Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins picked highly touted goalie prospect Malcolm Subban with the 24th overall pick in the 2012 draft. While the name “Subban” might leave a sour taste in the mouths of Boston Bruins’ fans, Malcolm Subban is a far different character than his brother PK Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. While PK is very outspoken and outgoing, Malcolm Subban is more on the shy side, although his charisma does show in the crease, which is fairly typical of goalies more often than not. Malcolm Subban is in a position where he is at the very highest second on the Bruins goaltender depth chart, and with Tuukka Rask sitting securely at number one, it will be hard to uproot him.
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Malcolm Subban is an athletic goaltender known for his explosive lateral movements. One thing that fans of Malcolm Subban can attest to is the poise that he brings to the crease. In addition to being calm, cool, and collected, he is also able to make nearly impossible saves thanks to his aforementioned athleticism. On the flip side of his athletic ability and poise, his technique is still a point that could use improvement. As it is with many young goaltenders, fine-tuning the technique needed to succeed at the NHL level takes time. Malcolm Subban should get ample time this season to either practice by being named the starter in Providence, or by learning from Tuukka Rask; both situations would benefit him greatly to varying degrees.
The Boston Bruins gave Malcolm Subban his first shot at starting in goal against the St Louis Blues in late February of 2015. While he was able to make three saves on his first three shots faced, he allowed three goals on the subsequent three shots. Bruins fans and management alike will hope that this game was simply an anomaly and will chalk it up to a combination of rookie-nerves and playing against the high-powered St Louis Blues offense. Coming off a full season in Providence splitting starts with Jeremy Smith, it will be interesting to see who gets the call up to the NHL level to backup Tuukka Rask, and who will be relegated to a backup role in Providence…..and the Bruins goalie situation is even more interesting with Zane McIntyre making the jump from NCAA to the Bruins for the 2015-16 season.
Puck Prose
Malcolm Subban is one of the top-rated goalie prospects in the NHL, and the Bruins should use him accordingly if they want to either develop him into the goalie of the future, or trade him to a team looking for their own goalie of the future. Either way, development is key for any young player, but goaltenders are notorious for taking the longest. Subban could impress early enough in his career to appear to be the answer for another team if Boston plays their cards right.