A positive element to emerge from the Boston Bruins disappointing 2014-15 season was the speedy dynamic duo of Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak who brought renewed excitement for fans craving to see more skill and creativity on the Garden ice.
The pair led all Bruins in points with 17 over the final 20 games and after an offseason of continued progress should be able to improve on where they left off, and leverage Boston’s new emphasis on an uptempo game with defensemen and forwards aggressively pushing the puck further up ice. Due to the chemistry they showed with their speed and skill, they may line up side by side again and it will be exciting to see the production they put up over a full season.
Pastrnak, 6’0”, 170 lbs and Spooner, 5’10’’, 181, should also enter camp stronger after an offseason of hard work. “I’m going to have all summer to get better, get stronger,” Pastrnak, RW, 19, told the Bruins website in May. “Have to just keep working hard.”
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Coach Claude Julien expects big things from the 2014 1st rounder after he put up 10 goals and 27 points in only 46 games his rookie campaign. He also tore up the AHL in Providence with 11 goals and 28 points over 25 games and led the Czech Republic in scoring with 7 points in 5 games at the World Junior Championships. He brings an array of elusive lateral moves, excellent quickness, skating, speed and vision to go with a rapidly developing lethal shot.
“He’s going to be a game-changer. In my mind, he’s going to be a threat every time he’s on the ice,” Julien added on the Bruins site. “To see what he’s doing, with experience and time, he’s going to figure out this game even more. As he gets stronger, his speed and all that stuff, his smarts, he’ll obviously come up with the puck a lot more. He’s going to become more and more dangerous.”
Sep 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Ryan Spooner (51) skates with the puck during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Meanwhile Spooner, a former 2nd round pick, finally broke through with Boston last season with 8 goals and 18 points in just 29 games after posting 11 assists in 27 prior games — the majority on injury call-ups. His last one was different, however, as he seized the opportunity when recalled in February to replace injured David Krejci and never looked back. The center racked up five goals and 11 points his first 13 games, while enjoying the game and playing with confidence. So much so that when Krejci returned, Julien made a point to say Spooner was staying. “I think everybody here knows that Ryan Spooner is playing well. I’m going to be honest with you: he’s not coming out of our lineup playing the way that he is,” Julien told CSNNE in March. “That’s just doing the right thing and he deserves it right now.”
It’s clear Spooner, 23, doesn’t want to stop there. He’s got a new two-year contract and he’s been training especially hard in the gym on his strength and explosiveness this offseason in his hometown of Kanata, Ontario, and looks stronger. He’s also mixed yoga in to help with flexibility, focus and core strength. Further while some players take a break from the ice, Spooner skates throughout the summer. “I like to be on the ice a lot,” Spooner told the Bruins Blog. “I’ve always found that I like to be on the ice and I just stay with it. I went on the ice probably two weeks after the season, just for a couple sessions. usually starting mid-July, I’ll be on the ice two or three times a week, and sometimes a couple hours per night.”
Puck Prose
Perhaps it’s that habit that led Spooner to develop the trait that separates him in the league – his elite speed. He’s also crafty with the puck, has outstanding passing abilities and is especially dangerous once he gets going with the puck at top speed.
Pastrnak also loves the rink and with an infectious smile and confidence, he’s fit in well with Boston. But when Spooner and Brian Ferlin joined him later in the season, the combined youth infusion gave the team a positive jolt. “These guys that are up right now, they’re playing hard, they’re playing for spots and they’re looking really good,” said Brad Marchand, who has formed steady chemistry in his own right with Patrice Bergeron, on NHL.com in March. “We need that youthful energy. It gets the guys excited. It gets the older guys going. It gets them more into the game. We feed off that energy and we’ve needed it.”
Both players benefited from honing their games in Providence before making the NHL leap. While Pastrnak electrified AHL crowds last year with some exciting rushes up ice and goals that showcased his talents before being recalled by Boston, Spooner was a consistent top scorer and playmaker for the Baby B’s, putting up 136 points in 150 games.
Nov 24, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins left wing David Pastrnak (88), playing in his first NHL game, looks to take a shot during the third period of the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
That learning experience and patience paid off, particularly with nuances like backchecking, faceoffs and winning puck battles. “I see a more mature kid,” Providence coach Bruce Cassidy told WEEI after Spooner finished the season with Boston and came back to help the Baby B’s in their playoff drive. “The time up there has done him well as a person.”
For Pastrnak, who played a total of 76 games last season between his three teams after only playing 36 for the Swedish Elite League the year before, the AHL helped make his adjustment to the heftier schedule and North America’s smaller rinks easier. “He’s a kid who goes into traffic and competes hard every night,” Cassidy told the Boston Globe earlier in the season.
Pastrnak’s creativity is a good weapon to unleash, particularly late in games when the B’s need a goal. Cassidy spoke of the offensive risks he takes. “He’s still a very high plus player for us, and at the end of the day, he’s doing more good than harm in those situations. He just has to learn by experience in ‘what can I get away with, what’s the score, time and score situations’,” he told the Globe.
The two made strides defensively in coverage, digging pucks, causing turnovers and standing up to contact and as their speed and skill made them natural fits to play with each other, they also helped rejuvenate and elevate the game of last year’s linemate burly Milan Lucic. “To me it was a matter of making sure I put them against proper lines,” Julien said on NHL.com in March. “I kind of tried to do my best to keep them away from top lines. I don’t think they have enough experience right now to do that, but they certainly have enough skill to play against other lines and they’ve been producing, so I’ve been able to keep them together for this long. So far it’s worked out well. It’s a normal work in progress. I think right now the offense has been outweighing the defense. They’re only going to get better with time, so you’ve got to live with those situations at times.”
Evidence of how well the two click could be seen in a late season April 8 game against Washington when Julien inexplicably broke their line up and things quickly turned lifeless for Boston — until he put them back together late in the game and they immediately started generating scoring attempts again. It was too late for that game as they lost 3-0, but it was a signal not to tamper with what’s working.
Pastrnak’s right shot and mobility to get in the open and back defensemen up, and Spooner’s playmaking ability and speed also provide good options for the powerplay and new 3-on-3 overtime. They piled up a ton of shots – 166 between them — in their limited number of games, further showing their potential. Spooner shot more (73 times in 29 games) than previous call-ups when he put 46 on net over 27 games and has honed a hard, accurate shot and more aggressive net drive to add to his dangerous passing abilities.
Fans have been craving more speed, skill and excitement from the Bruins lineup since — much to their chagrin – Boston traded ultra-talented budding franchise superstar Tyler Seguin at just 21 two years ago. Rolling Pastrnak and Spooner onto the ice is at least a start in the right direction.