Causeway Crowd
Fansided

Boston Bruins: Who do you put on David Krejci’s right wing?

By Luke Ryan

ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 9: ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 9: With the Blues Tyler Bozak (21) trailing the play, the Bruins David Krejci (46) slips a pass to rookie teammate Karson Kuhlman(83) who took it and fired the puck past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (not pictured) to give Boston a 3-0 third period lead. The Bruins Jake DeBrusk (74) is at top. The St. Louis Blues host the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on June 9, 2019. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 9: ST. LOUIS, MO - JUNE 9: With the Blues Tyler Bozak (21) trailing the play, the Bruins David Krejci (46) slips a pass to rookie teammate Karson Kuhlman(83) who took it and fired the puck past Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (not pictured) to give Boston a 3-0 third period lead. The Bruins Jake DeBrusk (74) is at top. The St. Louis Blues host the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on June 9, 2019. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - JUNE 09: Karson Kuhlman #83 of the Boston Bruins plays against the St. Louis Blues during Game Six of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center on June 09, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – JUNE 09: Karson Kuhlman #83 of the Boston Bruins plays against the St. Louis Blues during Game Six of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Enterprise Center on June 09, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The ‘why not give them a go’ options: Karson Kuhlman and Brett Ritchie

Karson Kuhlman

Karson Kuhlman isn’t necessarily the obvious choice, but coach Bruce Cassidy clearly saw enough potential in him to give him starts in the Stanley Cup Final alongside DeBrusk and Krejci.

If anything, you can make the argument that the position is his to lose. He showed plenty of energy and a burst of pace that certainly left the Blues looking flat-footed at times. If the Boston Bruins want their second line to have a speed element, Kuhlman is definitely the man for the job.

Perhaps the biggest reason that Kuhlman doesn’t get the job is inexperience, though he was an assistant captain for two years and captain in his final year at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, suggesting he has a head on his shoulders that can lead and no doubt adapt on the fly to NHL life.

Let’s not forget, he now has Stanley Cup Final experience to go with his 11 regular season games with the Boston Bruins and his 60 AHL games. It’s not like he’s a complete rookie when it comes to professional hockey. At 23 years-old, he’s not going to look like as much of a deer in the headlights as a teenager, methinks.

Brett Ritchie

Brett Ritchie is the other less than obvious option to place on Krejci’s wing. He was acquired by the Boston Bruins this summer through free agency and is a player that certainly has potential, but we’re not too sure it screams second-line potential.

In the 2016-17 season with the Dallas Stars, he did manage 16 goals across his 78 games, however adding just 8 assists to that says to us it really was his upper limit production-wise and was a little bit lucky, all things considered.

Now, maybe he surprises us all; shows up to training camp incredibly motivated and wins his spot. More likely is that he fights with Backes for a fourth-line role, possibly even sharing it with him depending on the opposition throughout the season.

Home/Bruins News