One of the top teams in the American Hockey League this year has been the Providence Bruins. They should be a good team given all the young talent that they have, which is blocked from the big club, the Boston Bruins, with all the free agent signings general manager Don Sweeney made last summer.
Some P-Bruins are having some very good seasons and making the case to be part of the big club in Boston sooner rather than later. In some cases, they are trying to force the hand of Sweeney and the big club to make some difficult decisions. The AHL released the all-star rosters for the break next month, and two members of Providence were recognized for their first-half performance by being named to the Atlantic Division team.
Two Bruins prospect named to AHL all-star team
Providence defenseman Frederic Brunet and goalie Michael DiPietro were both named as Atlantic Division all-stars. The AHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Feb. 10, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Feb. 11.
The 6-foot-2 Brunet is having a very good year for the P-Bruins. In 34 games, he has six goals and 11 assists with a plus/minus rating of plus-10. Two of his six goals have been game winners. He plays a heavy game, but adding an offensive upside is key for him in terms of impressing enough to get a call to Boston.
As for DiPietro, he is a very interesting player. Sweeney brought him back last summer and led Brandon Bussi walk in free agency. DiPietro has been rock-solid for Providence this year with a 14-5-0 record entering the weekend with a 1.82 goals against average (GAA) with a .937 save percentage. His 14 wins are the third most in the AHL entering the weekend.
DiPietro is an interesting prospect for the Bruins in terms of their goaltending beyond this year. Joonas Korpisalo is someone who could be moved at the end of the season and over the offseason. With the Bruins' recent surge and the play of both goalies, it's very unlikely he gets dealt at the trade deadline in March. However, DiPietro's play this year is making the decisions a little easier for Sweeney sooner rather than later.