Boston Bruins: Interesting Line Combos At Camp
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins kicked off their on-ice training at camp on Friday. Roster players are skating on lines with prospects either just entering the system, or fighting for a roster spot. While it’s early, and these line pairings might not mean much as of yet, it’s still interesting to see which players are being lined up next to each other.
The three sessions were as follows:
Session 1
Forwards:
Frank Vatrano – Joonas Kemppainen – Seth Griffith
Jake DeBrusk – Alexander Khokhlachev – Loui Eriksson
Chris Kelly – Noel Acciari – Tyler Randell
Anthony Camara – Colby Cave – Max Talbot
Defense:
Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
Joe Morrow – Kevan Miller
Goalies:
Malcolm Subban, Jonas Gustavsson
The most interesting line combinations coming from the session one skaters were the pairings of:
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Joonas Kemppainen and Seth Griffith, who could see time together in Providence if both fail to crack the regular season roster to start the season.
Jake DeBrusk and Alexander Khokhlachev, who could very likely be linemates one day in Boston if both develop according to plan. Khokhlachev has been in the system for a few years now and is much closer to cracking the lineup than DeBrusk is, who was just drafted in 2015.
The most interesting combination came on defense, however. While the pairing of Krug and Carlo could be a possible match in the future, the big news was that the Bruins started camp with Zach Trotman beside Zdeno Chara on the top pairing. There has been a lot of speculation about whether or not Trotman would return to that spot after finishing out the season there in 2014-15, and if the first day of on-ice training is an indication of anything, he could remain there to start the season.
Session 2
Forwards:
Matt Beleskey – David Krejci – David Pastrnak
Brandon DeFazio – Austin Czarnik – Brian Ferlin
Zac Rinaldo – Ben Sexton – Anton Blidh
Jesse Gabrielle – Eric Neiley – Zach Phillips
Defense:
Chris Breen – Colin Miller
Matt Irwin – Chris Casto
Linus Arnesson – Max Iafrate
Goalies:
Jeremy Smith – Zane McIntyre
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The top line of Beleskey, Krejci, and Pastrnak could easily be the first line that the Bruins start the season with. Many have speculated that Pastrnak could finally see playing time alongside his fellow countryman in David Krejci, and Matt Beleskey would be the substitute for Milan Lucic from previous years.
Another interesting line was DeFazio, Czarnik, and Ferlin. One of the players fighting for a roster spot on either the fourth line or as the thirteenth forward this season is Brian Ferlin. Being provided with a top-six role in practice, it would appear that the Bruins coaching staff are trying to see as much of Ferlin as they can early on to see if he’s ready to play full-time in the NHL.
Finally, playing Colin Miller on the top pairing was an interesting move by the Bruins coaching staff, as he is one of the defensemen fighting for a roster spot in Boston this season as well. As one of the best offensive-defenseman the Bruins have in their system, Colin Miller will likely be seeing a lot of playing time moving forward at camp and in the preseason.
Session 3
Forwards:
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Zachary Senyshyn
Jimmy Hayes – Ryan Spooner – Brett Connolly
Colton Hargrove – Andrew Cherniwchan – Justin Hickman
Defense:
Jakub Zboril – Adam McQuaid
Jeremy Lauzon – Ben Youds
Tommy Cross – Frankie Simonelli/Max Everson
Goalies:
Tuukka Rask, Matt Ginn, Dan Vladar
Nothing out of the ordinary on the top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron playing alongside each other. Zachary Senyshyn, the Bruins young first round draft pick from 2015 was placed alongside them, and it makes sense with his natural skillset. Senyshyn has a high hockey IQ and is a very skilled player with the puck. His play away from the puck isn’t as strong as it could be, which could be the reason for pairing him with the Bruins best two-way forwards, allowing him to hone is defensive ability a little better.
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Jakub Zboril and Jeremey Lauzon, two of the Bruins picks from the first two rounds of the 2015 draft played on the first and second pairing during the third session. Both players come from the QMJHL and are good puck-moving defenseman, although Zboril is more defensively gifted and Lauzon is more offensively gifted.
Probably the most interesting line pairing of the day came from the third session, with Ryan Spooner playing in between Jimmy Hayes and Brett Connolly. It has been widely speculated that either Loui Eriksson, Brett Connolly, or Jimmy Hayes would have to switch to the left wing with the Bruins having a surplus of right wingers in their lineup. Based on Friday’s line combinations, it would appear that Jimmy Hayes is the first to be experimented with, playing on the left wing with Connolly on the right.
With preseason coming up, it will be interesting to see how the Bruins work out their line combinations in preparation for the season. One interesting factor that most people don’t consider when discussing the training camp and preseason is the fact that the Bruins are now being provided with a firsthand look at who should be in their system, and who could potentially be moved for other assets.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @FansidedBrandon to discuss all things Bruins and sports