The Boston Bruins will be packing up their brightest young talent and will be heading off to Buffalo, New York next month. The ‘Prospects Challenge’ will test the Bruins’ young talent and give the fans their first look at players playing at the NHL level this season. The mini tournament will go from September 12-14, and it could be a model for future training events for the Bruins organization.
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The tournament will be open for rookies and prospects for the Bruins organization. Also participating will be the rookies and prospects from the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. The three organizations will compete in a round-robin tournament with each team playing two games over the course of three days. Some of the games will be played at the First Niagara Center and the rest will be played at the Sabres’ adjacent practice facility, the Harborcenter.
This will be a great opportunity for the Bruins prospect team to get practical NHL experience. All three of the B’s 2015 first-round picks(Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zach Senyshyn) are expected to be there. It’s also a great opportunity for new Bruins goaltender Zane McIntyre to show he’s got the skills to make a run for Boston’s number two goaltending job. While the roster hasn’t been finalized yet, the rest of the Bruins roster will likely be those players who were at the team’s development camp last month.
Puck Prose
The demand for tickets is already high. (The tickets for these games are only $10, and will likely sell out fast.) Jack Eichel will be officially suiting up in a Buffalo Sabres jersey, and that will certainly bring the Sabres fan base. Buffalo had a rather outstanding offseason, and their team looks like it is ready to make a serious run at the playoffs.
Here is the schedule for the tournament:
Saturday, September 12: Buffalo vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., First Niagara Center
Sunday, September 13: Boston vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., Harborcenter
Monday, September 14: Buffalo vs. Boston, 7 p.m., First Niagara Center