The Boston Bruins rookie team finished out their mini-tournament last night. The Bruins went 1-0-1 in this inaugural tourney with the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres. The B’s rookie unit took both games to OT. This time around, the young Bruins lost in overtime, falling 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins weren’t going into this mini tournament to dominate though. They were trying to impress the front office as Don Sweeney and company get a real serious look at the young talent they have.
They’ve gotten a really good look over the last few days.
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“It’s always a really healthy exercise for the kids, for the most part, to play against their peers before they move on to main camp — a much bigger test. Even if it’s practice, they’ll understand what the next level is, and for a lot of them, that’s a big jump.”
Some of the young players took this tournament as an opportunity to see what will be expected of them as they attempt to embark on a NHL career. Others are fighting hard to prove they deserve a shot in Boston this season. Once again Frank Vatrano proved to be one of those players in the latter group.
Vatrano scored the first goal of the night for Boston. Just seven minutes into the first period, the Bruins found themselves with their first power play opportunity. They made the most of it when Vatrano took a cross-crease feed from Austin Czarnik and got it past Sabres prospect goalie C.J. Motte. Vatrano led all Bruins with three goals in this mini-tournament.
Puck Prose
“ a player that benefited from coming into Providence last year,” said Sweeney of Vatrano’s performance during rookie camp. “ practiced a lot. Frank’s put in a lot of work off the ice, and that’s showing up in his play now, and that’s a credit to him. Now, he needs to take it on to main camp and continue with that same trajectory. Hopefully, he gets where he wants to go. It’s another step for him, another test for everybody, but he’s done well so far.”
Zane McIntyre picked up the loss in last night’s game. He stopped 35 of 38 shots on net last night, and did his best to keep the Bruins in it throughout the game.
“Our guys were doing their job, letting me see the puck and kind of going from there,” McIntyre said after the game. “Just hats off to those guys and our D-men. We had a lot of good communication tonight, whether it was exchanges and stuff through tonight, and definitely, it was a move forward. Some good things going in the right way, I guess.”
While some players will be sent back to their college or junior teams, Sweeney believes a lot of these young player have a lot to offer still. He believes a lot of them will be asked to participate in the Boston’s training camp that opens up on Thursday.
Postgame, GM Don Sweeney said "98%" of these rookies will continue on to Bruins' main camp: "I think it's really good for guys to get in"
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 15, 2015
For some, it will be getting to spend some time practices with NHL players before heading back to the minors, juniors, or their college team. For others, it will help them consolidate their position on the Providence roster. For a few of them, it’s the first important step to making an impact as a NHL player.