Do the Boston Bruins trust a one career NHL playoff game player?
Steven Kampfer may not be the first name you think of when you’re looking for someone to fill in for Charlie McAvoy, but Boston Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy has reportedly tested him out, per the Toronto Sun, alongside Zdeno Chara.
Despite his relative inexperience in play-off action, he could be the other half of the first defensive pairing when the Boston Bruins line up for Game 1 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Coming into the season, Steven Kampfer was a depth player that has jumped back-and-forth between the American Hockey League and NHL his entire career.
He represents your typical AHL journeyman that had ably stepped up when called upon by the likes of the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild after initially breaking in with none other than the Boston Bruins.
Whether he can translate that experience and determination into a strong performance if he’s paired with Chara on the first pairing is the big question?
Experience and determination can make up for lacking skill and if it’s only the one game, you can almost be assured that Kampfer would be willing to do whatever it takes to make his impact.
Interestingly, when he has been used this season by the Boston Bruins, he has averaged 55 seconds power-play time per game and an average ice-time of just over 14 minutes. That’s not half bad all things considered and would suggest that Cassidy does have some level of trust in his abilities.
Most often his ice-time was partnering John Moore, so unless Moore is returning from injury and we’re seeing more wholesale changes; that is likely about to change.
Can he step up; who knows – given it’s one game, he’s probably well worth a shot. These are the sorts of risks you have to take to advance to the Stanley Cup final!