When asked who will take on the role of the backup for Tuukka Rask, and the Boston Bruins, in the 2015-16 season, GM Don Sweeney stated, in his development camp press conference, “Somebody has to step up and take that role.” This would imply that Sweeney is comfortable with letting training camp determine who will stand out as the best candidate for the position. I would make the argument that training camp isn’t enough to get these AHL ready goaltenders prepared for a bigger and tougher league that they have yet to succeed in.
Puck Prose
Going back a year, the Boston Bruins had Niklas Svedberg as their backup goalie. With Tuukka Rask being Tuukka Rask, Svedberg did not play very often. which resulted in him signing with the KHL once the season ended. When Svedberg did start for Boston, he looked stiff and unprepared. This is to be expected from a goalie who spent the majority of the season sitting on cold benches in cold arenas. What Svedberg needed every so often, throughout the season, was a conditioning stint in Providence where he could get a few games in and be nice and fresh when the Bruins called upon him.
This year, we need to take better care of our backup goaltenders and make sure that whoever replaces Rask is fresh and ready for the challenge. Jeremy Smith, Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban all have one game of NHL experience between the three of them, and we all know how that turned out. How do we start a goalie in an NHL game that has little to no experience in NHL games? We make sure that they are as ready as they can be and that they are at the top of their game.
Enter Providence. The Providence Bruins, of the AHL, will have two of these three goaltenders in their line up while the other goalie is up with Rask. These two goalies in Providence will battle for the number one starting position and one of them will succeed. This is the goalie that Boston needs to call up whenever a back to back game comes up or a game that Rask isn’t starting in, for whatever reason. This will allow the Bruins players to play in front of a goalie that isn’t stiff and is fresh from all of their games in Providence. It will also be the goaltender that earned the starting position in Providence, so you know that they have been performing well in the AHL, otherwise the other goalie would have stolen the starting position.
Now, when it comes to the backup that is already up with Boston while Rask is playing, yes, that backup will not be starting in any games. They will only be participating in practice and getting to know the teammates and Rask specifically. Their may be a time during a game where Rask gets hurt or pulled and this goalie would play, but that would be the only scenario in which this goalie would see NHL ice. When the Providence starter is sent up for a game, this backup will be sent down to Providence and a new battle for the starting position in Providence would commence. The goalie that got called up to Boston would play in their scheduled game and then would take the new role as the backup for Boston that doesn’t play a single game. When Rask is in need of replacement for a game again, the same sequence of events transpires.
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Through this method, all of the three goalies will continuously have the chance to battle for the starting position in Providence and get a lot of AHL games under their belt, and will also have the chance to battle for a rare NHL start, plus a week or two hanging out with the big club. It is the experience of playing and the experience of being on the Boston Bruins all wrapped into one and shared among the three goalie prospects.
When seeing that the alternative is giving all of the responsibility to only one of these young net minders, my proposal seems both kinder and less risky. We are trusting in all three goaltenders and always choosing the one who is playing the best and who has the freshest legs from games recently played. It is just like how the Bruins choose who to call up on defense or forward. Why limit yourself to one goaltender when you have three? It is a system that will give the Bruins a confident and prepared goaltender every night that Rask needs a break and will also give the Bruins three goaltenders who had a fulfilling year with a variety of experiences.