Boston Bruins: Can Zane McIntyre Get The Job Done
Zane McIntyre had a rough go of it on the final day of the Boston Bruins 2015 development camp. The 22-year old netminder allowed six goals during a four-on-four scrimmage today. Three of those goals happened within a four-minute span. It’s entirely possible it was a combination of him having a bad day against hot shooters. It does put a bit of a black mark on his record though.
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This is the sixth and likely final trip for McIntyre to the Bruins development camp. He’s come every year since he was drafted by the Bruins in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. Since being drafted, he’s had a solid career over at the University of North Dakota where he helped his team get to the Frozen Four. He was a 2015 Hobey Baker Award finalist and had a 29-10-3 record with a 2.05 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.
“It was good. It was a good learning week, good developing week, I think, for sure. It’s the reason I wanted to come out this summer again for the record sixth [year] was to get better and to work on my game. And I think that’s what we were able to do with [Bruins coaching staff] throughout this week, and obviously get acclimated to the pro level, as well.” – Zane McIntyre on this year’s development camp
Tuukka Rask will be the goaltender next year in Boston. The number two slot is wide open though. McIntyre still has a shot of landing that job on opening night. He’ll have to beat out two other people who are also battling for the number two job on Causeway Street. Malcolm Subban and Jeremy Smith will be competing hard for the job as well.
Jeremy Smith looks like the favorite at the moment. He earned his way up from back-up to spending equal time in Providence’s net last year. The Bruins will be giving both Smith(drafted in 2007) and Subban(drafted in 2012) at least one pre-season start, and they’re likely to extend that privilege to McIntyre as well.
The Bruins did give Subban a NHL game last season. While he had a strong first period against the St. Louis Blues, it ended rather roughly for him as he gave up three straight goals in a rough loss for the Black and Gold.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney isn’t looking for a goaltender at the moment, so it’s clear he wants that promotion to be an internal one.
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“Somebody has to step up and grab that role, “said Sweeney about the backup goaltender vacancy. “And Zane’s confident that he wants to, and I’m sure Malcolm is, and I’m sure Jeremy is, as well. And that’s healthy. It’s a bit of an unknown for us, so that’s an area that I’m going to continue to look at, whether it’s a little more experience or whether or not you do allow a person to emerge in that regard.
“But I think Zane’s confident in his abilities. It’s a big leap. I think he’d be the first to tell you that it’s a big leap. But bottom line is, when you stop pucks, people notice. So, we’ll see where that goes.”
All three potential goaltenders will be attending training camp in September. McIntyre could end up as the number two man in Boston, but the young Bruin has to show the organization he wants it more.