Brandon Carlo Impresses at Boston Bruins Development Camp
The 9th annual Boston Bruins development camp wrapped up Friday, capped off with a press conference featuring a visibly pleased Don Sweeney, after observing 36 Bruins prospects showcase their talent over the course of four days. Several Bruins hopefuls stood out from the pack, as we saw Zachary Senyshyn, Danton Heinen, and Providence College standout Noel Acciari all show flashes of offensive upside throughout the four day camp.
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With all the offensive talent on display this week at Ristuccia Arena, we also got our first look at perhaps one of the biggest oversights from draft night a few weeks ago in defenseman Brandon Carlo. He was far from the spotlight in Sunrise, Florida after being selected 37th overall following the bizarre events of that afternoon and subsequent opening round.
But there was no flying under the radar for the 6’5″ 200 pound blue liner this week, who turned heads with a strong back check and a willingness to put himself between the attacker and the net, blocking several shots early on in the week according to Comcast Sports’ Joe Haggerty who was present to observe the camp.
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: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
What impressed coaches more than anything though was the defenseman’s skating ability for a kid his size. “He understands where his strengths are, and I think he’ll continue to get better” Sweeney acknowledged Friday. He went on to compliment his tendency for making smart plays on the transition, a trait Sweeney stressed repeatedly during his introductory press conference on May 20th. “He wants to execute the first pass as opposed to transport pucks, which I think is paramount in today’s game.”
For a big bodied defenseman to have his closing speed will be vital in the future, should he maintain it when he inevitably fills out and packs 20-30 pounds onto his already monstrous frame. Players with Carlo’s qualities are hard to find in today’s NHL, where rules against clutching and grabbing are as stringent as ever.
Carlo has the pedigree of a prototypical Bruins defender in Claude Julien‘s system as a stay-at-home, physical presence on the back end who seems to pay close attention to detail in the dirty areas. His raw ability to win one-on-one battles and instinct to cycle pucks are coveted in Julien’s layered defensive scheme and could come in handy down the road.
It would be rash to jump to conclusions after only four days of seeing the Bruins hopeful on skates, but if Carlo can continue to build on his strong suits and become a responsible D-Man with a solid hockey IQ, it looks like the Bruins might have themselves a future shut down defenseman developing in their pipeline.