The Boston Bruins rookie trio: The kids are alright (so far)
This season is unlike any other in the last decade for the Boston Bruins. The team has a roster featuring more young players than in previous years. How are the young guys doing thus far?
I previously did a piece about how the composition of this year’s Boston Bruins team is different than years past. When Claude Julien was behind the bench, the team was comprised mainly of veterans and played a more defensively-oriented style of hockey. Under current head coach Bruce Cassidy, the team has a bevvy of young players playing a fast-paced game, more in line with the current NHL.
Three players on the Bruins roster are 21 years old or younger and are considered rookies. As I discussed in my earlier piece, this was the first season in a long time when the Bruins’ opening night roster’s average age was younger than the league average. While the Bruins only sit at 3-3-1 on the season and have been plagued by mostly inconsistent play, the youth movement has still been at least somewhat fun to watch.
Young players come with growing pains; some hit rookie walls in their first season, and some then also have sophomore slumps. Let’s take a look at how Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk, and Charlie McAvoy are faring so far this season.
Anders Bjork
Anders Bjork’s first seven games in the NHL are probably the best example of how important Patrice Bergeron is to the Bruins. The two showed incredible chemistry in the preseason on a line together with Brad Marchand. The rookie from the University of Notre Dame was looking poised for a stellar season if he made the team.
In his first 5 games, Bjork bounced around a bit in the lineup. He found himself playing with multiple centers and left wingers. Bjork was regularly playing top-6 forward minutes, but wasn’t producing like a top-6 forward. In those games, he had 1 goal and 1 assist, a -4 rating, and only had 4 shots on goal.
In the two games since Bergeron has returned to center Bjork and Marchand, the winger has 2 goals, 2 assists, a +2 rating, and 5 shots on goal. He is a markedly better player when he has Bergeron to lean on. That all comes from chemistry, and this line has it.
It’s only been 7 games, but Bjork has 3 goals and 3 assists. Will be average close to a point per game for the entire season? Likely not. But with Marchand on his line, and his sights set on a point per game season, the sky is the limit.
Jake DeBrusk
Jake DeBrusk’s nickname should be “The Groundhog,” and for two reasons. One, he’s a hard nosed kid who’s willing to dig down deep in the tough areas. And two, because he’s only popped out of his hole once and while this season.
DeBrusk has racked up 2 goals and 2 assists, a -6 rating, and 14 shots on goal in his 7 NHL games this season. He’s had 2 games of brilliance, and 5 games of mediocrity. In the season opener against Nashville, he opened up his career with a goal and an assist in a victory. He did the same in the Bruins victory over the Arizona Coyotes.
In the 5 other games played that include 4 losses? Zero points, and a -8 rating. He’s not a forward known for his defensive prowess like Patrice Bergeron. However, sporting such a bad plus/minus rating in so few games is demonstrative of some holes in his game.
Granted, the team defense has been pretty poor overall this season, so it’s not all on DeBrusk. He, like Bjork, has also fallen victim to the lineup shuffling as well, given that he’s had to play on multiple lines with multiple center/winger combinations.
He, David Krejci, and David Pastrnak have proven to be a formidable line when together. Of course, that all goes by the wayside when Krejci is missing games, or Spooner gets hurt, or Bergeron needs replacing. Give DeBrusk some time to get comfortable with a playmaker like Krejci and a sniper like Pastrnak, the points will come. Hopefully some defense comes with it if he wants to be a well-rounded forward in the NHL.
Charlie McAvoy
Going into the season, many had Charlie McAvoy pegged as one of the favorites for the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year this season. The first year blueliner was dropped in the deep end last season in the playoffs and performed beyond expectations. He is playing like he wants people to win lots of dough if they took him at 7-1 odds.
Through 7 games this season, McAvoy has posted 1 goal, 6 assists, -2 rating, with 9 shots on goal. Those numbers in a vacuum may not seem worthy of the praise I am about to bestow upon him. But without a doubt, the rookie has been the Bruins best defenseman by far in terms of overall play.
He is being active in the play in the offensive zone, while not compromising his responsibilities on the back end. There have been a couple plays where he was out worked or has taken some bad angles. But that is to be expected for a defenseman who is only 13 total games into his NHL career.
In addition to sitting third on the team in points, he’s also logging minutes like he’s an NHL veteran. He current sports an ATOI of 21:03, second on the team, behind only the Captain. If Charlie McAvoy continues to put points up even at HALF the rate he is right now, he should be a lock for the Calder Trophy. After watching his play in these first 7 games, I think a 50 point season is within the realm of possibility for him.