Two players from each position who must be successful
On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins announced both their training camp roster and their training camp schedule including, but not limited to, their schedule on game days, as well as practices in between and before games.
The roster consisted of 33 forwards, 18 defensemen, and six goaltenders. Over the course of the preseason, the Bruins will eventually have to whittle that down 23 players.
The forwards (in alphabetical order):
Joey Abate, Vincent Arseneau, John Beecher, Jesper Boqvist, Justin Brazeau, Patrick Brown, Alex Chiasson, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, John Farinacci, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, A.J. Greer, Curtis Hall, Brett Harrison, Danton Heinen, Trevor Kuntar, Jakub Lauko, Milan Lucic, Fabian Lysell, Brad Marchand, Marc McLaughlin, Jayson Megna, Georgii Merkulov, David Pastrnak, Owen Pederson, Matt Poitras, Anthony Richard, Oskar Steen, Luke Toporowski, James van Riemsdyk, Pavel Zacha.
The defensemen (in alphabetical order):
Frederic Brunet, Michael Callahan, Brandon Carlo, Jackson Edward, Derek Forbort, Matthew Grzelcyk, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Ryan Mast, Charlie McAvoy, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, Dan Renouf, Ethan Ritchie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Reilly Walsh, Parker Wotherspoon, Jakub Zboril.
AND…
The goaltenders (in alphabetical order):
Brandon Bussi, Michael DiPietro, Kyle Keyser, Shane Starrett, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark.
Each position group has it’s own important pieces in it, and Boston is relying on some positional groups more than others.
Each positional group has its strengths, and its weaknesses: here are two players at each positional group (with the exception of goaltender where we only have one) that must have a strong season in order for the Bruins to succeed.
Forwards that must be successful: Pavel Zacha, Jake DeBrusk
I know what a lot of you are thinking: “wait, what about David Pastrnak?” Yes, it’s true, Pastrnak does need to be a vital piece of the offense, but after putting up career-high numbers, it’s no secret that he’ll be a big piece of it, no matter what.
As the team’s leading point-getter in last season, Pastrnak is poised for another big season. Though he won’t be playing with Patrice Bergeron this year, his speed, agility, and other intangibles make him a tough player to stop on the wings, no matter who he is playing with.
Pavel Zacha, 2023 stats (82 games): 21 goals, 36 assists (57 pts)
Pavel Zacha is one of the biggest pieces of the offense, and is poised to play a larger role this season after being limited to third-line wing duties for the most part in 2022-23.
This year, however, he is most likely going to be thrown into a larger role as one of the top, if not the top, centers in the lineup. With the departures of Bergeron and David Krejci, he and Charlie Coyle are likely to be featured as the top-two centers.
Zacha will have to build on his numbers from last year where he set career-highs in all statistical categories. In order for Boston to be successful, he’ll need to match, if not exceed these numbers. With potentially more touches coming his way, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Jake DeBrusk, 2023 stats (64 games): 27 goals, 23 assists (50 pts)
Going into the 2023-24 season, Jake DeBrusk is going to have to be a big factor for the offense. With him being poised to have a career-season if he stays healthy, and a desire to stay with the Bruins past the upcoming season.
As I wrote earlier this offseason, DeBrusk is definitely due for an extension, especially after the numbers he put up last year. Despite playing the third-lowest games in any season he has played (taking the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season out of the equation), he set a career-high in goals with 27, and set another in points with 50.
DeBrusk will likely play a larger role, and will likely flank either Zacha or Coyle – adding more scoring to the Bruins’ attack. In order for Boston to be successful, they will need DeBrusk to both stay healthy and continue to play the way he did last year, if not play better.
Defensemen that must be successful: Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm
While the Bruins’ overwhelming strength last season was their ability to score goals in any situation, along with a deadly goaltending tandem, their defensive pairings were also a key to their success as well.
Boston head coach Jim Montgomery rarely, if ever, tinkered with the pairings, but when he did it paid dividends for the team almost immediately.
Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm could very easily be paired together, as one is a right-handed shot and the other a left-handed shot, but given how similar their play is, it is a good idea to break them apart onto two different lines in an effort to vary the attack.
Charlie McAvoy
Going into the 2022-23 season, many fans were unsure what to make of McAvoy after he had up and down years to start his career, but now, just seven years into his young career, the kid from Long Beach, New York, was even in the running to be the next captain of the Bruins.
While the numbers are not as impressive as Pastrnak or even Zacha, it is McAvoy’s hockey IQ and puck smarts that make him successful. He is very skilled on the power play, and consistently keep the puck in the offensive zone that makes him so good.
Last season, McAvoy put up some impressive numbers through 67 games with seven goals and 45 assists. The 45 assists were one short of McAvoy’s career-high total that he set just the season before. McAvoy was much more disciplined in 2022-23 with 12 less penalty minutes. If he can continue that trend, along with scoring more goals, racking up assists, and stay healthy, McAvoy should have a (necessarily so) successful season.
Hampus Lindholm
Going into the 2022-23 season, fans weren’t sure what to make of Lindholm. He was your run of the mill defenseman, who played good enough defense and averaged about 23 points per season. That all changed last season.
Lindholm played in a career-high 80 games, and set another career-high mark in assists with 43 way overshooting his previous high of 27 in the 2013-14 by plenty. He came four goals shy of setting a high in goals scored, but he still had plenty to contribute.
Lindholm was a fixture all over the puck, and also was very disciplined, despite using his 6-foot-4 frame to his advantage when needed either to block shots or hit opposing players. If Lindholm remains involved in the offense, stays healthy, and isn’t afraid to put the puck on net, he should have a successful season.
Goaltender that must be successful: Jeremy Swayman
Coming into the season, after winning the Vezina Trophy, it’s a pretty safe assumption that Linus Ullmark will be the starting goaltender in net for the Bruins. While Ullmark’s success is preferred so that Boston can start on the right track, it’s not the most essential piece.
What the Bruins, and every hockey team should, need is a good backup. In the 2022-23 season, that person was Jeremy Swayman. Swayman didn’t just play the role of backup for when Ullmark needed days off, he even started games as a de-facto goalie 1A.
Much like the aforementioned DeBrusk, Swayman made a statement in less games than his career-high. Swayman set a career-high in wins (with a minimum of 30 games played) with 24, along with a goals against average of 2.27 and save percentage of .920.
Some netminders with these numbers are starters on lower-end clubs. Even so, if he only lost 10 games all season with six coming in regulation. If he had played more games, there is no doubt that Swayman could have eclipsed the 30-win mark.
If Swayman can be just as consistent, and give Ullmark a run for his money like he did last year, watch for Boston to be well set-up at the netminder position moving forward.