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Should The Bruins Call Up Jack Studnicka During Playoffs?

By Joey McDermott

VICTORIA , BC - DECEMBER 21: Jack Studnicka #23 of Team Canada raises his stick to salute the fans following a game versus Team Slovakia at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 21, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VICTORIA , BC - DECEMBER 21: Jack Studnicka #23 of Team Canada raises his stick to salute the fans following a game versus Team Slovakia at the IIHF World Junior Championships at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on December 21, 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /
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The past two seasons the Boston Bruins have added prospects to their active roster to try to boost their playoff chances, in 2016-17 they added Charlie McAvoy from Boston University and in 2017-18 they added Ryan Donato from Harvard University.

The Bruins are in a similar situation this season with top prospect Jack Studnicka.  He is skating in his fourth OHL season and has developed at a fast pace.  This season he has played 60 games, half for the Oshawa Generals and half for the Niagara IceDogs after being traded there.  In these 60 games, he has 83 points including 36 goals.  He was also slotted into the Canadian World Junior Classic team and tallied 4 points in 5 games there.  He has brief professional experience as he played in 5 Providence Bruins games last season tallying 5 points in 5 games.

One of the main problems with adding a player like Studnicka is cutting a year off of their entry level contract.  The Bruins face this problem with Charlie McAvoy this coming offseason, as they need to sign him a year prior than they would have needed to if he did not join the team for the 2016-17 playoffs.

A separate problem would be where Studnicka fits into the Bruins lineup.  Studnicka is a right-handed shot that has played primarily center in his OHL career.  The Bruins current roster is littered with center depth, so Studnicka would most likely find himself on the wing if called up.

Here is what a healthy Bruins forward lineup could look like with Studnicka:

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

Debrusk-Krejci-Johansson

Heinen-Coyle-Studnicka

Backes-Kuraly-Wagner

*Acciari-Nordstrom

The Niagara IceDogs are 2nd in their conference and have already clinched a first-round playoff matchup against the North Bay Battalion.  During Studnicka’s 4-year OHL career, he has totaled an impressive 233 points.  He is one of the top scoring junior players in his age group, creating an interesting scenario to see if the Bruins will pursue his scoring touch once his OHL playoff run is over.

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