is he a shutdown, 23-26 min TOI guy you build your whole defensive core around? Probably not. But until the last year or two, neither was Karlsson.
The way I personally think of a #1, Krug doesn't qualify. The offense is there, but not quite the all-around game or the all-situation minutes.

Krug and McAvoy are on the path to being an elite top pairing that other teams will need to plan around in the next 3-5 years. They're not your traditional Weber/Suter giant pairing that scares the hell out of opposing teams, but good luck getting the puck away from them.
Judging from what we saw in the playoffs, I think McAvoy has the potential to be a #1. It's a small sample, and Ottawa seemed to my eye to have him figured out by the end of the series. But his contribution in that series was enormous.
 

McDrew

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Eddie, I agree with both of your points there. I expect a #1 to be a shutdown defenseman. Anything else is nice, but not part of the requirement. I think Krug is going to be a solid 2A for a long time. I think McAvoy showed promise. I also think Carlo did last year before his late-season injury. I hope that whichever one is paired with Chara makes the leap and becomes this team's 1A to Chara's 1B.
 

gryoung

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Eddie, I agree with both of your points there. I expect a #1 to be a shutdown defenseman. Anything else is nice, but not part of the requirement. I think Krug is going to be a solid 2A for a long time. I think McAvoy showed promise. I also think Carlo did last year before his late-season injury. I hope that whichever one is paired with Chara makes the leap and becomes this team's 1A to Chara's 1B.
Good viewpoints. McAvoy and Carlo have that #1 potential for sure. Whether either develops is open .......we'll see. There's more talent coming through the ranks that should contribute in the near-term as well.
 

BigMike

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Ummm he was 7th among defensemen in points...and he's actually been a horrible shooter for the past 2 seasons. There are a lot of advanced models rating him as a top 10 defenseman. I think those are overrating him, but it's not just Bruins bias here.
Having him a top 10 playing might be overrating him, but there is not doubt he is a top 30 defenseman in the league right now. He accomplished a ton the last couple of years, and hopefully this year he is healthy, as he obviously wasn't fully back from the shoulder injury the first few months last year, which certainly limited his shot some

In terms of a #1, generally it is a player who can play 25 minutes a night, AND contributes on both ends of the ice. I don't see Carlo as a #1, he is just to limited with the puck on his stick. McAvoy on the other hand has a chance to be that guy
 

Eddie Jurak

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Eddie, I agree with both of your points there. I expect a #1 to be a shutdown defenseman. Anything else is nice, but not part of the requirement. I think Krug is going to be a solid 2A for a long time. I think McAvoy showed promise. I also think Carlo did last year before his late-season injury. I hope that whichever one is paired with Chara makes the leap and becomes this team's 1A to Chara's 1B.
I don't think I would go so far as to say that a #1 has to be a shut down guy. I think an all-situations, 25+ minute guy who can move the puck and put points on the board qualifies. Is Erik Karlsson a shut down guy? I never thought so, but he's clearly a #1. For me, Krug doesn't play the minutes and doesn't play against the other team's best enough.

I'm curious as to what the pairs will be. Good arguments for either Carlo or McAvoy alongside Chara.
 

Maximus

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I think they have 2-4 open roster spots at forward heading to camp, so a kid line may be possible. They need a LW for Krejci and RW for Bergy. Maybe another RW opening is the Pastrnak situation doesn't get settled, but let's just hope they don't have to cross that bridge. The only other spot I can find is if they sour on Beleskey or Spooner and either trade one/both or are willing to healthy scratch them.

Small camp primer here:

Marchand - Bergeron - XXX
XXX - Krejci - Pastrnak/XXX
Vatrano - Spooner - Backes
Beleskey - Nash - Acciari

Bjork and DeBrusk probably lead the way for the top 6 openings as their both wingers and NHL ready, though Kenny Agostino will probably get a long look in preseason as well. Unless they do something with Spooner, I don't see much room for JFK right out of the gate, unless they bump Spooner to the wing again. Senyshyn is probably a long shot, but you ever know. Cehlarik may be in the mix for the Krejci line vacancy too.

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - McQuaid
Miller - Carlo
Postma

Not much to see here on D. Maybe Postma beats out McQuaid, but these 7 seem pretty much locked in. The kids are starting to hit Providence and the depth chart for them will be interesting. Grzelyck, O'Gara, Lauzon, Zboril, Johansson should all be in Providence. Hopefully if disaster strikes like it did in the playoffs, they won't be nearly as screwed.

Rask
Khudobin/Subban/McIntyre

I think backup G will be an under the radar camp battle. I don't think Khudobin has it locked down. He can easily be sent to Providence if he doesn't perform well. Subban is waiver eligible this season, so from an asset management standpoint he may have a better shot of sticking around than McIntyre. I really hope one of them takes the job and runs with it so they don't have to run Rask into the ground before Februrary like the last few seasons.
I hope Bjork, Kuraly and Heinen get a good look in camp for the winger openings.