Bruins Prospect News and Notes

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
B's have had some prospect news of late, figured it was best to lump it all together.

I addition to Hickman, the Bruins have apparently signed UMass red-shirt sophomore Frankie Vatrano to an ELC. Vatrano led UMass with 18 goals in 36 games last season. B's haven't announced the signing as far as I know, but UMass and Vatrano have put it out there. Fluff piece here: http://dailycollegian.com/2015/03/12/frank-vatrano-signs-pro-contract-with-boston-bruins/

Second, Linus Arnesson's (B's 2nd round 2013 pick) season is Sweden has come to an end. Divver tweeted that Arnesson is on his way to Providence and will join the team once he gets his visa.

North Dakota goalie Zane McIntyre (formerly Gothberg when we drafted him) was nominated for the Hobey Baker. 1.99 GAA, .931 SAV.

Finally, the B's may have found a gem in the 4th round of 2014 draft, Danton Heinen. He leads Denver in scoring with 42 points (14g, 28a) in 34 games. At last check he was second in the NCAA Freshman scoring behind only Jack Eichel. Impressive stuff.
 

McDrew

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,060
Portland, OR
To restate the news on Vatrano, since I think you worded it a little oddly.  His redshirt sophomore (transferred from BC and sat a year out) season with Umass ended last weekend when they lost to ND in the hockey east playoffs.  He's forgoing his last two years of eligibility. 
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I missed this from over the weekend, but the B's signed 2012 7th rounder Colton Hargrove. 38 games, 14g, 14a at Western Michigan this past season. Seems like a power forward type. 80 PIM's in college is a lot. B's beefed up a bit between Hargrove and Hickman.

http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/2015/3/22/8273951/boston-bruins-sign-western-michigan-colton-hargrove-nhl-contract-andy-murray-nchc

Also, Linus Arnesson is here and played for Providence over the weekend picking up 1 assist in 2 games.

Edit: Zack Phillips, who came over in the Jared Knight deal at the deadline, has had a strong start in Providencd. 6 points in 9 games. Encouraging signs there.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Kirk tweeted yesterday that Czarnik was "little engine that can." Bucci tweets that Czarnik is "Small, but fearless. Good hands & plays with anger." He was Miami's captain so there are some leadership qualities in there too.

Nice pickup, very little downside on taking a shot with the NCAA UDFA's. All it costs is a contract.
 

FL4WL3SS

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2006
14,913
Andy Brickley's potty mouth
Picking at the middle-bottom of the draft every year, this is a good way to supplement the farm. 
 
It seems the Bruins are more active in this area than most teams. Not sure if that's true or not.
 

Reardon's Beard

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 3, 2005
3,795
Played on the same line with Smith in college during the 11-12 season, so built in chemistry, and both averaged over a PPG in their college careers.
 

The B’s Knees

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
Aug 1, 2006
247
cshea said:
B's have had some prospect news of late, figured it was best to lump it all together.

I addition to Hickman, the Bruins have apparently signed UMass red-shirt sophomore Frankie Vatrano to an ELC. Vatrano led UMass with 18 goals in 36 games last season. B's haven't announced the signing as far as I know, but UMass and Vatrano have put it out there. Fluff piece here: http://dailycollegian.com/2015/03/12/frank-vatrano-signs-pro-contract-with-boston-bruins/

Second, Linus Arnesson's (B's 2nd round 2013 pick) season is Sweden has come to an end. Divver tweeted that Arnesson is on his way to Providence and will join the team once he gets his visa.

North Dakota goalie Zane McIntyre (formerly Gothberg when we drafted him) was nominated for the Hobey Baker. 1.99 GAA, .931 SAV.

Finally, the B's may have found a gem in the 4th round of 2014 draft, Danton Heinen. He leads Denver in scoring with 42 points (14g, 28a) in 34 games. At last check he was second in the NCAA Freshman scoring behind only Jack Eichel. Impressive stuff.
 
Bob McKenzie has reported that the B's are going hard to sign McIntyre lest he chooses to leave school and become a UFA within 30 days of the tourney ending. Bob claims that McIntyre would be ahead of Subban on the depth chart. Is this the same loophole that allowed the B's to sign Wheeler a few years back?
 
http://www.tsn.ca/video/insider-trading-assessing-the-tanking-issue-1.246729
 
Topic is at about 1:30 in.
 

McDrew

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,060
Portland, OR
I'm going to be rooting hard for him to lose on Thursday, then be quickly signed by the B's and back up Rask next year. 
 

opes

Doctor Tongue
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
My wife grew up with Zane and his sister.  (we live in his hometown)  Anyway, his sister told me he was going to go pro after this year.  I havent seen Zane since the season ended, so I havent asked him face to face.  UND hockey is basically a religion here but I wouldnt be surprised if he left his senior year.
 
Anyway, heres a really cool story of him taking a girl with Cerbal Palsy to prom.
 
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/region/3737869-videostory-zane-mcintyre-dances-prom-night-away-shayla-miller
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Friedman just tweeted that it appears Zane is turning pro and that he prefers signing with the Bruins. Good news, Svedberg leaving certainly helps create an opening in goal either in Boston or Providence.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Figured I'd bump this to keep track of the prospect haul of June 2015. If there's enough traction, maybe we can split out a few in the prospect forum, but that seems like a barren wasetland so maybe it'll be easier to keep it all in one place for now.

Anyways, several Bruins prospects are off to nice starts back in juniors and college.

Zach Senyshyn- 4 goals this weekend, plus a shootout winner last night. 4 goals in 5 games to start his season (Sault St. Marie, OHL)

Jake DeBrusk- Scored in his first game. (Swift Current, WHL)

Jeremy Lauzon- 2nd rounder is off to a 1 g, 7a start in 4 games. (Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)

Brandon Carlo- 2 assists in his first game last night (Tri City, WHL)

Jesse Gabrielle- 4th rounder has 3 goals in 3 games (Prince George, WHL).

In the NCAA's...exhibition games but Forsbaka-Karlsson had 2 goals for BU in their exhibition win over Acadia. Sean Kuraly from the Martin Jones deal had 3 assists in Miami's win.
 

veritas

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 13, 2009
3,151
Somerville, MA
cshea said:
Zach Senyshyn- 4 goals this weekend, plus a shootout winner last night. 4 goals in 5 games to start his season (Sault St. Marie, OHL)
 
2 of them on the power play too. He didn't really get any PP time last year so this is very encouraging for a guy who needs to develop his skill with the puck.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
My faith in this front office would increase exponentially if they end up hitting it out of the park with the 2015 draft.
 
There were more than a few people second guessing not just Senyshyn, but also DeBrusk especially considering who was left on the board when the Bruins picked. Lets hope we were wrong and Sweeny et al. know what they're doing.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Here's an info dump on some of the prospects now that most leagues are underway...

CHL

Senyshyn- Cooled off. 6g, 3a in 12 games. He is still the team's leading scorer, however.
DeBrusk- 5 g, 11a in 11 games. Nice start for him, he's improved his points per game from 1.12 to 1.45 so far this year, albeit in a very small sample.
Zboril- 3 assists in 8 games. Suspended for 2 games.
Lauzon- Stat wise, off to the best start among all Bruin prospects. 3g, 17a in 12 games. 20 points already this year, he had 36 in all of 2014-2015.
Gabrielle- 9g, 2a and some fights. Leads his team in scoring.

NCAA

Jakob Forsbaka-Karlsson- 3 points in 3 games for BU.
Danton Heinen- Slow start, 2 points in 4 games.
Sean Kuraly- 1 point in 5 games.

PROVIDENCE

Vatrano leads the AHL with 8 goals. Koko's 2-9-11 line has him as the AHL's leading scorer. Czarnik has been hurt but had 5 points in 4 games to start the year. Subban has also been hurt, so McIntyre has gotten the bulk of the time in net. 3.31 GAA, .882 save percentage. Seems the Providence start has mirrored the Boston start. Lots of goals, in both directions.
 

TheRealness

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 8, 2006
11,694
The Dirty Shire
Disappointing for Senyshyn, although not unsurprising. He is still very raw, and has a longer path. DeBrusk is intriguing, as he seemed to have the best instincts out of their first round picks. Zboril seems to be up and down. Seems like a player who has a lot of maturing to do. Lauzon has been nails. Nice to see there. Gabrielle has been surprising, and his physicality will certainly play well. Have to admit I am also disappointed by the NCAA guys, especially Heinen. I am curious as to why he has not been as effective.

I agree with your comments on the Providence folks. Seems like there is little defense for the Baby B's, while Vatrano and Koko has been great. Have to wonder if Koko gets dealt, given the real possibility he will play in the KHL next year if he doesn't have some sort of guarantee he will start in Boston.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I'd probably have Koko up sooner rather than later for a look-see if Spooner's even strength struggles continue.
 

burstnbloom

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
2,761
Gabrielle quickly becoming a binky. He was thrown out of a game over the weekend for slapping five with his teammates after he scored a goal and continued on to slap five with his opponents bench.  Awesome.
 

FelixMantilla

reincarnated mr hate
SoSH Member
Jan 30, 2001
12,894
Foxboro, MA
burstnbloom said:
Gabrielle quickly becoming a binky. He was thrown out of a game over the weekend for slapping five with his teammates after he scored a goal and continued on to slap five with his opponents bench.  Awesome.
 
Would love to see a video of that.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Random update...

CHL

Senyshyn- 20 games, 10g 5a
Zboril- 16 games, 3g, 4a
Gabrielle- 19 games, 14g, 6a
Lauzon- 19 games, 3g, 24a

DeBrusk and Carlo are currently injured. Gabrielle has been the surprise, he had a 4 point weekend with 12 PIM's. Leads his team in scoring. Senyshyn's totals might be a bit underwhelming, but he's on a mediocre team that doesn't score much (2.9 goals per game).

NCAA

Forsbaka-Karlsson- 10 games 3g, 10a
Heinen- 10 games, 4g, 4a
Kuraly- 12 games 1g, 4a
Fitzgerald- 9 games 7g, 6a
Donato- 6 games 3g, 2a
Bjork- 10 games, 2g 8a

Some good stuff here. JFK has gotten rave reviews at BU and Fitzgerald is playing well for BC, including a 4 point game over the weekend.

PROVIDENCE

Not much going on down here. Vatrano is up with the Bruins. Koko and Czarnik are injured. Griffith has 6 points in 7 games since returning from his preseason injury. The goalies have been a disappointment. Subban rocking an .850 save percentage in 5 games, McIntyre .876 in 8 games.
 

RIFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,087
Rhode Island
Random update...

CHL

Senyshyn- 20 games, 10g 5a
Zboril- 16 games, 3g, 4a
Gabrielle- 19 games, 14g, 6a
Lauzon- 19 games, 3g, 24a

DeBrusk and Carlo are currently injured. Gabrielle has been the surprise, he had a 4 point weekend with 12 PIM's. Leads his team in scoring. Senyshyn's totals might be a bit underwhelming, but he's on a mediocre team that doesn't score much (2.9 goals per game).

NCAA

Forsbaka-Karlsson- 10 games 3g, 10a
Heinen- 10 games, 4g, 4a
Kuraly- 12 games 1g, 4a
Fitzgerald- 9 games 7g, 6a
Donato- 6 games 3g, 2a
Bjork- 10 games, 2g 8a

Some good stuff here. JFK has gotten rave reviews at BU and Fitzgerald is playing well for BC, including a 4 point game over the weekend.

PROVIDENCE

Not much going on down here. Vatrano is up with the Bruins. Koko and Czarnik are injured. Griffith has 6 points in 7 games since returning from his preseason injury. The goalies have been a disappointment. Subban rocking an .850 save percentage in 5 games, McIntyre .876 in 8 games.
Czarnik was back Sunday. He's getting time with the 1st PP unit on the point. He's definitely an interesting prospect in the mold of Marchand. It's going to be tough to get a read on the goalies. The defense in front of them isn't great. Cross and Casto are the best of the lot and it drops off from there. Arnesson is adjusting to NA hockey, but shows some flashes. That said, Subban has looked very unimpressive in the games I've seen. Very prone to the soft goal and get's out of position a lot. I would have expected him to refine his technique a lot more going into his 2nd year.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Good to hear Czarnik is back. He's probably the most intriguing guy on that roster, and with Koko out he should get a good amount of ice time.

Have you seen a lot of the Baby B's this year? Any opinion on Blidh? Numbers don't jump off the page, but seems like he could be a useful bottom 6 NHL player.
 

RIFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,087
Rhode Island
I've only made it to 3 games, so it's a small sample size. Blidh is one of the few guys they've had in every game so he's definitely in their plans. He's looked like a stronger player than I expected. 20 YO's in the AHL tend to get pushed around early as they adjust against older players. I think he's acquited himself well and already is handling some regular PK duty. I think all of that bodes well even if he hasn't shown anything offensively yet.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Senyshyn had 4 goals and an assist last night. Seems like goals come in bunches for him, but his season totals stand at 15g, 6a in 26 games. Gabrielle also scored. He's been a bit more consistent, and has 16g, 9a in 25 games.

WJC's are around the corner and rosters are starting to be released. B's were shut out of Team Canada, but Zboril and Vladar were named to the preliminary Czech roster. Other rosters haven't been announced yet, but it seems likely that Carlo will be on Team USA and JFK will play for Sweden.
 

burstnbloom

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
2,761
Yes, it is. Senyshyn now has 18 goals and 7 assists in 28 games. He may not end up being better than Barzal but all the highlight real goals he is scoring on the rush make me feel like there is very little chance he is a total bust at this point. He looks like his worst case scenario is as a Paille/Grabner bottom 9 speed guy who can play on the PK. Hopefully he continues to develop and hits his ceiling, which is much more exciting.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
JFK named to Sweden's preliminary WJC roster today.

3 B's prospects named to USA's prelim rosters. Anders Bjork (F- Notre Dame 5g 10a, 16 games), Ryan Donato (C- Harvard, 4g 5a in 10 games) and Brandon Carlo (D- Tri City in WHL, 2g, 12a in 29 games).
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
End of the year update...

CHL

Senyshyn- 33 games, 22g 11a
DeBrusk- 26 games, 11g 18a
Gabrielle- 36 games, 20g, 17a
Zboril- 21 games 3g, 9a
Carlo- 22 games, 2g, 12a
Lauzon- 27 games, 5g, 29a

NCAA

JFK- 18 games, 4g 10a
Heinen- 16 games, 5g, 6a
Fitzgerald- 16 games, 11g, 10a
Donato- 10 games 4g, 5a
Kuraly- 16 games, 2g 4a

PROVIDENCE

Griffith- 24 games, 10g, 17a
Kokhlachev- 21 games, 8g 15a
Czarnik- 24 games, 9g, 10a
Subban- .901 SAV
McIntyre- .886 SAV
 

Hearts Alive

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2006
196
Central MA
For all the shit Sweeney took for the draft this year, it really is turning out to be quite the haul. You could even make the argument that Zboril was the one non-reach, yet has been arguably the most disappointing so far. Gabrielle and Senyshyn are both top 3 in goals for their respective leagues and DeBrusk has been piling on the points since being traded to Red Deer. There are still a few stragglers from the pre-Gretzky Chia drafts that still might bring some value to the team, but the last two years have been rock solid.
 

Hearts Alive

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2006
196
Central MA
HA! I know this isn't the place for it, but whichever dope it was that stuck me with the Headly Lamar avatar gets a free handy! Love it!
 

The B’s Knees

Well-Known Member
Silver Supporter
Aug 1, 2006
247
Although helped out by many of the top players missing time due to the WJCs, it's nice to see Senyshyn third in goals in the OHL with 26 (matching last year's total), and Gabrielle third in the WHL in goals with 25 (surpassing last year's total).
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
http://digital.hockeyjournal.com/nxtbooks/seamans/nehj_201601/index.php#/31

Kirk put together some mid-season rankings.m for the NEHJ. More write-up's in the link, but here's the amateur list. Does not include Providence players, he had the pro players separate.

1. Zachary Senyshyn
2. Danton Heinen
3. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson
4. Jeremy Lauzon
5. Jakub Zboril
6. Jake DeBrusk
7. Matt Grzelcyk
8. Jesse Gabrielle
9. Ryan Donato
10. Brandon Carlo
11. Ryan Fitzgerald
12. Rob O'Gara
13. Anders Bjork
14. Sean Kuraly
15. Daniel Vladar
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
No Bruins for a week is sad. So here's a prospect update.

CHL

Senyshyn- 44 games, 29g 12a
DeBrusk- 38 games, 14g 26a
Gabrielle- 49 games, 31g 21a
Zboril- 28 games 4g 6a
Carlo- 27 games 2g 13a
Lauzon- 29 games 5g 30a

Notes: Jesse Gabrielle is tied for the WHL lead in goals. Senyshyn is 5th in the OHL.

NCAA

Forsbacka-Karlsson- 24 games 7g 14a
Grzelcyk- 12 games 8g 5a
Fitzgerald- 23 games 14 g 16a
Bjork- 23 games 10g 16a
Heinen- 24 games 9g 9a

PROVIDENCE

Griffith- 34 games 13g 28a
Khokhlachev- 32 games 13g 23a
Czarnik- 36 games 12g 20a
Vatrano- 13 games 13g 4a
Subban- 25 games .912 sav%
McIntyre- 18 games .884 sav%

Notes: Griffith's 41 points are 2nd in the AHL in scoring behind old friend Chris Bourque and TJ Brennan who both have 42 points. Griffith has played 10 fewer games than Brennan and 7 fewer than Bourque. Crazy production from Griffith, especially considering he missed the end of training camp and the beginning of the season with an injury. Frank went down last week and had 3 goals and an assist in 3 games for Providence over the weekend. Koko keeps chugging along at a pace above a PPG. Also, Subban has raised his save percentage from .901 to .912 over the past month. If Gustavsson's illness causes him to miss time, Subban could be called upon to take over the backup G duties.