Boston Bruins: Five players destined for 2021 taxi squad

Which forwards could end up on the Boston Bruins’ taxi squad?

As of right now, the B’s have two-thirds of their first line on injured reserve (IR). However, there’s a possibility that Brad Marchand will be ready for a Jan. 13 start, while David Pastrnak will still have at least another month until he’s ready.

So, I believe that Marchand will be back by the time the 2021 season starts. This will make the Bruins’ forward lines look like this:

Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Craig Smith
Jake DeBrusk – David Krejci – Ondrej Kase
Nick Ritchie – Charlie Coyle – Anders Bjork
Par Lindholm – Sean Kuraly – Chris Wagner

Extras: Greg McKegg and Anton Blidh
IR: Pastrnak

So, with McKegg and Blidh being a part of the regular roster, who could be on the Black and Gold’s taxi squad?

Paul Carey

Paul Carey is 32 years old and has exactly 100 games of NHL experience, including three with Boston over the last two seasons.

Carey is listed as a center, however, he has only taken 45 career faceoffs in the NHL. This makes it seem as he’s played a lot more on the wing than at center. Either way, he’s versatile and can play any forward position.

Over his 100 NHL games, Carey has scored eight goals and eight assists for a total of 16 points. Furthermore, his average ice time is just above nine and a half minutes.

Carey’s versatility at forward and experience at the NHL level make him a prime candidate to be included in the B’s taxi squad. Although he hasn’t seen much ice time when he has played and doesn’t score much, he’s just an extra and most likely won’t see the lineup.

Karson Kuhlman

At 25 years old, Karson Kuhlman is going into this season with just 36 games of NHL experience. However, this is more than any other forward prospect they have in the minors.

Through 36 games, Kuhlman has registered four goals and seven assists for 11 points and is averaging nearly 12 and a half minutes of ice time per game.

Many may argue that having a prospect of Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic, or even Zach Senyshyn is a better option than Kuhlman. But I disagree as these players are all high draft picks and need to be playing consistently to develop.

Kuhlman is an undrafted player and most likely won’t be anything more of a bottom-six forward. Because of this, I think Kuhlman will most likely end up on the Bruins’ taxi squad. However, he may be sent down to the AHL once Pasta returns as the B’s will have to clear a roster spot and may do this by sending McKegg or Blidh to the taxi squad.