RMPS Adopt-A-Prospect: Matt Grzelcyk

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
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What Kirk says:

Strengths: Excellent skater. Has superb first few steps and explodes from a standstill or glide in just a few, effortless strides. Has top gear and the lateral, four-way agility that is ideal for position. Changes direction quickly and able to prevent opponents from attacking his net with speed. Very good passer and puck-mover with a deft touch on the puck. Advances the biscuit confidently and has the stick skills to elude checkers and lug it out of the defensive zone on his own. Has superb offensive and defensive hockey sense; sees the ice beautifully and inherently understands when to attack and when to stay home. Very good in puck retrieval; will take a hit to make the play. Plays with tremendous passion and desire. Grew up in the shadow of the Boston Garden and FleetCenter/TD Garden dreaming of being a Boston Bruin, so he will exert the utmost effort to be a player even with the physical limitations. A respected and popular teammate.
Weaknesses: Size. When going to Ann Arbor from Belmont Hill two years ago, Grzelcyk weighed about 150 pounds, so he's added about 20 pounds of muscle since then. He will need to keep working with famous strength and conditioning coach Mike Boyle to continue to get as strong as he can, but but will never be someone who can physically match up with the top power forwards in pro hockey.
Projection: Third-pairing two-way character defender and special teamer. "Grizzy" plays a similar style to Andrew Ference, though is not as rugged a player because he did not come out of the WHL the way the veteran Ference did. BU will get an immediate impact from Grzelcyk and he appears destined to wear the 'C' for Jack Parker at some point. This player is living his dream, and brings everything to the table for Boston except size. That said, the argument coming out of the draft that Grzelcyk was drafted several rounds too early, so the pressure is on him to justify the B's faith in him.
His stats so far this year:
8 GP 1 G 7 A 8 PIM

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I was able to go to the BU/St. Lawrence game last night and focused on watching Matt to see what the Bruins had.

The scouting report seems fairly accurate. Just from watching one game you could tell that Grzelcyk thinks and reacts one step ahead of most of the players he's currently playing with. He has an ability to slow the game down and make plays based on what's about to happen, as opposed to what is currently happening. Doesn't rush with the puck, doesn't seem to make mental mistakes.

His size is obviously a concern, but contrary to the above report - he seemed to play with a bit of grit and anger, routinely mixing it up with the St. Lawrence forwards when the game started getting chippy towards the end.

He definitely reminded me of Ference in his abilities, with a bit more playmaking touch that perhaps Andy has.
 

McDrew

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I'm headed to both BU/BC games this upcoming weekend. I'll keep an eye out and report back.
 

TFP

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Dec 10, 2007
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I was actually at that game too, TSC. I came away extremely impressed by Grzelcyk. He didn't stand out with any amazing skills, but you could completely tell that he was thinking and skating on a different plane than most other guys out there. He almost never made the wrong decision and seemed extremely confident in his choices both offensively and defensively. His skating and decision making was a plus and his size was a minus, but it's a lot easier to fix one of those than the others.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
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Grzelcyk's Big Week:

Boston Bruins prospect Matt Grzelcyk, who was selected in the third round of the 2012 draft and is currently playing for Boston University, is having a very notable week.

Hockey East announced today that he has been given the conference's Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Month Award for November. In eight games played during November, Grzelcyk scored a point in all but one of them. Notching two goals and six assists for the month, he also had a +4 rating.

Both of those goals came in games against BU's cross-town rival Boston University, including a game-winner during the nationally-televised Nov. 30 game, which the Terriers won 4-2.

He also blocked six shots in November and had just one penalty to his name.

Dec. 4 also saw Grzelcyk chosen for USA Hockey's 2013 national junior team preliminary roster.
Great article with video about Grz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PGSNnbAqRc

But what he doesn’t have in size he makes up for in knowledge of the game. Often described as an offensive-minded defenseman, the Terrier freshman likens his role to that of a quarterback, noting that he needs to anticipate where other players will go. He can often be seen joining the rush as BU forwards penetrate opponents’ defensive zone.

Terriers head coach Jack Parker doesn’t believe Grzelcyk’s size is a liability. “He anticipates and sees plays before they’re actually happening and is really good in all facets of the game,” says Parker (SMG’68, Hon.’97), who has produced a string of NHLers during his 40-year career at BU. “He is such a strong skater that he can bounce guys and they go down. He has such a great stick. I think he can be an All-American defenseman, a Hockey East defenseman, an NHL defenseman.”
 

McDrew

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The goal in the 4-2 win was just an all out "I can hustle more than you" where he beat defensive forward, both low defensemen, and then Milner in getting to the far post.
 

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SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Matt just had an incredible end to end rush, which finished with him collecting his own rebound and passing it to the front of the net for a goal.
 

McDrew

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Coach Quinn revealed in a pre-frozen fenway press conference that Grzelcyk separated his shoulder in practice last Thursday, and will miss a few weeks, at least.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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An update on Matt - for those who haven't been paying attention.
 
He was named the Captain of the team this year in his junior season. In 23 games this year he's put up 0g 15a 22PIM.
 
 
 
 
 

fishrules1000

New Member
Jan 30, 2015
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I have BU season tickets so I have watched Grzelcyk all year.  Despite no goals, he has played very well, skating on the top defensive pair.  His work in the defensive end has been much stronger than in past years, and he is still a terrific skater.
 
I have heard a rumor (which I cannot confirm, so take this for what it is worth) that Grzelcyk is very unhappy with the Bruins right now, so it is possible that he would finish his career with BU and then become a free agent after his senior year.  I do not have any other details.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
fishrules1000 said:
I have BU season tickets so I have watched Grzelcyk all year.  Despite no goals, he has played very well, skating on the top defensive pair.  His work in the defensive end has been much stronger than in past years, and he is still a terrific skater.
 
I have heard a rumor (which I cannot confirm, so take this for what it is worth) that Grzelcyk is very unhappy with the Bruins right now, so it is possible that he would finish his career with BU and then become a free agent after his senior year.  I do not have any other details.
 
Interesting - is there any speculation why?
 

McDrew

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2 seasons ago on Behind the B, he was given a lot of crap about his conditioning.  Last season, he got greatly improved marks.  That's all I know.