Boston Bruins’ rookie team finishes up mini-tourney in Florida
June 22, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Malcolm Subban is selected as the number twenty-four overall draft pick to the Boston Bruins in the 2012 NHL Draft at CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins rookie camp wrapped up its three game stretch today in Coral Springs, Florida. There the twenty two rookies and young AHL talent selected by the Bruins organization pit themselves against the similarly young talent of the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Nashville Predators.
Game one had the baby B’s taking on the rookie squad from the Tampa Bay Lightning. That game ended in a 5-5 draw, and the shutout was a 1-1(Jared Knight scored the lone shootout goal) tie as well. The Bruins showcased a lot of firepower in their offensive lines. Maxime Villemaire put in two goals for Boston. Additional goals were put in by Anthony Camara, Zach Trotman, and Alexander Khokhlachev. Subban did look comfortable in the net, and showed a lot of great action in the crease in his first game ever in the spoked ‘B’.
Game two was a disappointing loss to the squad from the Florida Panthers. The Bruins started out like gangbusters to give the Bruins squad a strong 4-0 lead against the Panthers. Goals were scored by Trotman, Khokhlachev, Camara, and Jared Knight. Bruins’ prospect goalie Adam Morisson proceeded to surrender the crease to a resurgent Panthers squad. They ended up scoring five goals in the latter half of the second and the third periods. A hat trick from Florida’s Nick Bjugstad helped seal the deal for the Panthers as the upset the Bruins squad 5-4.
Game three also ended in a draw for the Bruins, going 2-2 against the most difficult team in the tourney, the Nashville Predators. It led to a shootout(whose results would only count as a tie.) The five offensive shooters for Boston were Seth Griffith, Alexander Khokhlachev, Alex Fallstrom, Justin Florek and Ryan Spooner. The Bruins went 1 for 5 in the shootout. Ryan Spooner converted in the B’s last attempt on the ice. Malcolm Subban once again showed his potential(and gave the hockey gods a chance to anticipate the eventual Subban-Subban game) again for Boston. Subban gave up a single goal to Nashville. That goal was scored by Joonas Rask. (As in brother of Tuukka Rask.)
This left the Bruins rookie squad with a record of 0-1-2. The Bruins organization got to take a good strong look at a lot of the young talent that resides in the Bruins organization. It’s quite possible that we will see players like Camara, Trotman, Khokhlachev, and Knight wearing the ‘B’ for a few games this years. Subban showed a lot of poise and his ability to adapt to a NHL level environment as well. While it wasn’t the sting of victories we were hoping for, this series of games will help the Bruins home office figure out who they believe will be ready to take a shot of earning a slot on a roster for the organization for this season.
The pre-season is but a week away when the Bruins go to Canada to face the their arch-rivals (and exquisite divers) the Montreal Canadiens. The home opener is three and a half weeks away when the Bruins invite the Tampa Bay Lightning to town. Perhaps the big B’s will score a little revenge for their little brothers.