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Boston Bruins Training Camp: Top Five Things To Watch

By Brandon Share-Cohen

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Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

With the Boston Bruins Rookie Camp currently underway, and their Training Camp starting in a week, it seems appropriate to highlight the top five things to watch for. With so much uncertainty about who will make the roster and how the lines will look, there will certainly be many positional battles worth watching.

Without further delay, here are the top five things to watch for at this season’s Boston Bruins training camp:

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    • 1. Right Wing Competition

    The Boston Bruins have a problem at right wing, but it’s entirely different than the problem they usually have at that position. In recent years, the Bruins have struggled to find right wingers who shoot right. Players like Reilly Smith, and Loui Eriksson have flanked the right side while shooting left, which isn’t terrible, but isn’t ideal either. The Bruins enter the 2015-16 season with a slew of right-handed players who play the right side, including David Pastrnak, Brett Connolly, Jimmy Hayes, and even Seth Griffith.

    With so many players all shooting on their proper wing, the Bruins will have some choices to make in terms of who plays on which line, and Loui Eriksson has to be factored in somewhere. With Eriksson in the mix, but having a left handed shot, that brings up the next thing to watch.

    2. Left Wing Switch

    The Boston Bruins could potentially move Loui Eriksson to the left wing. While that would make the most sense given his shot, and his experience playing on the left at various points in his career, there are other options to explore as well. The Bruins could test out wingers Jimmy Hayes or Brett Connolly on the left side and see how they adapt to the change. If a change like that happens, it would free up a spot for Loui Eriksson on either of the top two lines, which is where most believe he should play.

    Eriksson is a very effective hockey player who has a knack for finding the back of the net, but his defensive ability can make him appealing in a few situations.

    One situation could be to have Eriksson flanking the left side on the third line, with Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak. This would allow for Spooner, and Pastrnak (who also has good two-way ability) to play their offensive game and not worry too much about the defensive side of things. In this situation, Eriksson would be more than capable of joining the rush too.

    Another situation could be to have Eriksson playing beside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, which would further bolster Boston’s most consistent scoring line, and also their most defensively-gifted line. The downfall with this situation is the top three two-way players on the roster would be locked up on one line, leaving the others to fend for themselves a little more than coach Claude Julien might like.

    3. Defense Competition

    With defense in mind, the defensive competition should be very entertaining this training camp. With a few locks currently on the roster, barring any trades, the Bruins should have some intense battles to round out the back-end. It should be safe to say that the players currently locked in are: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Torey Krug, and Adam McQuaid. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see which of the following players players can prove that they are worth of the final two-three roster spots on defense: Kevan Miller, Zach Trotman, Joe Morrow, Colin Miller, and Matt Irwin.

    The list of players fighting for a spot on the roster includes many different attributes that could be appealing to Claude Julien when he decides on who won, and who didn’t win jobs.

    Kevan Miller has experience playing in the NHL and is a very hard-hitting, and gritty player. Miller is a team-guy and isn’t afraid to drop his gloves to defend a teammate or to generate energy for his team.

    Zach Trotman is a young player who is currently on the tail-end of a two year deal, with the second year being a one-way contract. Trotman showed he was more than capable of playing top-2 minutes last season alongside Zdeno Chara for the latter part of the year, and he could look to build on that success this training camp.

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    Joe Morrow is a former first round draft pick and one of only two pieces from the Tyler Seguin trade remaining on the Bruins roster. Morrow hasn’t really been provided the opportunity to show that he can be a true NHL defenseman yet, but a solid training camp could force his way onto the roster come opening night. Morrow is more known for his offensive ability, than his defensive ability, which isn’t a bad thing given how poor the Bruins were at generating offense last season.

    Colin Miller was the second-highest scoring defenseman in the AHL last season and he also won the hardest-shot and fastest-skater competitions in the AHL all-star game. Miller has size, speed, and a shot that can really help the Bruins out for years to come. He may need to prove to Claude Julien that he can build on his AHL success before he gets given an every-day job at the NHL level, but the future certainly looks bright for Colin Miller who could be a fixture on Boston’s back-end for a long time if he pans out.

    Matt Irwin is the most experience defenseman competing for a job on the Bruins defense. With offensive-upside, Irwin is in the same boat as Morrow and Miller in terms of being able to help the Bruins generate offense this season. In addition to the offensive that Irwin can provide, he is also a very responsible defenseman. While he won’t shutdown opposing teams, he has very good awareness on the ice and should be able to get into the proper position on the back-check, even after joining in on the rush.

    With cap-friendly contracts applying to each of the players mentioned, the Bruins will have no problem slotting any of them into the lineup to start the season.

    4. Fourth Line Roles

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    The Bruins have a few players that could all be fighting for fourth line minutes this season. As it stands, the fourth line projects to be Zac Rinaldo, Chris Kelly, and Max Talbot playing the left wing, center, and right wing spots respectively. Many people seem to be opposed to this lineup, especially with the young, skilled players from Providence all working towards a job in the NHL.

    Seth Griffith had some playing time last season with the Bruins spread across the top and bottom of the lineup. When given the opportunity, Griffith was able to score highlight reel goals, but had some inconsistency at times as well. While the inconsistencies could cause some hesitation for fans, it’s worth noting that most players struggle with inconsistencies in the NHL, especially when they’re playing for the first time at the big level.

    Brian Ferlin showed last season that he can be a reliable fourth line player. While he doesn’t possess the skill that Seth Griffith does, he has a grittier style of play that the Bruins have loved for years. Ferlin could find himself  locked into the roster as a 4th line player or the thirteenth forward if he has a solid training camp this season.

    Alexander Khokhlachev is arguably the Boston Bruins best prospect. With tremendous offensive-upside, the player that most fans in Boston have grown to simply call “Koko” could steal the fourth line center job this season. The downfall to Khokhlachev’s game is his defensive ability. With Claude Julien behind the bench, it makes more sense for Chris Kelly to lineup at center every game, as he is one of the club’s better defensive-minded forwards with a proven track record.

    Jonas Kemppainen was signed in the offseason and could also be competing for the Bruins fourth line center job. With a solid two-way game, and a recent breakout offensively, Kemppainen could be a significant contender for a fourth line role in Boston this season, and even a promotion to one of the top-9 jobs if an injury should occur.

    The Bruins have a lot of options on the fourth line and as is the case with defense, all of the bubble-players are signed to cap-friendly deals, making them easy players to simply slot into the lineup.

    5. Backup Goaltender Competition

    With four players competing for the backup goalie job in Boston this season, training camp will be key to deciding who gets to start game one behind Tuukka Rask, and who gets sent to Providence to start the season.

    Malcolm Subban was the Bruins first round pick in 2012 and he is considered the best goaltending prospect on the roster, and one of the best in the NHL. With one (poor) game of experience behind him, Subban will be looking to show why he was drafted in the first round, and why he deserves to be dressing with the big team in 2015.

    Zane McIntyre had a breakout campaign at the University of North Dakota and will be looking to translate that success into NHL success. with zero games of AHL or NHL experience, Claude Julien might be hesitant to let him start the season in the NHL behind Rask.

    Jeremy Smith had a very good season in Providence in 2014-15, and could be the front-runner out of the three Bruins prospects for the backup job in the NHL. With Smith as the backup in Boston, Malcolm Subban could be given more starts in Providence, allowing him to better fine-tune his play on a more consistent basis than he would get while sitting on the bench in Boston.

    Jonas Gustavsson was invited to training camp on a professional tryout, and he could be the front-runner in general, just based on his experience. While the Bruins know they have three very solid goaltending prospects, the case of Niklas Svedberg will certainly be sitting on the back of Claude Julien’s mind when he decides who gets to backup Rask in Boston this season.

    Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @FansidedBrandon to discuss all things Bruins and sports


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