Friday on the farm with the Providence Bruins
The Providence Bruins started their November schedule with a pair of games last weekend.
On Friday night, Providence traveled to Utica to take on the Comets. The Baby P’s left with a 2-0 victory.
Max Legace finished with a shutout, as he stopped all 34 shots he faced. This was Legace’s third shutout of the season, and it brought his save percentage to .930.
Zach Senyshyn and Joona Koppanen had the goals for Providence.
The next night, Providence took on the Hershey Bears. Providence came back from an early two-goal deficit but ultimately lost the game 5-3.
Brendan Woods, Paul Carey, and Jakub Zboril scored in the game. This was Zboril’s first goal of the season.
Jakub Zboril makes a strong impression
The Boston Bruins are loaded with left-shot defensemen in the system, and Jakub Zboril is one of them.
The Bruins drafted Zboril in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft. He made his debut in Providence in 2017, but he’s yet to earn a spot in Boston.
Zboril has a ton of talent, but he hasn’t been able to put it all together. If you watched him last year, you could see the upside, yet there seemed to be something missing.
Defensemen often take time to develop, so the Bruins were patient with Zboril. That patience looks like it could play off.
Although he appeared to fall behind Jeremy Lauzon and Urho Vaakanainen on the depth chart, Zboril looks better than them this year.
Look at how he helped set up Brendan Woods’ goal in the game against Hershey:
Zboril pretty much took over the game for a short period of time, and the result was a pretty easy goal for his teammate.
The Bruins may have some roster spots on the left side of the defense next season. If Zboril continues his strong play this year, don’t be surprised if he fills one of them.
Cameron Hughes debuts for Boston
Cameron Hughes had quite the week. After he played in both of Providence’s game last weekend, Hughes got the call up to Boston.
He made his NHL debut against the Penguins last Monday night. He played a little under 10 minutes in fourth line action.
Although his first game was uneventful, it still was great to see Hughes get a chance in Boston.
The Bruins drafted Hughes in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft while he was at Wisconsin. After he captained the Badgers in the 2017-2018 season, he signed his entry-level deal and reported to Providence.
Nobody really ever considered Hughes much of a prospect, especially with so much talent in the Bruins system. Nonetheless, he elevated his game over the last couple years and did enough to warrant a recall to Boston.
Hughes is a solid skater who has above-average offensive instincts. He scored 13 goals in 52 games last year for Providence, and he has two this year.
More importantly, Hughes has a decent two-way game, and this means he’s capable in a bottom-six role. This is important because it gives him a greater opportunity to earn a more permanent spot in Boston in the future.
If Hughes continues to progress, he could join the long list of NCAA players to make an impact with the Bruins.
Zach Senyshyn makes his season debut
Another Providence forward who found his way to Boston was Zach Senyshyn.
Senyshyn didn’t have the best start to this season production-wise. It took him almost 10 games to score his first goal of the season in Providence.
Nonetheless, although the production wasn’t there, Senyshyn wasn’t all that bad in Providence. In fact, he was pretty good.
He scored his second goal of the season against Utica, and this helped Senyshyn earn a callup to Boston on Tuesday. He made his season debut in Montreal against the Canadiens.
Senyshyn played on a line with Charlie Coyle and Anders Bjork. In only the third game of his NHL career, he looked like a capable pro.
Senyshyn played almost 11 minutes against the Canadiens, and he picked up two assists. He almost had a third assist, but the referees disallowed Coyle’s goal in the third period.
All in all, Senyshyn was impressive in Montreal, enough so that he’ll stay in Boston for the time being. That’s a good thing because the Bruins could use some offensive talent on the right wing.
When the Bruins drafted Senyshyn in the same first round as Zboril, analysts and fans alike scratched their heads. They felt Boston overdrafted Senyshyn, and some almost immediately labeled him a bust.
He took some time to develop, but it does seem like Senyshyn has a future in Boston. He’s a powerful skater who has the talent to contribute offensively. Let’s hope he makes the most of this chance in Boston.
Providence embarks on a rare stretch with three games in three nights that starts Saturday in Bridgeport. Then, the have home games against Hartford and Bridgeport again.
The Baby B’s will probably be without Senyshyn and Peter Cehlarik, so let’s hope some other guys can step up.