Boston Bruins send down Miller, Cunningham, call up Warsofsky.

Dec 12, 2013; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller (86) skates against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins organization prides itself on defensive minded, two way hockey. That playing style has served both the NHL Boston and AHL Providence organizations well these last few seasons. The primary bonus of having both squads in sync with their systems it makes it really easy for Providence players to jump in to the NHL level and be ready to go.

The Boston Bruins have been hit hard with injuries and influenza these last few weeks. It has required the Providence squad to send up several of its best players to Boston to help out in an emergency basis. The only problem with this is that once an AHL player surpasses the ten game mark, he’s required to clear waivers before he gets sent back down. This is the downside of the embarrassment of riches the Bruins organization has when it comes to depth.

To protect their assets, the Boston Bruins had no choice but to send Kevan Miller back to the Providence Bruins. Craig Cunningham, who got to make his NHL debut against the Calgary Flames also headed back to Providence. The Bruins then chose to call up David Warsofsky from Providence. Warsofsky is a Massachusetts native, and it’s got to be a thrill to play for the hometown team.

The Bruins are going to have to take a round robin approach to the players they’ve got from Providence in order to not lose them to other teams. (I am a little curious to see what would happen if they put Jordan Caron on waivers.)

The big Bruins were pragmatic in their approach with Miller, who had impressed a lot of people with his play style. He earned his first goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He also showed he toughness in that game when he was boarded later in the period by Dion Phaneuf. (Phaneuf recieved a two game suspension for that hit.) “We felt that Kevan would probably be a waiver pickup by somebody, and didn’t want to risk it,” said Peter Chiarelli. “I spoke to Kevan beforehand, and he understood it. I told him that I felt good about his play up here, and the next time he comes up [to the NHL] it will probably be for good.”

As a Bruins fan, I’ll miss seeing him in the spoked ‘B’ playing hard and making a case for himself to remain in the NHL. As a Providence native, I look forward to seeing him in the spoked ‘P’ whenever I get a chance to watch the AHL Bruins play.