Boston Bruins: Young Players Contributing Early in the Season

When the Boston Bruins began training camp at Warrior Ice Arena earlier this month, there was a lot of speculation which rookies were going to break camp with the club and make the Opening Night roster.

The Bruins knew that David Pastrnak was going to be sidelined as he is still recovering from hip surgery in September, while there was a good chance that there would be an opening on the fourth line. The most questions, however, were surrounding the defense, especially with the departures of Torey Krug in free agency to the St. Louis Blues and captain Zdeno Chara to the Washington Capitals.

The Bruins had some veterans in the camp that could have filled three of those rosters spots, but coach Bruce Cassidy, his staff, and the Bruins front office knew that they also had good enough prospects that were ready to make the jump to the NHL on a full-time basis.

Bruins break camp with three prospects and they have contributed early in the season.

Jack Studnicka, Trent Frederic and Jakub Zboril had string training camps and made the Bruins Opening Night roster in New Jersey.

Studnicka struggled in his first game, was a scratch in the second game, but he pressed into action when Ondrej Kase went down with an injury in the second game. A natural center, Studnicka has settled in with the Black and Gold’s middle-six at right wing and even recorded his first career goal to get the Bruins going Thursday night.

Trailing the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 following two periods and going 11 periods without a 5-on-5 goal to begin the season, Studnicka got Boston rolling by finally scoring their first even-strength goal early in the third period to begin a four-goal outburst that led to a wild 5-4 come from behind victory.

Frederic spent the first four games on the first line with Sean Kurlay and Chris Wagner, but he was bumped up to the third line for Saturday night’s game for a struggling Anders Bjork and responded with his first career assist on a Charlie Coyle second period goal. Frederic has shown that he’s not afraid of anyone and won’t back down from anyone.

In the second game of the season, he flustered New Jersey Devils defensemen P.K. Subban to a point where he drew a penalty on him. The Bruins failed to score on the ensuing power play, but Frederic showed that he’s ready for the NHL challenge on a nightly basis.

Zboril earned a spot on the third defensive pairing with veteran Kevan Miller. The 23-year-old has stepped right in and been a solid addition to the Bruins blue line. He has not been afraid to jump into the offensive rush and has not been afraid to move the puck with confidence.

Like Fredric, Zboril registered his first career point in Saturday night’s victory when he assisted on Marchand’s third-period power play goal. Zboril has gained confidence in Cassidy and the Bruins coach has used him some on the second power play unit. Not bad for a rookie.

The Bruins begin a new week with a 3-1-1 record, but could be looking at a different record early in the season if it were not for some of the work of the younger guys. The good thing for Studnicka, Frederic, and Zboril is they are surrounded by a group of veterans who have been through the grind of an NHL season.

Sooner or later, Pastrnak will return and Cassidy will have a decision to make as to who will come out of the lineup upfront. If Frederic and Studnicka continue their solid play, Cassidy will have to look somewhere else for a healthy scratch when Pasta is cleared to return.