Boston Bruins: Improved depth courtesy of six new arrivals

The Boston Bruins have added plenty of organisational depth, adding six players to their affiliate, the Providence Bruins on AHL contracts.

Of course, adding players to the Providence Bruins doesn’t necessarily mean anything for the actual Boston Bruins roster, but given that it’s often a case of ‘next man up’ when injuries befell a team, it’s never a bad thing to have more depth.

The six new faces with the Providence Bruins shouldn’t expect to see any time on the NHL roster next season, but if they’re able to make enough of an impression, there’s every chance they can translate AHL deals into eventual two-way deals at the very least. The six new signings each bring something different to the table:

Samuel Asselin

Headlining the cohort is Samuel Asselin, who this season past topped the QMJHL goal-scoring chart, netting 48 goals for the Halifax Mooseheads in his final season of Canadian major junior hockey.

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He recently impressed at the Boston Bruins Development Camp and could well pan out to be a late-blossoming camp invite that turns into someone quite capable of stepping it up to an NHL level, albeit not following the traditional age curve.

Samuel is the youngest of the group at just 21 years-old and will no doubt be given a little more leeway in terms of development and initial performances, given this will be his first taste of professional hockey. He has earned himself a two-year deal and will no doubt seek to push himself to the top of the Boston Bruins’ pipeline within that time frame.

Brendan Woods

The only other of the signings to secure a two-year deal; Brendan Woods is older than Asselin at 27 years old. He was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft but ultimately has panned out to be an AHL-level player rather than an NHL-level guy.

His AHL career has been split between his most recent team, the Utica Comets and the Charlotte Checkers, playing 262 games between the two, putting up 85 points (39 goals and 46 assists).

Perhaps the most predominant stat line you see when you look at his record is that his penalty minutes are triple digits any season he sees more than about fifty games. You’d have to assume based on that, he’ll be coming in to look after the skill guys on the side.

Chris Breen

Regular fans of the Providence Bruins will know Chris Breen well; he’s been with the side five seasons, with his one-year deal seeing a sixth year with the side. He stands out on the ice at 6’7″ but with the trend of the NHL away from size has never really had a shot at the NHL.

He has a total of nine NHL games with the Calgary Flames and would appear unlikely, at 30 years old, to ever be making the Boston Bruins roster despite the entertainment value of pairing him with Zdeno Chara.

You’d expect Chris Breen to retain his assistant captain role and play the steadying figure in a locker-room that has a reasonable blend of young, upcoming talent and some older, wiser heads.

Robert Lantosi

Robert Lantosi is a versatile Slovakian winger that has plenty of experience across a few different European leagues. This venture will be his first chance to prove his talents in North America though.

His most recent season saw him as an assistant captain for HK Nitra in Slovakia’s top-tier. He scored 58 points in 56 regular season games, netting 20 goals and offering 38 assists from the wing.

He also was able to add two assists in seven international appearances, representing his native Slovakia at the World Championships. He looks to be the sort of player you’re happy to take a risk on in the AHL; if he pans out, it’s essentially found money and talent for the Boston Bruins. If not, the one-year nature of the deal means he likely heads back to a productive professional career in Europe.

Joel Messner

Joel Messner is a Canadian-born defenseman, who like so many of the Boston Bruins, headed to the NCAA before commencing his professional career. At 25 years old, he has a decent amount of experience, captaining the University of Nebraska-Omaha in his senior year before ending up splitting his time in the AHL and ECHL last season.

He clearly did enough to impress the Boston Bruins and Providence Bruins staff as they’re bringing him back on a one-year contract. He’ll likely spend the season jumping between the Atlanta Gladiators in the ECHL and Providence.

Joel did well to adpat to the slightly more physical professional game, especially in the ECHL. He could well find himself playing plenty of AHL games, depending on the injury status of the defense at the big club!

Alexey Solovyev

The final announced signing is Russian-born Solovyev, who despite the name doesn’t arrive from the MHL or KHL, nor has he ever played significant time in his home nation since midget hockey. He is a 24-year old defenseman who packs 205lbs on a 6’2″ frame; perfect to fill a role with the Providence Bruins.

His career numbers don’t represent a player that puts up anything much by way of offense, nor do they suggest he’s going to be too uncomfortable in his first year as a professional, having also signed a one-year deal. He graduates from the Bentley University NCAA program.

Whilst none of these signings, bar maybe Samuel Asselin, represent potential Boston Bruins players; we’ve all seen guys like Connor Clifton end up in the NHL. All six look to be the perfect additions to the organisational depth chart.