Boston Bruins: Are there any diamonds in the rough among Development Camp invites?

The Boston Bruins are commencing their Development Camp, with all but one of this year’s draft class in attendance, as well as 15 other prospects from their system. There are also an additional 15 invited players.

Among those invited players, the Boston Bruins are, without doubt, hoping to discover a ‘diamond in the rough’. They’ll be hoping they find a guy that somehow went un-drafted or unsigned but has the talent and skill to at least step into a job with the Providence Bruins right now.

Marek Zachar

Marek Zachar seems like a particularly interesting invite to the Development Camp as yet another potential Boston Bruins’ Czech-born offensive option. At 5’9″ and weighing 165lbs, you’d have to expect he’s a crafty, skill-first type option on the wing, it hardly seems likely you’d be seeing a rough-and-tumble guy at that size.

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What stands out with the 21 year-old though is that he performed well in Canadian major junior hockey, tallying 43 and 48 points in two consecutive 57 game seasons with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. Since then, he’s wound up back in his homeland, managing 10 points in 43 games at the top level and a much more impressive 18 points in 23 games in the Czech second tier.

Whether he could translate the skill he clearly was able to show in the QMJHL or Czech second tier were he to sign with Providence, we shall likely see at this Development Camp.

Casey Dornbach

Casey Dornbach is a right wing committed to Harvard University, so he isn’t exactly travelling too far to be a part of the Boston Bruins’ Development Camp. The 21 year-old is slight, size-wise but seems to be able to get the job done.

Last season in 33 NCAA games for Harvard University, he netted 7 goals and grabbed a further 22 assists putting him on near point-per-game pacing.  His scoring pace in his first NCAA season actually rates higher than that of former Boston Bruins and fellow Harvard alumnus, Ryan Donato.

Donato, by comparison, only notched 21 points in 32 games his first year at Harvard, so Dornbach holds decent company there. Only difference being their age; Donato is only two years older than Casey – the comparison isn’t wholly fair to Donato in that respect.

Either way, you can certainly see some pedigree to make it as a professional player. If Casey Dornbach can make an impression at Development Camp, I fully expect some sort of contract or at least another invite when we reach training camp.

Nick Wolff

Nick Wolff has size on his side as a defenseman, carrying 229lbs on his 6’5″ frame. In days gone by, the Boston Bruins would’ve looked at him and signed a deal instantly for his ability to push people around and not be shoved around himself.

Instead, he’s entering his fourth year in the Univeristy of Minnesota-Duluth program – he’s never really set the NCAA alight with point production, but his other totals namely his plus/minus score suggest that you’ve got a good, stable, stay-at-home defenseman coming to the Boston Bruins’ Development Camp.

Every team needs these types of guys, especially when injuries happen. If he can impress, I could genuinely see at least an AHL contract being on the table once he graduates.

Just looking through the stats pages of the players that have been invited to Development Camp; it’s safe to say the Boston Bruins scouting has been doing a strong job.

Every single guy that has scored an invitation could definitely offer some value to the organisation. Whether any eventuate into un-drafted diamonds in the rough on the main roster is a whole other question, but they have all been given a great opportunity.

Hopefully the Boston Bruins’ Development Camp can change one (or more) of these guys’ futures!