How did Boston Bruins’ right wing Ondrej Kase do in 2019-20?
Right wing Ondrej Kase was acquired by the Boston Bruins on Feb. 21, 2020 in a trade-deadline deal. This deal saw the B’s send forward David Backes, defense prospect Axel Andersson, and their 2020 first-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Kase.
Right after being acquired, Boston would put Kase on injured reserve (IR). Kase wouldn’t be activated from IR until Feb. 27, 2020 — six days later.
After Kase was activated, he was only able to suit up for six regular-season games with the Black and Gold before the season was paused due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
In those six games, Kase didn’t do much. He managed just one assist and averaged just 14:32 of ice time per game.
Before being traded to Boston, Kase played 49 games with the Ducks. In those 49 games, the now 25-year-old produced 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists).
For his overall 2019-20 regular season, Kase registered 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 55 games. On top of this, Kase recorded four assists in 11 playoff games with Boston.
The grade for Ondrej Kase’s 2019-20 season with the Boston Bruins.
Kase struggled at first with Boston, which can be expected from a newly acquired forward that was just activated from IR. He struggled to produce and find a place in the lineup.
However, during the playoffs, the Kadan, Czech Republic native finally found his footing playing on the team’s second line alongside center David Krejci and left wing Jake DeBrusk. Together, the trio was arguably the B’s best line during the playoffs.
If I was grading Kase’s entire 2019-20 season, he would get a C. His time with the Ducks produced a C+, while his time with the Black and Gold brought it down a third of a letter grade.
With the Ducks, he was on pace for around 38 points in 82 games — which isn’t very good for a top-six forward. This pace declined to just 35 points after joining Boston. However, he made up for it with a respectable postseason performance.
Although I can give Kase a grade for his time with the Ducks and his overall 2019-20, I cannot give him a grade for his time with the Bruins as 17 games is just too small of a sample size. I have to give Kase an incomplete for his 2019-20.