Brandon Carlo Has Shown Bright Spots With the Boston Bruins, Even in Games Where He’s Struggled at Times
Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo is a special talent. Fans and media have beaten this story to death this season, but with good reason – it’s true. When watching Carlo play, it’s hard to not find a plethora of positives. Even in games where Carlo struggles, there are bright spots that point to a sterling NHL career on the horizon.
Despite leaving the game injured, Carlo most recently proved that he can rebound from mistakes and not dwell on them against the Pittsburgh Penguins. One such mistake was a puck bouncing off of his stick and into his own net, the other being an unnecessary penalty for cross checking. Rather than feeling demoralized or sorry for himself, Carlo came back out after missing shifts with Chara – his usual defense partner, and proved that he’s willing to learn from his errors and better his play.
Learning From Mistakes
“He redeems himself,” head coach Claude Julien said. “He works hard to redeem himself. So as much as we’ve got to live sometimes with some young mistakes, we like the fact that he doesn’t hang his head and he comes back and plays hard and really tries to redeem himself. He does that most of the time.”
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Not many players can make up for errors quite as well, and Carlo is still only 20 years old. For many, Claude Julien appears to be a coach who is unable to coach and develop young players. With Carlo, Julien is proving them wrong – it isn’t about getting opportunities because the potential is there, it’s about making the best of an opportunity and learning from mistakes.
“What I like about Brandon Carlo is that he comes out in the second period and we get in a bit of a scramble there at the beginning and he blocks a shot that probably saved a goal,” Julien said.
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Carlo is up to four goals and 12 points in 52 games this season. Despite having ups and downs this year, Julien has run with Carlo all season as the young defender has played in all 52 Bruins games this year. It’s only a matter of time before the bad habits completely leave Carlo’s game, and it will be even more fun to watch him then than it is now.