Boston Bruins: Average Age of the Roster
Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The current group of Boston Bruins is far different from the team that took the ice for the final time last season. With so much change and uncertainty on the current team, the lineup is bound to change throughout the season in an attempt to field the best possible team. Players will be called-up, players will be demoted, and players will be traded away. As it stands, there are a few players who appear to be in competition for the Bruins roster, and a few that could be darkhorses to win starting jobs.
A fun exercise that can be done to evaluate where the Bruins roster currently stands in terms of experience, and even a “rebuild”or “retool” is finding the average age of the current roster, including players on the bubble. This exercise is purely for the fun of it and won’t indicate anything concrete in terms of how good or bad the actual roster is.
The assumed locks at forward as of right now appear to be: Chris Kelly, Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Matt Beleskey, Jimmy Hayes, Ryan Spooner, Brett Connolly, David Pastrnak, Max Talbot, and Zac Rinaldo.
That leaves these players to fight for the thirteenth forward job, or to try and steal a job: Jonas Kemppainen, Brian Ferlin, and Seth Griffith
Based on everybody in the mix for a job at forward, the average age is as follows:
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Chris Kelly – 34
Max Talbot – 31
Patrice Bergeron – 30
Loui Eriksson – 30
David Krejci – 29
Brad Marchand – 27
Matt Beleskey – 27
Jonas Kemppainen – 27
Jimmy Hayes – 25
Zac Rinaldo – 25
Brian Ferlin – 23
Ryan Spooner – 23
Brett Connolly – 23
Seth Griffith – 22
David Pastrnak – 19
Average age: ~26 (26.33)
An average age of 26 is very reasonable, and 26 is usually right around the age that a player is considered to be in their prime. While the ages vary from 19 years old to 34 years old, the majority of the players fall somewhere between the ages of 23 and 30. Most of the Bruins forwards have played for a few seasons in the NHL and have experience under their belt. Experience is often underrated in the NHL, but knowing how things work at a certain level better than someone else can certainly be used to a player’s advantage.
The Bruins defensive jobs seem very much up for grabs.
The assumed locks at defense as of right now appear to be: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Adam McQuaid, Torey Krug, Zach Trotman, and Kevan Miller
That leaves these players to fight for the 7th defender job, or to try and steal a job: Matt Irwin, Colin Miller, and Joe Morrow
Based on everybody in the mix for a job at defense, the average age is as follows:
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The Defense:
Zdeno Chara – 38
Dennis Seidenberg – 34
Adam McQuaid – 28
Kevan Miller – 27
Matt Irwin – 27
Zach Trotman – 25
Torey Krug – 24
Colin Miller – 22
Joe Morrow – 22
Average age: ~27 (27.444)
Similarly to the forwards, the Bruins appear to be in their prime on defense in terms of age at 27 years old. The only difference between the forward and defense evaluation is the fact that the two youngest players may not make the roster this season whereas the two oldest certainly will. If Joe Morrow and Colin Miller and removed from the equation, the average age then becomes 29, which still isn’t totally unreasonable. The Bruins certainly have plenty of experience on their backend with Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, and Adam McQuaid, and even Torey Krug and Kevan Miller have had substantial playing time in their short careers. Matt Irwin could be a strong candidate for 7th defenseman purely based on his experience and offensive-upside.
The Boston Bruins average player age shows a team that should be in the prime of a Stanley Cup run. The reality of the situation is the Bruins may not even make the playoffs. The average age is an indication that the Bruins truly didn’t rebuild, rather they retooled, and the 2015-16 will be important to either prove the doubters wrong, or unfortunately, right.
Once again, while the average age isn’t really an indicator of how good or bad a team is, it’s simply a fun exercise to analyze in the wakes of training camp and the preseason.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @FansidedBrandon to discuss all things Boston Bruins and sports!