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Boston Bruins: 3 reasons Anders Bjork deserved to make the roster

By Luke Ryan

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 25: Boston Bruins right wing Anders Bjork (10) skates out for a face off during a preseason game between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils on September 25, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 25: Boston Bruins right wing Anders Bjork (10) skates out for a face off during a preseason game between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils on September 25, 2019, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON - SEPTEMBER 28: Boston Bruins left wing Anders Bjork (10) and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Chad Krys (43) collide during the second period. The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks in their final pre-season NHL hockey game at TD Garden in Boston on Sep. 28, 2019. (Photo by Nic Antaya for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – SEPTEMBER 28: Boston Bruins left wing Anders Bjork (10) and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Chad Krys (43) collide during the second period. The Boston Bruins host the Chicago Blackhawks in their final pre-season NHL hockey game at TD Garden in Boston on Sep. 28, 2019. (Photo by Nic Antaya for The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

The Boston Bruins have trimmed down their roster ahead of their opening night clash with the Dallas Stars and Anders Bjork is inexplicably missing.

Here’s a guy that has literally put his blood, sweat and tears into making the Boston Bruins roster and really looked the part in the pre-season. Of the guys sent back down to Providence, I think Anders Bjork possibly was the most surprising.

A tally of two assists in four games and seven shots might not scream game-changer, but the constant peskiness on the fore-check, forcing turnovers from the opposition suggested he was at least a chance of making the Boston Bruins opening night roster, potentially in a third or fourth-line role.

However, the decision has been made to sent him back for more time with the Providence Bruins as he hasn’t, to paraphrase Bruce Cassidy, managed to score consistently enough at the professional level and that was what he was drafted as; a scoring winger.

This could straight up be the management sticking to their guns on the guy and giving him a little ‘tough love’ so he can come back and hopefully give them what they want from him.

Or it could actually be quite a foolish move to not see that maybe his professional game is an fore-checking bottom-six guy, not a second-line scoring type.

Whether they’re right or wrong, I guess we’ll find out in due course, but here are three really strong reasons that Anders Bjork deserved a spot on the roster from the day one and not as an injury call-up later on.

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