Jun 24, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; A general view of the Boston skyline and the phrase “Go B’s” CREDIT: AP Photo
Today was the start of the Boston Bruins season(In a manner of speaking). The Bruins’ rookie camp started today. A crop of first year players, and a lot of prospects who are regarded as having the potential to wear the spoked ‘B’ are up in Boston training for the next two days. Bruins management wants to give this batch a real good look over in two days of practice and drills before sending them down to Coral Springs, Florida.
In Florida, the twenty two selectees (full list at the bottom) will play in three games against rookies from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and Nashville Predators. The current schedule has the game against Tampa Bay at 2pm on September 6th, the game against the Panthers at 4 pm on September 7th, and the game with Nashville is at noon on September 8th.
The players currently attending the camp are as follows:
Forwards: Anthony Camara, Mitchell Dempsey, Campbell Elyniuk, Alex Fallstrom, Justin Florek, Seth Griffith, Jayden Hart, Alexander Khokhlachev, Jared Knight, Matthew Lindblad, Wayne Simpson, Ryan Spooner, Maxime Villemaire
Defensemen: Mickael Beauregard, Chris Casto, Alex Cord, Tommy Cross, Jesse Lees, Steven Spinnell, Zach Trotman
Goaltenders: Adam Morrison, Malcolm Subban
Italicized names indicate player is a current member of the Providence Bruins organization.
There are a few players that have a sincere chance of making the Bruins squad either as a fourth liner (assuming Paille is promoted or Campbell isn’t 100% for opening night) Living in Providence, I’ve seen some of these players play, and I think they’ve got what it takes to step up and play two-way for the Bruins organization. They’re tough and smart players who have done well in Providence and I think they can really bring that level of intensity which will be needed at the NHL level. (Just look at Dougie Hamilton last year, came straight from the OHL to the NHL and started making an impact right away.)
On that note, I think the breakout star of the rookie camp will be Anthony Camara. He was selected in the third round by the Bruins in the 2011 Entry Draft. The best way to describe him is that he’s got the maneuverability of Brad Marchand , and the physicality of Milan Lucic. Last season, Camara was in the OHL playing for the Barrie Colts. He put up sixty points(thirty six goals) in just fifty games for Barrie. He had ninety one penalty minutes with a +/- of +17. He’s an aggressive, scrappy player who could easily find himself paired with Shawn Thornton and Greg Campbell.
There could also be a hidden gem in there for the Bruins organization as well. The rookies will return from Florida on the 8th.